PRINTED AT THE LAW PRINTING HOUSE,
MOUNT ROAD, MADRAS.
and 91on-uiolcnee
uufiose emGodiecl spirif
fiaffi
guided tfic destinies
of
^Tfic Gongress
an3
in u)fiose seruiee
TnnumcraBle sons and daughters
of
fiaue efieerfully made
fieauy sacrifices
for
Sffie 'Emaneipafion
of
Ubcir
FOREWORD
The preparation of the book was not
undertaken by the author as of set purpose. It
was the unwitting result of the scribbling of idle
hours during the hot summer of the year and
the notes of lessons given by him to the students
of the Andhra Jatheeya Kalasala, Masulipatam,
on the History of the Congress. A casual
enquirjr addressed to him on an allied
matter by the Secretary of the A. I. C. C. from
Allahabad happened to bring this little venture,
through him, to the notice of the President who
placed the matter before the Working Commit-
tee. The author expresses his sense of profound
gratitude to the Working Committee for under-
taking its publication on the occasion of the
fiftieth anniversary of the great national organi-
sation.
The plan of the book will be evident from
a cursory glance at the synopsis that precedes
each part. There was not much of plot to
unravel in the story of the first thirty years, the
happenings in which are dealt with subject by
subject and character by character. The past
twenty years have been treated year by year. The
resolutions of the different sessions have not been
categorically queried. That alone would cover
VI THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
half the size of the volume in hand, which has
already run into unexpected proportions.
The book is abounding in defects of which
the author is only too well aware, and which the
readers are requested to bear with. These are
defects of plan as well as penmanship which might
have been partly, at any ralte, avoided by greater
leisure and better attention. But the work
had to be put through in a hurry. And
hurry never conduces to perfection. Yet, during
the all-too-short period of time available, the
book has been gone through by the President,
twice over, and the thanks of the public, no less
than of the author, are due to him for the hard
work which the task of revision and correction
entailed upon him. Equally exacting was the
strain imposed upon Syt. J. B. Kirpalani, the
General Secretary of the Congress, and
Syt. Krishnadas, Secretary, on whom fell the
onerous duty of priming up the whole matter for
the Press, and to whom the country's thanks are
due.
The author acknowledges his obligations to
the printers — The Law Printing House,
Madras, — who Jiave put their whole capacity
and good cheer into the task and raced against
time in printing a volume which has run ftp to
one and a half times the anticipated size.
Besides the printers, several others have
rendered considerable help. The Proprietors
FOREWOBD VII
of The Hindu, Madras, have kindly lent
the photo-blocks of the Presidents of the
Congress. Syt. T. Rama Rao, General Manager,
The Hindusthan Mutual Insurance Co., Ltd.,
Masulipatam, has performed the laborious task
of reading through the type-script and the proofs
and preparing the Index. Syt. K. Ramakotiswara
Rau, Editor, Triveni, Madras, has read through
the type-script once again before passing it on to
the Press, part by part. His meticulous sense of
get-up has been pressed into service in the
arrangement of matter and the correction of
final proofs. The Notes on the Satyagraha in
Khaira and the Ahmedabad Mill Strike have been
prepared by Syt-. Mahadev Desai; on the Gujarat
floods by Swami Anand; on the Mulshi Satya-
graha by Syt. T. R. Deogirikar; and those on
Champaran and the Bihar Earthquake by Babu
Rajendra Prasad. Our grastitude is due to them
all.
MASULIPATAM, I B PATTABHI SITARAMAYVA
20th Dec. 1935 j
KAJENDRA I'KASAI)
- 1934 ; ROM HAY.
CONTENTS 1
Introduction . . . . ,.t., . • xni
Part I
THE ERA OF REFORMS, 1885-1905
THE ERA OF SELF-GOVERNMENT, 1906—1916
Synopsis . . . . . . . . 1
CHAPTER
I. The Birth of the Congress . . . . 5
II. A Rapid Review of the Resolutions
of the Congress . . . . 34
III. The Early Phase of the Congress .. 96
IV. Bri tains' Reaction to the Congress
movement and Rise of New Forces and
Parties . . . . . . 107
V. Our British Friends . . . . 128
VI. Our Indian Patriarchs . . . . 138
Part II
THE ERA OF HOME RULE, 1917-1920
Synopsis . . . . . . . . 197
'CHAPTER
I. Towards Re-Union (1915) .. ..201
II. A United Congress (1916) .. ..211
III. Towards Responsible Government
(1917) .. .. ..220
IV. The Montagu-Chelmsford, Proposals
(1918) .. .. ..252
V. Non-Violence, A Reality (1919) .. 271
X THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Part III
THE ERA OF SWARAJ, 1921-1928
Synopsis . . 313
CHAPTER
I. The Birth of Non-co-operation .. 319
II. Non-co-operation Galore (1921) .. 353
III. Gandhi Bound (1922) .. ..388
IV. Non-co-operation from within Councils
(1923) .. 428
V. Congress at the Cross-Roads (1924) .. 451
VI. * Partition, or Partnership? (1925) . . 472
VII. The Council Front (1926) .. ..505
VIII. The Council Front (1927) A Stalemate . . 521
IX. The Rendition of the Congress (1928) . . 542
Part IV
THE ERA OF COMPLETE INDEPENDENCE, 1929—1935
Synopsis . . 569
Chapter
I. The Preparation (1929) .. ..573
II. A fight to the Finish (1930) . . . . 613
Part V
THE ERA OP FIGHT
Synopsis '. . 721
Chapter
I. The Gandhi-Irwin Agreement (1931) . . 723
• II. The Breach of the Settlement . . 786
CONTENTS XI
Part VI
THE ERA OF RE-ORGANISATION
Synopsis . . 853
I. Back to the Wilderness .. .. 867
II. From the Fast to the Loose Pulley . . 896
III. Marking Time .. .. 959
IV. Conclusion . . . . . . . . 1022
APPENDICES
I. Post-War Reforms or Nineteen Memo-
randum . . . . . . i
II. The Congress-League Scheme .. vii
II-A. Mulshipeta Satyagraha . . . . xiii
III. The Faridpur proposals . . . . xv
IV. The G. O. on the classification of
prisoners . . . . . . xix
IV-A. Peace Proposals in July— August, 1930 .. xxiii
V. Forms of Declaration by Indian Mills . . xlvii
VI. Communal question: Premier's Decision.. liii
VII. The Indo-British trade agreement, 1935.. Ixvi
VII-A. Gujarat Floods .. .. .. Ixx
VIII. The Bihar Earthquake .. .. bodii
Index . . .. .. Ixxvii
Fifty years ago
Congress met for the first timenTTJombay with
a small number of delegates who could hardly be
called elected representatives, but who were
nevertheless true servants of the people. Ever
since then it has been striving for winning free-
dom for the people of India. In the beginning
its aim was indefinite but it has always insisted
on a democratic form of Government responsible
to the people of India and representative of all
communities and classes inhabiting this vast
country. It started with the hope and confi-
dence thaft British statesmanship and the
British Government would rise equal to the
occasion and establish truly representative
institutions giving the right to the people of
India to govern India in the interest of India.
The early his'tory of the Congress is full of
resolution^ and speeches giving expression to
this faith and confidence. The very demands of
the Congress took the form of resolutions
suggesting reforms and removal of objectionable
measures — all having as their basis a hope that,
if the British public and Parliament could be
fully informed of this position in India and of
the desire of Indians, they would set things right
and ultimately confer on them the inestimable
boon of Self-Government.
XIV THE HISTORY OP THE CONGRESS
That hope and confidence have been
gradually but none-the-less completely shattered
by the action of the British Government
in India and in England. The attitude
of the British Government has become
more and more stiff as the national conscious-
ness has become more and more expressive.
This initial confidence in the intentions of the
British Rule received a shock during the
administration of Lord Curzon who partitioned
Bengal, and the great agitation that followed
against that ill-fated measure was an index of
the rising tide of popular national consciousness
which had not a little been influenced by world
events, such as the victory of Japan over Russia
in the beginning of thei 20th century. But
India had not yet lost faith and during the
great war, partly as a result of this faith
resuscitated by the annulment of the partition
of Bengal and partly on account of want of
proper appreciation of the situation as a whole,
the country responded to the call of the British
Government to help the British Empire in its
time of need. India's splendid help was
acknowledged by all British statesmen and hope
was engendered that the war, which was being
ostensibly fought for /the principle of self-deter-
mination of nations and for making democracy
safe, would result in the establishment of
Responsible Government in India. The
announcement made by the Secretary of
State for India on behalf of the British
INTRODUCTION XV
Government in 1917 promising Self -Government
by stages occasioned difference of opinion
amongst Indians, which became more and
more acute as the result of investigations
undertaken by the Secretary of State and the
Viceroy became known and the Bill, which ulti-
mately became the Government of India Act
in 1920, took shape and form. During this time
of incubation of the Bill the war had ended in a
victoiy for the British, and the feeling grew in
India that as the pressure in Europe had relaxed
on account of the successful termination of the
war for Britain, the British attitude had changed
for the worse towards India. This feeling was
confirmed and strengthened by what was regard-
ed as breach of faith with .the Mussalmans in the
matter of the Khilaphat and by the passing, in
spite of the unanimous protest of the country at
large, of what were known as the Rowlatt Bills,
whereby 'the stringent provisions of the Defence
of India Act which had been tolerated during
the war were sought to be perpetuated, depriv-
ing the people of the elementary rights of free
citizenship.
These naturally created an intensive
agitation in the whole country, and Satyagraha,
whiph had been tried in South Africa, and
in a small way in Champaran and in Khaira
in India, was put forward by Mahatma Gandhi
for the first time as a method to be adopted by
the country whereby to secure redress of these
XVI THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
and other grievances. There were unfortunate
popular disturbances in the Punjab and
Ahmedabad resulting in Iqss of life and property
which were followed by the Jallianwala-bagh
massacre and the horrors of the Martial Law
regime in the Punjab. There was naturally
great indignation throughout the country which
was not assuaged by the Report of the Hunter
Committee appointed to investigate into these
happenings and was considerably intensified by
the debate on the Report in Parliament, The
Non-co-operation movement was inaugurated
with its programme of resignation of titles of
honour granted by the Government, boycott of
Legislative bodies, Government-recognised
educational institutions and Law Courts and of
foreign cloth on the one hand, and on the other
the establishment of Congress Committees, enrol-
ment of Congress members, collection of Tilak
Swaraj Fund, opening of national educational
institutions, establishment of Panchayats for deci-
sion of village disputes and the revival of hand-
spinning and hand-weaving, — all to culminate by
stages in a campaign of Civil Disobedience and
non-payment of taxes. The Congress Consti-
tution was changed and its object was defined
.as the attainment of Swaraj by peaceful and
legitimate means. There was country-wide
awakening followed by repression by Govern-
ment, when thousands of men and women
including some of the most reputed leaders were
imprisoned towards the qnd of 1921. Efforts
INTRODUCTION XVI*
at bringing about a settlement with the
Government did not fructify and the programme
of non-payment of taxes in Bardoli had to be
suspended on accourit of serious disturbances at
Chauri Chaura in the United Provinces. Subse-
quently the other items of the Xon-co-operation
programme were one after another suspended or
withdrawn, and Congress members entered the
Legislatures.
The appointment by the British Parliament
of what is known as the Simon Commission,
from which Indians were excluded, for the
purpose of investigating the working of the
Constitution of 1920, led to another serious
upheaval in the country, and the Congress in
association with other public bodies framed a
Constitution with Dominion Status as the
objective for India for the acceptance of the
Government. In the absence of any adequate
response by the Government, the Congress at its
session at Lahore in December, 1929, changed
its objective as the attainment of Puma Swaraj
(Complete Independence) by legitimate and
peaceful means, and organised a campaign of
Civil Disobedience of non-moral laws and non-
payment of taxes, in the beginning of 1930. The
Government of England on the one hand called
a Conference in London to which it nominated
certain Indians to advise it about a Constitution
for India, and on the other adopted repressive
measures, including the promulgation of a
XVIII THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
number of most drastic Ordinances for suppres-
sing the Civil Disobedience movement in India.
In March, 1931, there was a Pact entered into
by Lord Irwin the Viceroy representing the
Government, and Mahatma Gandhi representing
the Congress, as a result of which Civil Disobe-
dience was suspended and Mahatma Gandhi
attended the Round Table Conference in London
towards the end of 1931. As was to be expected,
nothing came out of the Conference and the
Congress was forced to revive the movement
early in 1932 and carried it on till 1934, when it
was suspended again. In *the two movements
of 1930 and 1932 hundreds of thousands of men
and women and even children courted imprison-
ment, received lathi blows and other kinds of
torture and suffered loss of property. Many
were killed as a result of firing by the Government
forces on crowds. The Satyagrahis showed
remarkable power of organisation and suffering
and were, on the whole, complete!^ non-violent
in the face of the greatest provocation. Congress
organisation showed greaJti vitality and powers
of adaptability and survived the great attack
made on it by the Government. The country
has come out of the fiery ordeal with credit but
without achieving its great objective of Purna
Swaraj.
By a resolution passed at Karachi the
Congress has assured to all Indians certain
fundamental rights and h0s drawn up an
INTBODUCTION XIX
economic and social programme. It has made it
clear that, in order to end the exploitation of the
masses, political freedom must include real
economic freedom of the starving millions and
has laid down fundamental rights of citizenship,
.such as freedom of speech and association, of
person and property, of religion and conscience.
It has also laid down thaft the interests of
industrial labour shall be safeguarded, by
securing for them healthy conditions of work,
limi'ted hours of labour, suitable machinery for
settlement of disputes and protection against
economic consequences of old age, sickness and
unemployment and the right to form unions. It
has assured the peasants to secure equitable ad-
justments of the burden on agricultural land by
reduction of rent and revenue and exemption
from rent or revenue for uneconomic holdings,
wfth such relief as may be just and necessary
to holders of small estates affected by such
exemption or reduction in rent. It has also
provided for a graded tax on net incomes from
land above a reasonable minimum, death duties
on a graduated scale on property above a fixed
income, and drastic reduction of expenditure on
military and defence and civil administration,
fixing the salary of State servants at a maximum
of Rs. 5007- per month. It has also laid down
an economic and social programme of excluding
foreign cloth, protecting indigenous industries,
prohibition of intoxicating drugs and drinks,
XX THE HISTQBY OF THE CONGRESS
State control of key industries, relief to agri-
cultural indebtedness, regulation of currency and
exchange in the interest of the eouniry and
provision for the military training of citizen's
for national defence.
The last session of the Congress at Bombay
in October, 1934, endorsed the policy of entering
the Legislatures and laid down a constructive
programme including revival of and encourage-
ment to hand-spinning and hand-weaving, pro-
motion of useful village and small industries,
re-construction of village life in its economic ,
educational, social and hygienic aspects, removal
of untouchability, promotion of inter-communal
unity, total abstinence, national education,
spread of useful knowledge among the adult
population, organisation of industrial labour and
peasants and strengthening of the Congress
organisation. Under a revised Constitution it
reduced the number of delegates and made it
proportionate to the number of primary members
on the Congress roll and insisted on manual
labour and habitual wearing of Khadi on all
elected members and office-bearers of Congress
Committees.
The Congress has thus inarched on from
stage to stage and covers practically every
sphere of national activity. It is at present
engaged in constructive work which is calculated
not only to improve the economic condition of
the masses but also .to create that self-confidence
INTRODUCTION XXI
among them which can be born of work accom-
plished and which can enable them to win Purna
Swaraj. Starting as a small organisation it ftow
covers the entire country with a net-work of
branches and enjoys the confidence of the masses
of the country. It has called forth sacrifice on
an extensive scale for the attainment of Swaraj
from people of all classes and has a remarkable
record of work and achievement. The organi-
sation itself is a great national asset which it
should be the duty of every Indian to increase
and preserve. It is bound to play an ever-
increasing part in the struggle for freedom that
still lies ahead. This is no time for resting on our
oars. The work yet to be accomplished is great
and needs much patient toil, endless sacrifice
and unflinching determination. It is nothing
less than the attainment of Purna Swaraj. Let
us bow down our heads -to all those men, women,
and children, known and unknown, who have laid
down their lives, who have suffered woes and
privations, and who are still paying the penalty
for loving their Motherland.
Let us also in grateful reverence recall the
services of those who sowed the seeds of this
mighty organisation, who nurtured it with their
unremitting labour and sacrifice. The small
seedling that was planted fifty years ago has
now grown into a mighty tree with branches
spreading over thi,s vast country and has now
blossomed in the sacrifice of countless men and
XXII THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
It is for those that are now left behind
to nourish the tree by their further services and
sacrifice, so that it may bear fruit and make India
the free and prosperous courttry that Nature
intended her to be.
The pages that follow relate the story of the
growth of the Indian National Congress. The
author's knowledge and experience of the men
and affairs of the Congress is wide. He himself
has played no inconsiderable part in the later
phases of its development. He is not a detached
historian writing after .-the events and
basing his conclusions on cold recorded
facts. He has seen things with his own
eyes and has himself acted and re-acted
on them. He is writing not only with
knowledge but also with faith. His conclusions
and opinions are therefore his own, and need not
be treated as in every case representing the
official view of the Working Committee of the
Indian National Congress which publishes the
book and sends it ou't to the world. It is hoped,
however, that it contains a faithful record of
facts and will be found helpful to students of
contemporary history.
Camp— Wardha, I
12th December, 1935 [RAJENDRA PRASAD
\V. C Homier jee
1885: Bombay
1^9'J: Allahabad
Dad aba i Naoroji
1886 : Calcutta
1893: Lahore
J906 : Calcutta
Hudruddin Tyabji
1887.; Madras
George Yule
1888: Allahabad1
THE
HISTORY OF
Part I
SYNOPSIS
CHAPTER I
THE BIRTH OF THE CONGBESS
India under Subjection— The East India Company—
Periodical scrutinies by Parliament— Acquisition of territory
by the Company— Parliament's control—Charter Act of
1833— The spread of English Education — Vicissitudes o/
the Press— Acquisition of the Punjab and Sindh — The
Rising of 1857— The Queen's Proclamation— The Arms
Act— Famine and War— 'Notorious political grievances9
—Hume and Wedderbwrn's intervention— A seething revolt
in incubation— Hume conceives the idea of the National
Gathering— His letter to the Graduates of the
Calcutta University — Pre-Congre&s Elders— British Indian
Association in Bengal, 1951— Bombay Association—
Mahajuna Sabha in South India— Poona Sarvajanik
Sabha—The Indian Association, Bengal, 1876— Lord
Lyt ton's reactionary rule— Political Conference in Albert
Hallf Calcutta, 1888— Need for an All-India Organisation
—Hume takes the initiative, 1885.
II
Congress, a movement o/ National Renaissance—
Kammohan Roy and his times— His great work in
2 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
England and India^Th* repercussions of Western Civili-
sation— The Brdhyka S&fyaj and schisms in it — The Arya
Samaj And the* Theo&ophical movement as correctives
to the denationalisation of the day — The Ramakrishna
Mission — The Congress, a synthesis of all these move-
ments.
Ill
Hume's original plans to eschew politics — Lord
Dufferin's advice in favour of a political organisation —
The first circular — Hume organises the Indian Parlia-
mentary Committee in England — The first Session of the
Congress, 1885.
IV
The real character of the Congress — Gandhi's rff.«-
cription of the Congress at the fnd Round Table Con-
ference(19Sl).
CHAPTER H
A RAPID REVIEW or THE RESOLUTIONS OF THE CONGRESS
(1885—1915)
The India Council — Constitutional Changes — Public
Services — Military Problems — Legal and Judicial Pro-
blems— Permanent Settlement, Water-cess, Poverty and
Famines — Forest Laws — Commerce and Industry —
Swadeshi, Boycott and Swaraj — Communal Representa-
tion— Indians Abroad — Salt — Drink and Prostitution —
Women and the Depressed Classes — Miscellaneous — Thr
Congress Constitution.
CHAPTER III
THE EARLY PHASE OF THE CONGRESS
The strategy of the earlier Congressmen — Loyalty,
the key-note — Faith in the English Nation — Recognition
of services by Government.
SYNOPSIS S
CHAPTER IV
BRITAIN'S REACTION TO THE CONGRESS MOVEMENT AND
RISE OF NEW FORCES AND PARTIES
Dufierin's Hostility — Colvin v. Hume — Administra-
tive restrictions— Sec. 124 (A), US (A), 7.P.C.— Curzon'*
strenuous rule — Retrogression in Public Services — Parfi-
tion of Bengal, Fuller's threats — India takes up the came
of Bengal — National Education — Boycott — Bcpin Babu —
Aurobindo — The Nine Deportees — The First Bomb —
'Yugantar' — Violence in London — Partition of Bengal
disowned — Partition anmdlcd — But repression extant —
Reactionary Press Laws — Mahomed Ali's case — Sir
Laurence Jenkins9 condemnation of the Press Law — 'New
India9 case — Press deputation — The outbreak of the Great
War — Mrs. Bcsant on the scene.
CHAPTER V
OUR BRITISH FRIENDS
John Bright — Henry Fawcett — A. 0. Hume — Sir
William Wedderburn^-Charlcs Bradlaugh—W. E.
Gladstone — Lord Northbrook — The Duke of Argyll — Lord
Stanley of Aldcrley — Eardley Xorton — General Booth.
CHAPTER VI
OUR INDIAN PATRIARCHS
Dadabhai Xaoroji — Ananda Charlu — Wacha — Gokhal?
— G. Rubrahmania Aiyar — Budruddin Tyabfi — K. T.
Telang—W. C. Bonncrjce—Tilak— Pandit Ayodhyanath
— Surendra Nath Banerjea — Malaviya — Lajpat Rai —
Phcrozeshah Mehta — Ananda Mohan Bose — Man Mohan
Chose — Lai Mohan Ghose — Vijiwraghavachariar — Raja
Rampal Singh— Kali Charon Banerjee—Nawab Syed
Mahomed Bahadur— D. A. Khare—Ganga Prasad Varna
4 THE -HISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
— R. N. Mudholkar—Sankaran Nair—Kesava Pillai—
Bepin Chandra Pal — Ambika Charan Mazumdar —
Bhupendra Nath Basu — Mazar-ul-Haq — M.G.Ranade —
Bishan Narayan Dhar—Ramesh Chandra DM— Subba
Ran Pantulu—Lala Murlidhar—Sachchidananda Sinha.
THE
HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Part I
CHAPTER I
THE BIRTH OF THE CONGRESS
The History of the Congress is really the history of
India's struggle for freedom. For centuries the Indian
Nation has been under foreign supremacy and the Con-
gress has striven for half a century to free the country
from this subjection, the beginnings of which in its
latest phase may be traced to the advent to India of a
trading concern.
The East India Company had during nearly a
hundred years of commercial and political activity
acquired large tracts of the country in India and
had begun to enjoy the rights of a ruling power. After
1772 its activities were subject to scrutiny from time to
time by the British Parliament and every renewal of its
Charter was preceded by an inquiry on behalf of the
British Government. As the commercial aspect of its
activity had gone more and more into the background and
the political aspect come more and more into the fore-
front, this scrutiny had become more and more searching.
While it would not be right to imagine that anything
like a close supervision was maintained, there were not
men wanting among the British who studied the Indian
problem in great detail, followed the action and pro-
gramme of the East India Company with care and
vigilance, and were not slow to bring them before Parlia-
ment for consideration and redress. The great interest
• THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
which Edmund Burke, Sheridan and Fox exhibited in the
last quarter of the 18th century served to focus public
opinion on tfie misdeeds of the Company's agents.
Although the impeachment of Warren Hastings failed
in its objective, it exposed the oppression and tyranny
which used to be practised. Every periodical inquiry
preceding renewal of the Charter resulted in the enuncia-
tion of some principles of far-reaching consequence, even
though these principles were not followed in practice.
More than once it was laid down as the policy to be fol-
lowed that the agents of the Company should not
attempt to extend its territorial acquisitions, but every
time, an opportunity occurred or was created which
enabled them to disregard the injunction, and the terri-
tories went on expanding. It is not necessary here to go
into the history, full of black and treacherous deeds, full
of the exhibition of low and rapacious human nature,
full of the wreckages of broken engagements and trea-
ties, of the acquisition of India by the East India Com-
pany. Nor is it necessary to go into an examination of
the treachery and faithlessness of the Indians as amongst
themselves, or of the ways and means employed by the
agents of the Company to amass huge fortunes for them-
selves, apart from what they made available to the Com-
pany and its Directors. Suffice it to say that immense
wealth was acquired, and formed in due course the
nucleus, and perhaps the bulk, of that capital which enabled
England on the advent of the steam engine and the
machine to establish her industrial supremacy in the
world in the nineteenth century.
When the Regulating Act was passed in 1774 and a
Board of Control was appointed over the Court of Difec-
tdrs of the Company, and a Governor-General with a
Council, the British Parliament for the first time took
aome responsibility for the administration of the tern-
THE BIRTH OP THE CONGRESS 7
lories already acquired. This control grew in course of
time and another Act in 1785 followed. The Charter
was renewed after investigations in 1793, 1813, 1833 and
1853. In 1833 it was enacted that "no native of the said
territories, nor any natural born subject of His Majesty
resident therein, shall, by reason only of his religion, place
of birth, descent, colour or any of them be disabled from
holding any place, office or employment under the said
Company" and the Court of Directors explained its
import as follows: —
"The Court conceive this section to mean that
there shall be no governing caste in British India;
that whatever other tests of qualification may be
adopted, distinction of race or religion shall not be
of the number; that no subject of the King, whether
of Indian or British or mixed descent, shall be
excluded from the posts usually conferred on uncove-
nanted servants in India, or from the covenanted
service itself, provided he be otherwise eligible."
By the same Act the rights of the Company to trade
in India were abolished and it became divested henceforth
of its character as a trading concern and became entirely
a ruling authority.
A controversy arose about this time regarding the intro-
duction of English education into India. With the
powerful support of Raja Rammohan Roy among Indians
and Mfecaulay among the Britishers, it was set at rest
in favour of English education as against education in
Indian languages and literature. Thus were laid the
foundations of that system which continues to this day.
There was no Press in those days except such as was
conducted by Englishmen, some of whom had to suffer even
deportation from India. Lord William Bentinck's Cover-
nor-Generalship was remarkable for the aforesaid
8 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
reforms and was also lenient towards the Press. His
successor, Sir Charles Metcalfe, removed the restrictions
against the Press which remained free till the Viceroyaity
of Lord Lytton, with the exception of a brief period during
the time of the Revolt of 1857.
Between 1833 and 1853 the Punjab and Sindh had
been conquered, and the policy of Lord Dalhoueie resulting
in the annexation of the States of those rulers who died
without issue, and of Oudh on the ground of maladminis-
tration by the then ruler, had added considerably to the
territories of the Company, making the extent of British
India what it has remained ever since. The economic
drain resulting in the impoverishment of the people, the
loss of territory and the establishment of a foreign rule
had created resentment and discontent, and the Revolt
of 1857 was the last armed attempt to throw off the
foreign yoke. It was undoubtedly tinged with some
religious motive, but the fact that the titular Emperor of
Delhi, the descendant of Akbar and Aurangzeb, and the
descendant of the Peshwa of Poona were the rallying
points round whom the effort to establish an Indian Raj
revolved, shows that the Revolt represented not only the
accumulated effect of all that had been perpetrated
during a hundred years since the battle of Plassey in
1757, but also the natural desire in the human breast of
every country and community to be ruled by its own
people and no others. The Revolt failed but with it also
disappeared the East India Company, and the Govern-
ment of India directly passed into the hands of the British
Grown, that is, the British Parliament. The Queen's
Proclamation issued on this occasion went a great way
in creating an atmosphere of calm and faith which kept
the country in a condition of peace. Whatever discon-
tent there was became absolutely helpless. The nobility,
particularly the Muslim nobility, was practically
THE BIRTH OF THE CONGRESS 9
omt of existence and there was not even a titular person
left to serve as a rallying point in any future adventure
like that of 1857. The British Rule came to be recog-
nised as a dispensation of Providence and India settled
down with that resignation which is one of our national
characteristics.
The Government of India, even after its assumption
by the Crown, continued to carry on much in the same
way as before except that there were no wars for twenty
years to disturb the even tenor of its rule.
This does not mean that there was no trouble and
no discontent. There were serious defects in British
administration which were pointed out and sought to be
remedied by sympathetic British officials like Mr. Hume.
As has been stated earlier the Act of 1833 had
made Indians eligible for all posts for which they were
qualified. When the Charter was under consideration in
1853 it was freely stated in Parliament that, although
the Act of 1833 had theoretically made Indians eligible,
they had not been in practice given any posts which they
would not have occupied before that Act. When the
system of competitive examination for the Civil Service
was introduced in 1853, it was pointed out that that
would put a great handicap on Indians, as they would
find it practically impossible to come to England to com-
pete with English boys in an examination in English
language and literature on the off-chance of securing
posts. In spite of the handicaps Indians, though few,
crossed the seas and succeeded, and it was left to Lord
Salisbury to reduce the age at which students could com-
pete, thus enhancing the handicap on Indians who, with
the support of Englishmen, had been crying for simulta-
neous examinations in India and England. Lord Lytton
10 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
in India muzzled the Vernacular Press which, along with
the English Press, had enjoyed freedom since the days
of Metcalfe. He further passed an Arms Act which not
only deprived Indians of the right of bearing arms but
also introduced another galling distinction between Indians
and Europeans.
Then there were famines which showed that it was
not so much scarcity of food grains as the lack of the where-
withal to purchase them that resulted in the death of
hundreds of thousands of people all over the country.
There was also the expensive Afghan War. While famine
and death were stalking the land it was considered fit to
hold a Durbar at Delhi at which the Queen assumed the
title of the Empress of India. "Economic, in addition
to political, troubles were actively at work throughout
the country. The physical suffering of the many, acted
on by the apathy and selfishness of the few, was rapidly
bringing popular unrest to the danger point."
The peasantry was oppressed by certain "notorious
practical grievances" referred to by Mr. Hume in his
celebrated letter to Sir Auckland Colvin. They led to
complaints not loud but deep with regard to (a) the
costly and unsuitable Civil Courts, (b) the corrupt and
oppressive Police, (c) the rigid Revenue system, and (d)
the galling administration of the Arms Act and the Forest
Act. People prayed for but despaired of getting (a)
justice cheap, sure and speedy, (b) a Police they could
look up to as friends and protectors, (c) a Land Revenue
system more elastic and sympathetic, and (d) a less harsh
administration of the Arms and Forest Laws. That was
m fact the situation towards the beginning of the eighties.
Indeed it was such that Sir W. Wedderburn says that
the bureaucracy had not only done their best to prevent
new concessions; they had also, when opportunity offeree^
THE BIBTH OF THE CONGWD6S 11
taken away the privileges inherited from a former gene-
ration of reformers, — the liberty of the Press, the right
of public meeting, Municipal Self-Government and the
independence of the Universities. 'These ill-starred
measures of reaction/1 writes Sir William, "combined
with Russian methods of Police repression brought India
under Lord Lytton within measurable distance of a
Revolutionary outbreak and it was only in time that
Mr. Hume was inspired to intervene.'1 Something more:
Mr. Hume had unimpeachable evidence that the political
discontent was going underground. He came into possession
of seven volumes containing reports of the seething revolt
incubating in various districts, based upon the communi-
cations of the disciples of various gurus to their religious
heads. This was towards the end of Lord Lytton's rule,
the seventies of the last century. The reports were
arranged according to districts, sub-districts, sub-divisions,
and the cities, towns and villages included in these. Not
that an organised mutiny was ahead, but that the people
pervaded with a sense of hopelessness, wanted to do
something, by which was merely meant, "a sudden violent
outbreak of sporadic crime, murders of obnoxious persons,
robbery of bankers and looting of bazaars, acts really
of lawlessness which by a due coalescense of forces
might any day develop into a National Revolt." Such
were the agrarian riots of the Deccan in Bombay. Hume
thereupon resolved to open a safety valve for this unrest
and the Congress was such an outlet. It was at this
time that he conceived the idea of bringing into existence
a national gathering of Indians and to that end addressed
to the graduates of the Calcutta University, on the 1st
of March 1883, a soul-stirring letter in which he asked
for fifty men, good and true, men of unselfishness, moral
courage, self-control and active spirit of benevolence.
"If only fifty men, good and true, can be found to join
as founders, the thing can be established and the further
12 THE HISTORY OF TH1 CONGRESS
development will be comparatively easy/' And what
was th% ideal placed before these men? A democratic
constitution, freedom from personal ambitions and the
dictum that "he that is greatest amongst you, let him be
your servant." Hume did not mince matters at all but
frankly told them that "if they cannot renounce personal
ease and pleasure, then at present at any rate all hopes
of progress are at an end; and India truly neither desires
nor deserves any better Government than she enjoys.1'
The concluding portion of this memorable letter
runs as follows: —
"And if even the leaders of thought are all
either such poor creatures, or so selfishly wedded to
personal concerns that they dare not strike a blow
for their country's sake, then justly and rightly are
they kept down and trampled on, for they deserve
nothing better. Every nation secures precisely as
good a Government as it merits. If you the picked
men, the most highly educated of the nation, cannot,
scorning personal ease and selfish objects,' make a
resolute struggle to secure greater freedom for your-
selves and your country, a more impartial adminis-
tration, a larger share in the management of your
own affairs, then we, your friends, are wrong and
our adversaries right, then are Lord Ripon's noble
aspirations for your good fruitless and visionary,
then, at present at any rate all hopes of progress are
at an end and India truly neither desires nor deserves
any better Government than she enjoys. Only, if
this be so, let us hear no more factious, peevish com*
plaints that you are kept in leading strings and
treated like children, for you will have proved your-
self such. Men know how to act. Let there be no
more complaining of Englishmen being preferred to
you in all important offices, for if you lack that
public spirit, that highest form of altruistic devotion
that leads men to subordinate private ease to the
public weal, that patriotism that has made English-
men what they are,— -then rightly are these preferred
THE BIRTH OF THE CONGRESS 13
to you, rightly and inevitably have they become
your rulers. And rulers and task-masters they must
continue, let the yoke gall your shoulders never so
sorely, until you realise and stand prepared to act
upon the eternal truth that self-sacrifice and unsel-
fishness are the only unfailing guides to freedom
and happiness/'
Before we proceed to narrate the details relating to
the birth of the Congress, it is but meet to recall the
names of certain pre-Congress Elders whose labours in
a way had laid the foundations of public life in this
country.
The British Indian Association in Bengal was started
in 1851 and was the institution in whose name men like
Dr. Hajendra Lai Mitra and Raragopal Ghose had
carried on public work for decades. The Association
itself was an active power in the land for nearly half a
century. In Bombay the organ of public work was the
Bombay Association which had a shorter career than its
fellow in Bengal, but had an equally vigorous record of
work to its credit under the leadership of men like Sir
Mangaldoss Nathubhai and Mr. Naoroji Furdunji. The
Association owed its origin to Dadabhai Naoroji and
Mr. Juggannath Sanker Seth. The East India Associa-
tion, however, superseded this body in the seventies of
the last century. In the South, public life was really
inaugurated by The Hindu amongst whose founders wsre
the honoured names of Messrs. M. Veeraraghavachariar,
the Hon'ble Rangiah Naidu, G. Subrahmania Aiyar and
N. Siibbarau Pantulu. In Maharashtra, the Poona Sar-
vajanik Sabha which sprang up about the same time as
The Hindu, was the medium through which public work
was carried on by men like Messrs. Rao Bahadur
K. L, 3?ulkar and S. H. Chiplonkar.
14 THR HISTORY OF T9E CONGB988
In Bengal the Indian Association was founded in
the year 1876, the moving spirit of the new body being
Surendra Nath Banerjea and the first secretary being.
Ananda Mohan Bose. It must be noted that even in the
seventies, public life was beginning to make itself felt
by the authorities though it was not well-organised. The
newspapers were already a powerful factor in it, for in
1875 there were as many as? 475 newspapers, mostly in
the provincial languages. Surendra Nath Banerjea, who
by a fortunate chance for the country was relieved of his
duties as a member of the Indian Civil Service, made
his first political tour in Northern India covering the
Punjab and the North-West Provinces (U.P.). He was
present at the great Darbar held in Delhi, in 1877, and met
the leading Princes and people of India at that assembly.
It is believed that the idea of organising a vast political'
gathering was first conceived by Surendra Nath Banerjea
under the inspiration furnished by that gathering of the
Princes and people of India in 1877. In 1878
S. N. Banerjea visited the Bombay and Madras Presi-
dencies in order to stimulate public opinion on the re-
actionary policy pursued by Lord Salisbury in reducing
the age limit for the Civil Service Examination to 19*
years, and to prepare an All-India Memorial to be pre-
sented to the House of Commons on the Civil Service
question.
It was at this time that Lord Lytton inaugurated
his reactionary rule, which was characterised by the
Vernacular Press Act of 1878, the Afghan War, the costly
Indian Darbar (1877) and the sacrifice of cotton import
duties (1877). Lord I#tton was succeeded by Lord
Ripen, who inaugurated a new era by concluding a treaty
vith the Amir of Afghanistan, by repealing the Verna-
cular Press Act, by promoting Local Self-Government
and by introducing the Ilbert Bill. The last was a Bill
THE BIRTH OF THB OOKGBE86 16
introduced in 1883 by Mr. Ilbert, the* Law Member o£
the Government of India at the time, the object of which
was to remove the bar against the Indian Magistracy
trying European and likewise American offenders. This
was greatly resented by the Anglo-Indians, some of whom
entered into a conspiracy "to overpower the sentries of
the Government House and to put the Viceroy on board
a steamer at Chand Pal Ghat and send him to England
via the Cape." This conspiracy had been formed by a
number of men in Calcutta "who had bound themselves
to carry out the aforesaid plan in the event of Govern-
ment adhering to their projected legislation." The
original Bill was almost abandoned in 1883 in favour of
a bare recognition of the principle in the case of the
District Magistrates and Sessions Judges only. When Lord
Ripon retired he was given a farewell by Indians from;
one end of the country to the other, which was at once
the envy of Englishmen and an eye-opener to many of
them. Sir Auckland Colvin, says Sir Surendra .Nath
Banerjea in his 'A Nation in the Making', exclaimed, "It
it be real, what does it mean?"
The success of the Anglo-Indians awakened the
Indians who were not slow to realise that the inwardness
of the opposition to the Bill was based on an assertion of
racial superiority and its perpetuation. It taught the
public men of India at the time the lessons of organisa-
tion; and immediately in the year 1883 there was held
a political Conference at the Albert Hall in Calcutta, at
which both S. N. Banerjea and A. M. Bose were present.
It was at this meeting that S. N. Banerjea specifically
referred, in his opening address, to the Delhi assemblage
as furnishing the model for a like political organisation
intended to espouse the country's cause. Mr. Ambika
Charan Maeiundar writes in his book 'Indian National
Evolution1 that "it was an unique spectacle, of which the
16 THE HIST01Y OF THE CONGRESS
writer of these pages still retains a vivid impression, of
immense enthusiasm and earnestness which throughout
characterised the three days1 session of the Conference,
and at the end of which every one present seemed to
have received a new light and a novel inspiration." It
was in the following year that the International Exhibi-
tion was held in Calcutta to which the Rev. John
Murdoch traces the original inspiration for the Indian
National Congress. It was in 1881 that the Madras
Mahajana Sabha was established and Madras held a
Provincial Conference in its turn.' In the west the
Bombay Presidency Association was started on 31st Jan.
1885 by that famous group of Elders —Mehta, Telang
and Tyabji.
It is thus clear that India was feeling the need for
some sort of an All-India organisation. It is shrouded
in mystery as to who originated this idea of an All-India
Congress. Apart from the great Darbar of 1877 or the
International Exhibition in Calcutta, which, as stated
above, are supposed to have furnished the model for the
great national assemblage, it is also said that the idea
was conceived in a private meeting of seventeen men
after the Theosophicai Convention held at Madras in
December 1884. The Indian Union started by Mr. Hume
after his retirement from the Civil Service is also sup-
posed to have been instrumental in convening the
Congress. Whatever the origin, and whoever the
originator of the idea, we come to this conclusion, that
the idea was in the air, that the need of such an organisa-
tion was being felt, that Mr. Allan Octavian flume took
the initiative, and that it was in March 1885, when the
first notice was issued convening the first Indian National
Union to meet at Poona in the following December, that
what had been a vague idea floating generally in the air
THE BOTH OF TH1 CONGRESS 1?
and influencing simultaneously the thought of thoughtful
Indians in the north and the south, the east and the west,
assumed a definite shape and became a practical
programme of action.
U
It was not merely the political forces and the sense
of political subjection that gave birth to the Congress.
The Congress doubtless had its political objective, but
it also was the organ and exponent of a movement of
national renaissance. For fifty years and more before
the birth of the Congress, the leaven of national rejuvena-
tion had been at work. In fact national life in its protean
i.spects was in a state of ferment so early as in the
times of Rammohan Roy, who may in one sense be
regarded as the prophet of Indian Nationalism and the
Father of modern India. He had a wide vision and a
broad outlook. While it is true that the socio-religious
condition of his day was the subject of his special atten-
tion in his reformist activities, he had nevertheless a
keen sense of the grave political wrongs by which his
country was afflicted at the time and made a strenuous
effort to seek an early redress of those wrongs. Rammohan
Roy was born in 1776 and passed away at Bristol in*
1833. His name is associated with two great reforms
in India, namely, the abolition of Sati or Sahagamanam^
and the introduction of Western learning into the country.
In the acute controversy that raged in the thirties of the
nineteenth century, Rammohan Roy took no small parth
and the final decision of Lord William Bentinck in 1835
in favour of Western learning, even as against .the recom-
mendations of the Court of .Directors in .London, was
largely due to Rammohan Roy's own bias towards the
Occidentalism and the influence he exercised over the
public opinion of the day. In the closing period of his
18 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
llife he chose to visit England, and his passion for liberty
was so great that when he reached the Cape of Good Hope
.he insisted on his being carried to a French vessel where
he saw the flag of liberty flying, so that he might be able
to do homage to that flag, and when he saw the flag he
ahouted, "Glory, Glory, Glory to the flag!" Although he
had gone to England primarily as the ambassador of the
Moghul Empefor to plead his cause in London, yet he
took the opportunity to place some of the pressing Indian
•.grievances before a Committee of the House of Commons.
He submitted three papers, fon the Revenue system of
India, the Judicial system of India, and the Material
condition of 'India. He was honoured by the East India
Company with a public dinner. When in 1832 the
Charter* Act was before Parliament, he vowed that if the
Bill was not passed he1 would give up his residence in the
British dominion and reside in America. During his
time he had witnessed the worst repression of the Press
•in India. "The good days of Indian Journalism inaugu-
rated by Lord Hastings, the Governor-General, by
relaxing the severe Press restrictions of former times were
soon clouded by the temporary accession to the 'post of
Governor-General, in 1823, of Mr. John Adam, a member
of the Civil Service." As a result one Mr. Buckingham,
the Editor of The Calcutta Journal, was deported from
India on two months' notice and Mr. Sanford Arnot,
bis assistant, was arrested in his office and put on board an
England going vessel, — all this for some criticisms of the
administration made by them. A Press Ordinance was
passed on the 14th March 1823 which imposed the
severest censorship upon the entire Press, both Anglo-
Indian and Indian, and made it obligatory on the part
of intending publishers and proprietors of newspapers to
obtain a license from the Governor-General. The Ordi-
nance was pushed through the Supreme Court according
THE BIBTH OF THE CONGRESS It
to the Law then existing after only 20 days' publication
in that Court.
Rammohan Roy fought against it in the Court by
engaging the services of two lawyers, and when he failed
he got -up a public petition to the King of England with
no better result. But the seed that he sowed bore fruit
in 1835 when Sir Charles Metcalfe liberated the Indian
Press once again. While in England Rammohan Roy had
the satisfaction of seeing the appeal of his adversaries
against the abolition of Saft rejected by Parliament
and also of seeing the Charter Act passed.
The story of the 'Indian Mutiny* so-called, arising
primarily from the policy of Lord Dalhousie in denying
the right of adoption to the widows of certain Princes
and declaring their States escheat is well-known. The
suppression of the rebellion was followed by the establish-
ment of the Universities in 1858, and of the High Courts
and the Legislative Councils in India between 1861 and
1863. Just before the 'mutiny' the 'Widow Re-marriage
Act* was passed as also the Act relating to conversion
into Christianity. In the sixties of the nineteenth century
then, intimate contact was established with Western
learning and literature. Western legal institutions and
Parliamentary methods were inaugurated, to mark a new
era in the field of law and legislation. The impact of
Western civilization on the East could not but leave a
deep impress upon the beliefs and sentiments of the
Indian people who came directly under its influence. The
germs of religious reform planted in the days of Ram-
mohan Roy, became broadcast erelong. Keshab Chandra
Sen, on whose shoulders fell the mantle of Rammohan
Roy, spread the gospel of the Brahmo Samaj far and wide
and gave a new social orientation to its tenets. He turned
his attention to the temperance movement and made
9fr THE HISTORY OF THE CONGBBB8
common cause with the temperance reformers in England:
He was largely responsible for the passing of the Civil
Marriage Act, — III of 1872 — which allowed a form of
civil marriage to non-Christians, provided they declared
themselves as not belonging to any of the following
communities — Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Parsee or Jew.
This Act abolished early marriage, made polygamy penal
and sanctioned widow marriages and inter-caste
marriages. He interested himself further in trying to
raise the marriageable age of girls and prepared a Bill
in 1872 on the subject which adopted 14 as the minimum
age.
Erelong schisms arose in the Brahmo Samaj on
account of the early marriage of Keshab Chandra Sen's
daughter with the Maharaja of Cooch Bihar, which evoked
protests amongst his fellow workers and led to the carving
out of a protestant section under the name of 'Sadharan
Brahmo Samaj' under the leadership of Ananda Mohan
Bose. It is interesting to note that Ananda Mohan Bose
later became the President of the Congress in 1898. The
Brahmo Samaj of Bengal had its repercussions all over
the country. In Poona, the movement assumed the name of
Prarthana Samaj under the leadership of M. G. Ranade,
who, it will be remembered, was the founder of the
Social Reform movement which for long years continued
to be an adjunct of the Congress. One feature however
of this reformist movement was a certain disregard for
the past and a spirit of revolt from the time-honoured
and traditional beliefs of the country, which arose from
an undue glamour presented by the Western institutions
and heightened greatly by the political prestige associated
with them. Naturally then, there was bound to be a
reaction, at any rate a correction, to the denationalising
tendencies engendered by the reformist movement*.
The Arya Samaj in the north-west, founded by the
THE B1BTH OF THE CONGBE88 21
venerable Swami Dayananda Saraswati and the Theo-
fiophical movement from the south, furnished the
necessary corrective to the spirit of heterodoxy and even
heresy which the Western learning brought with it. Both
of them were intensely Nationalist movements; only, the
Arya Samaj movement which owed its birth to the
inspiration of the great Dayananda Saraswati was
aggressive in its patriotic zeal, and while holding fast to
the cult of the infallibility of the Vedas and the superio-
rity of the Vedic culture, was at the same time not
inimical to broad social reform. It thus developed a virile
manhood in the Nation which was the synthesis of what
was best in its heredity, with what is best in its environ*
ment. It fought some of the prevailing social evils and
religious superstitions in Hinduism much as the Brahino
Samaj had battled against polytheism, idolatry and poly-
gamy. Of course, as was to be expected, there arose two
schools in the Arya Samaj itself, composed of those of
the Gurukula cult who stood for the Vedic ideals of
Brahmacharya and religious service, and those who
sought to regenerate society imbibing in due measure
modern Western culture through the modern type of
educational institutions. Swami Shraddhananda, the
Martyr, and Lala Lajpat Rai, the Hero, stand out to us
as marked exponents of the respective cults. The Theo-
sophical movement, while it extended its studies and
sympathies to the wide world, laid special emphasis on a
rediscovery, as well as a rehabilitation of all that was
great and glorious in the Oriental culture. It was this
passion that led Mrs. Besant to start a college in Benares,
the holy city of India. The Theosophical activities, while
developing a spirit of international brotherhood, helped
to check that sense of rationalist superiority of the West
and planted anew a cultural centre in India which attract-
ed the savants and the scholars of the West once again
to this ancient land.
32 THB HTSTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
1 The latest phase of national renaissance in India
prior to the Congress was inaugurated in Bengal by that
great sage, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, who later found
in Swami Vivekananda, his chief apostle carrying his
gospel East and West. The Ramakrishna Mission is not
merely an organisation wedded to occultism on the one
hand or realism on the other, but to a profound trans-
cendentalism which, however, does not ignore the supreme
duty of 'Loka-Sangraha' or social service. It also
supplied the key to the solution of the many socio-
political problems that confront the nations of the world
.to-day. All these movements were really so many threads
in the strand of Indian Nationalism and the Nation's
duty was to evolve a synthesis so as to be able to
dispel prejudice and superstition, to renovate and purify
the old faith, the Vedantic idealism, and reconcile it with
the Nationalism of the new age. The Indian National
Congress was destined to fulfil this great mission. How
far it has been able to do it during the past half a
century, it is for us to study.
Ill
It was in the midst of these conditions that the
^establishment of the great Indian National Congress was
•conceived. Mr. Hume's idea was originally to allow
provincial organisations like the Indian Association of
'Calcutta, the Presidency Association of Bombay, and the
Mahajana Sabha of Madras to take up political questions,
and the All-India National Union to concentrate more
-Ctt less on social questions. He consulted Lord Dufferin
^ho had recently come out as Viceroy, and the advice he
$ave cannot be better rendered than in the words of Mr.
"W. C. Bonnerjee who wrote in his 'Introduction to
Indian Polities', published in 1898, as follows:—
"It will probably be new« to many that the
Indian National Congress, as it was originally
THE B1BTH OF THE OONGBB8S 08
started and as it has since been carried on, is in
reality the work of the Marquis of Dufferin and Ava
when that nobleman was the Governor-General of
India. Mr. A. O. Hume, C. B., had in 1884, con-
ceived the idea that it would be of great advantage
to the country if leading Indian politicians could be
brought together once a year to discuss social matters
And be upon friendly footing with one another. He
did not desire that politics should form part of their
discussion, for, there were recognised political bodies
in Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and other parts of
India, and he thought that these bodies might suffer
in importance if, when Indian politicians from
different parts of the country came together, they
discussed politics. His idea further was that the
Governor of the Province where the politicians met
should T>e asked to preside over their deliberations,
and that thereby great cordiality should be established
between the official classes and the non-official Indian
politicians. Full of these ideas he saw the noble
Marquis when he went to Simla early in 1885, after
Lord Dufferin had in the December previous assumed
the Viceroyalty of India. Lord Dufferin took great
interest in the matter and after considering over it
for some time he sent for Mr. Hume and told him
that, in his opinion, Mr. Hume's project would not
"be of much use. He said there was no body of per-
sons in this country who performed the functions
which Her Majesty's Opposition did in England.
The newspapers, even if they really represented the
views of the people, were not reliable and as the
English were necessarily ignorant of what was
thought of them and their policy in Native circles,
it would be very desirable in their interests as well
as the interests of the ruled that Indian politicians
should meet yearly and point out to the Government
in what respects the administration was defective and
how it could be improved, and he added that an
assembly such as he proposed should not be presided
over by the Local Governor, for in his presence the
people might not like to speak out their minds*
Mr. Hume was convinced by Lord Dufferin's argu-
ments *&a wlten lie placed the two schemes, his own
84 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
and Lord Dufferin'a, before leading politicians in
Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and other parts of the
country, the latter unanimously accepted Lord
Dufferin's scheme and proceeded to give effect to it.
Lord Dufferin had made it a condition with
Mr. Hume that his name in connection with the
scheme of the Congress should not be divulged so
long as he remained in the country, and his condi-
tion was faithfully maintained and none but the men
consulted by Mr. Hume knew anything about the
matter."
In March 1885, it was decided to hold a meeting
of representatives from all parts of India at the ensuing
Christmas. Poona was considered the most central tod
the most suitable place. From this meeting was issued
the following circular: —
A Conference of the Indian National Union will
be held at Poona from the 25th to the 31st Dec. 1885.
The Conference will be composed of Delegates —
leading politicians well acquainted with the English
language — from all parts of the Bengal, Bombay and
Madras Presidencies.
The direct objects of the Conference will ber
(1) to enable all the most earnest labourers in the
cause of national progress to become personally
known to each other; (2) to discuss and decide upon
the political operations to be undertaken during the
ensuing year.
Indirectly, this Conference will form the germ
of a Native Parliament, and, if properly conducted,
will constitute in a few years an unanswerable reply
to the assertion that India is still wholly unfit for
any form of representative institutions. The first
Conference will decide whether the next shall be
again held at Poona, or whether, following the prece-
dent of the British Association, the Conference shall
be held year by year at different important centres.
This year the Conference being in Poona,
Mr. Chiplonkar and others of the Sarvajanik Sabha
I have consented to form a Reception Committee, in
THE BIRTH OF THE CONGRESS 25
whose hands will rest the whole of the local arrange-
ments. The Peshwa's Garden near the Parbata
Hill will be utilised both as a place of meeting (it
contains a fine Hall, like the garden, the property of
the Sabha) and as a residence for the delegates, each
of whom will be there provided with suitable quarters.
Much importance is attached to this, since, when all
thus reside together for. a week, far greater opportu-
nities for friendly intercourse will be afforded than
if the delegates were fas at the time of the late
Bombay demonstrations) scattered about in dozens of
private lodging houses all over the town.
Delegates are expected to find their own way to
and from Poona, but from the time they reach the
Poona Railway Station until they again leave it,
everything that they can need, carriage, accom-
modation, food, etc., will be provided for them
gratuitously.
The cost thus involved will be defrayed from the
Reception Fund, which the Poona Association most
liberally offers to provide in the first instance, but
to which all delegates, whose means warrant their
incurring this further expense, will be at liberty to
contribute any sum they please. Any unutilised
balance of such donations will be carried forward as
a nucleus for next year's Reception Fund.
It is believed that, exclusive of our Poona friends,
the Bombav Presidency, including Sindh and the
Berars, will furnish about 20 delegates, Madras and
Lower Bengal each about the same number, and the
N. W. Province, Oudh, and the Punjab together about
half this number.
Having already armed himself with the blessings of
the Viceroy in India, Mr. Hume proceeded to England
and consulted Lord Ripon, Lord Dalhousie, Sir James
Caird, John Bright, Mr. Reid, Mr. Slagg and other
eminent men before he started the Congress. Under
their advice he organised what became the nucleus of the
Indian Parliamentary Committee in England to act for
India by" obtaining pledges from candidates for ParKa-
9B THE H1STOBY OF THE OONGBBB&
mentary election, not that they would help India but
only that they would take interest in Indian affairs. He
further arranged an Indian Telegraph Union to provide
funds to send telegrams on important matters to leading
Provincial papers in England, with which he arranged for
their publication.
A graphic account of the 1st session of the Congress
is given by Mrs. Besant in her publication, 'How India
Wrought for Freedom', and we are indebted to her for
the following extracts therefrom: —
"The first meeting did not, however, take place
at Poona, for, only a few days before Christmas,
some sporadic cases of cholera occurred, possibly
presaging an outbreak, and it was thought wiser to
move the Conference, now called the Congress, to
Bombay. The Managers of the Gokuldas TejpaF
Sanskrit College and Boarding House placed the
whole of their fine buildings at the disposal of the
Congress, and all was ready by the morning of the
27th Dec. for the reception of the Representatives of
the Indian Nation. As we glance over the lists of «
those who were present, how many we see who
became famous in the annals of India's struggle for
Freedom! Among those who could not act as Repre-
sentatives we note the Reformer, Dewan Bahadur.
R. Raghunatha Rao, Deputy Collector of Madras;
the Hon. Mr. Mahadev G. Ranade, then member
of the Legislative Council and Small Cause
Court Judge of Poona, later to be a Judge
of the High Court of Bombay, and leader
honoured and trusted; Lala Baijnath of Agra was
. there, to be known as scholar and writer later on;
and Professors K. Sundararaman and R. G. Bhandar-*
kar. Among the Representatives may be noted
Editors of well-known Indian papers, of The Dyan
Prakash, The Quarterly Journal of the Poona Sarva-
janik Sabka. The Maratha, The Kesari. The tfofca-
r, The Indian Mirror, The JVawim, Tke.
THB BIBTH OF THE COKQBX88 2
Hindusthani, The Tribune, The Indian Union, The
Spectator, The Indu Prakash, The Hindu, The Cres-
cent. How many names shine out, familiar and
honoured: Mr. A. O. Hume is there from Simla;
W. C, Bonnerjee and Norendranath Sen from Cal-
sutta; W. S. Apte and G. G. Agarkar from Poona;
Gangaprasad Varma from Lucknow; Dadabhai
Naoroji, K. T. Telang, Pherozeshah M. Mehta — then,
as now, leader of the Bombay Corporation,
D. E. Wacha, B. M. Malabari, N. G. Chandavarkar,
from Bombay; P. Rangiah Naidu, President of the
Mahajana Sabha, 8. Subrahmania Aiyar, P.
Ananda Charlu, G. Subrahmania Aiyar, M. Vira-
raghavachariar, from Madras; P. Kesava Pillai
from Anantapur. These are among the earliest who
wfrought for India's Freedom, and those yet on earth,
are working for her still.
"At 12 noon, on Dec. 28th, 1885, in the Hall of
the Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, the First
National Congress met. The first voices heard were
those of Mr. A. O. Hume, the Hon. Mr. S. Subrah-
mania Aiyar and the Hon. Mr. K. T. Telang, who
proposed, seconded and supported the election of the
first President, Mr. W. C. Bonnerjee. A solemn and
historic moment was that in which the first of the
long line of men thus honoured by the Motherland
took his seat, to preside over her first National
Assembly.
"After alluding to the representative and weighty
character of tlje Congress, he laid down under four
heads the objects of the Congress:
(a) The promotion of personal intimacy and
friendship amongst all the more earnest workers
in our country's cause in the various parts of the
Empire.
(b) The eradication, by direct friendly personal
intercourse, of all possible race, creed, or provin-
cial prejudices amongst all lovers of our country,
and the fuller development and consolidation of
those sentiments *of national unity that had their
origin in 'our beloved Lord Ripon's ever memorable
reign.
SB THE HISTORY OF THE OONGBOB8
(c) The authoritative record, after this has
been carefully elicited by the fullest discussion, of
the matured! opinions of "the educated classes) in
India on some of the more important and pressing
of the social questions of the day.
(d) The determination of the lines upon and
methods by which during the next twelve months
it is desirable for Native politicians to labour in the
public interests.
"The nine resolutions of the first National Con-
gress mark the beginning of the formulation of
India's demands:
The first asked for a Royal Commission to enquire
into the working of Indian administration.
The second for the abolition of the India
Council.
The third dealt with the defects of the Legislative
Councils in which then all the members were nomi-
nated, and asked for the admission of elected members,
for the right of interpellation, for the creation of
Councils in the N. W. P. and Oudh, and in the Punjab,
and for a Standing Committee in the House of
Commons to consider formal protests from majorities
in the Councils.
The fourth prayed for simultaneous examina-
tions for the I. C, 8. and the raising of the age of
candidates.
The fifth and sixth dealt with Military expendi-
ture.
The seventh protested against the annexation of
Upper Burma and the proposed incorporation of it
with India.
The eighth ordered the sending of the resolu-
tions to political Associations, and they were discussed
and passed all over the .country by political bodies
and public meetings, an admirable plan which has
fallen into desuetude, they were carried with much
enthusiasm, and here and there amended* on minor
points.
TRB BIRTH OF THE CONGRESS »
The final resolution fixed the next Congress at
Calcutta, on 28th December, 1886.
IV
Great institutions have always had small beginnings,
even as the great rivers of the world start as thin
streams. At the commencement of their career and
course, they progress rapidly, and, as they widen, become
slower and steadier. By the confluence of their various
tributaries, they are enriched as they flow on, both in
volume and content. The evolution of the Indian
National Congress presents the same phenomenon. It
had to cut its way through mighty obstacles and there-
fore entertained modest ideals. As it gained a foothold
on the affections of the people, it widened its course and
absorbed into itself several collateral movements wedded
to the solution of social, ethical anS economic problems.
Its activities were in the earlier stages naturally charac-
terised by a sense of diffidence and doubt. As it attained
man's estate it became more and more conscious of its
stren|rth and capacity, and its outlook was soon widened.
From an attitude of prayerfulness and importunity, it
developed self -consciousness and self-assertion. This was
followed by an intensive campaign of education and
propaganda, which rapidly resulted in extensive organisa-
tion of the country and campaigns of direct action.
Starting with the humble object of seeking redress of
grievances, the Congress erelong developed into the one
accredited organ of the Nation that proudly put forth
its demands. Limited as its range of vision was in the
earlier decades to matters administrative, it soon became
a powerful and authoritative exponent of the political
ambitions of the people of India. Its doors were thrown
open to every class of citizens and to every grade of
society. Though in the beginning it fought shy of
3$* TBS HISTORY OF T£S CONGBBSS
problems that were described as social, yet in the fulness-;
of time, it recognised no such compartmentalism of life;
and surviving the traditional and time-honoured demar-
cation of life's issues as social and political, it has-
developed a comprehensive ideal in which life is consider-
ed as one and indivisible. The Congress then is a National
organisation that knows no difference between British".
India and Indian India, between one Province and
another, between the classes and the masses, between*
towns and villages, between the rich and the poor,
between agricultural and industrial interests, between
castes and communities, or religions. This was the claim
put forward by Gandhi at the second R. T. C. in his
speech before the Federal Structure Committee, and we
cannot do better than extract here below the relevant
portion of that powerful speech: —
"I am but a poor humble agent acting on behalf
of the Indian National Congress; and it might be
as well to remind ourselves of what the Congress
stands for and what it is. You will then extend
your sympathy to me, because I know that the
"burden that rests upon my shoulders is really
very great. The Congress is, if I am not mistaken,
the oldest political organisation we have in India.
It has had nearly 50 years of life, during which
period it has, without any interruption, held its annual
session. It is what it means, — National. It repre-
sents no particular community, no particular class,
no particular interest. It claims to represent all
Indian interests and all classes. It is a matter of
the greatest pleasure to me to state that it was first
conceived in an English brain. Allan Octavian Hume
we knew as the Father of the Congress. It was
nursed by two j$reat Parsees, Pherozeshah Mehta
and' Dadabhai Naoroji, whom all India delighted to
^cognise as its Grand Old Man. From the very
commencement the Congress had Mussalmans,
Christians, Anglo-Indians, I might say all religions,
sects, creeds, represented upon it more or less fufly.
THE BIBTH OF THE CONGRESS 31
The late Budruddin Tyabji identified himself with the
Congress. We have had Mussalmans as Presidents
of the Congress, and Parsees too. I can recall at
least one Indian Christian at the present moment.
Kali Charan Banerjee (an Indian Christian), than
whom I have not had the privilege of knowing a
purer Indian, was also thoroughly identified wity
the Congress. I miss, as I have no doubt all of you
miss, the presence in our midst of Mr. K. T. Paul.
Although, I do not know, but so far as I know, he
never officially belonged to the Congress, he was a
Nationalist to the full.
"As you know, the late Maulana Mahomed All
whose presence also we miss to-day, was a President
of the Congress, and at present we have four Mussal-
mans as members of the Working Committee which
consists of 15 members. We have had women as
our Presidents; Dr. Annie Besant was the first, and
Mrs. Sarojini Naidu followed. We have her as a
member of the Working Committee also; and so, if
we have no distinctions of class or creed, we have
no distinctions of sex either.
"The Congress has from its very commencement
taken up the cause of the so-called 'untouchables^.
There was a time when the Congress had at every
annual session, as its adjunct, the Social Conference,
to which the late Ranade had dedicated his energies,
among his many activities. Headed by him, you
will find in the programme of the Social Conference,
reform in connection with the untouchables taking a
prominent place. But in 1920, the Congress took a
large step and brought the question of removal of
untouchability as a plank on the political platform,
made it an important item of the political programme.
Just as the Congress considered Hindu-Muslim unity,
thereby meaning unity amongst all the classes, to be
indispensable for the attainment of Swaraj, so also
did the Congress consider the removal of the curse of
untouchability as an indispensable condition for the
attainment of full freedom.
"The position the Congress took up in 1920
remains the same to-day, and so you will see that the
Congress has attempted from its very beginning fo
THE HISTORY OF THE CONOBB6S
be what it has described itself to be, namely, National
in every sense of the term. If your Highnesses will
permit me to say so, in the very early stages, the
Congress took up your cause also. Let me remind
this Committee that it was the G. O. M. of India
who sponsored the cause of Kashmir and Mysore,
and these two great Houses, I venture in all humility
to submit, owe not a little to the efforts of Dadabhai
Naoroji and the Congress.
"Even up to now the Congress has endeavoured
to serve the Princes of India by refraining from any'
interference in their domestic and internal affairs.
I hope, therefore, that this brief introduction that I
thought fit to give will serve to enable the Sub-Com-
mittee and those who are at all interested in the
claims of the Congress, to understand that it has
endeavoured to deserve the claim that it has made.
It has failed, I know, often to live up to the claim,
"but I venture to submit, that if you were to examine
the history of the Congress you would find that it
has more often succeeded, and progressively
succeeded than failed.
"Above all the Congress represents, in its essence,
the dumb semi-starved millions scattered over the
length and breadth of the land in its 7,00.000 villages,
no matter whether they come from what is calle4
British India, or what is called Indian India. Every
interest which, in the opinion of the Congress, is
^worthy of protection, has to subserve this interest,
and if there is a genuine real clash I have no hesita-
tion in saying on behalf of the Congress that the
Congress will sacrifice every interest for the sake of
the interest of these dumb millions. Tt i«, therefore,
essentially a peasant organisation, and it is becoming
so progressively. You, and even the Indian members
of the Sub-Committee, will perhaps be astonished to
find that to-day the Congress, throucrh ite organisa-
tion, the All-India Spinners' Association, is finding
work for nearly 60,000 women in nearly 2,000
villages, and these women are possibly 50 per cent.
Mussalman women. Thousands of them belong to
the so-called untouchable class. WP have thus, in
this constructive manner, penetrated these villages
THE BIRTH OF THE CONCBES8 3S
and the effort is being made to cover every one of
the 7,00,000 villages. It is a superhuman task, but
if human effort can do so, you will presently find the-
Congress covering all of these villages and bringing
to them the message of the spinning wheel."
Here in a nutshell is the description by Gandhi of
this great National organisation. If the Congress has
achieved nothing else, it has done this, namely, it has
discovered its own destiny, it has focussed the thoughts
and activities of the Nation to a single point. It has
developed a certain self-consciousness amongst the teeming
millions of India and animated them with a sense of
unity, hope and self-confidence. The Congress has farther
given a distinctly national turn to the thoughts and
ambitions of the Indians, and enabled them to rediscover
their common language and literature, their common
crafts and arts, and above all their common aspirations
and ideals. It has not had a smooth course of progress
during the past fifty years, and the graph of its career
indicates its own rises and falls, synchronising with the
hopes and fears of the people and the victories and rever-
ses of their struggle. To describe the origin of such $
virile organisation, to recount the services of the many .
patriarchs and progenitors that assisted at its birth, to
trace the activities of the patriots that nurtured this institu-
tion in its formative period of life, to portray the vicis-
situdes through which the organisation has passed in its
adolescence, to delineate the glories and greatness of its
achievement in its manhood as well as the sorrows anJ
eharae that it has sustained, to review the phases
through which its faith and philosophy have passed be-
fore the Congress became pledged to "the attainment of
Swaraj by all peaceful and legitimate means," these are
the objectives held in view in attempting to chronicle
the history of the Congress over the past half-century of
its existence.
CHAPTER II
A RAPID REVIEW OF TUB RESOLUTIONS OF THE CONGRESS
(188S— 1915)
We do not propose in this Chapter to take the ses-
sions of the Congress year by year. It would be better
to take up the important matters which formed the
subjects for discussion, and resolutions at successive Con-
gresses, and thus show at a glance the course of the
Congress policy and programme up to say 1915, after
'which a new orientation in policy and somewhat different
methods of treatment came to be adopted. For this
'.purpose the important subjects of discussion and resolu-
tion may be divided into separate main-heads and dealt
•with one after another.
THE INDIA COUNCIL
At its very earliest session, the Congress urged the
^abolition of the Council of the Secretary of State as it
was constituted, and the proposal was reiterated at two
subsequent sessions, the tenth Congress proposing the
constitution, in its place, of a Standing Committee of
the House of Commons to advise the Secretary of State.
But the mover of the resolution, Mr. Eardley Norton,
-was not free from doubt about this latter proposal. He
.•said:
"Personally I am not very much enamoured of
the suggestion that in lieu of the Secretary of State's
Council we should have a Standing Committee of
Parliament at Home, because I feel that the Standing
Committee may in course of years become the mono-
poly of the retired Anglo-Indian official who trickles
into Parliament But personally I would sootier
BEVIEW OF THE RESOLUTIONS 8
•embark on any venture; sooner trust to any new
tribunal; sooner pin my faith on any proposed com-
bination than entrust anything in which I felt a
^personal interest to the clutches or the carelessness
of the India Council. With me there is no mending
that Council. It must be ending. The Standing
Committee of the House of Commons will at any rate
have this advantage; in the first place it will be very
much less expensive, because it will sweep away the
£ 1,200 a year of these gentlemen, and in the second
place you will have the advantage of its members
speaking in public, subject to public opinion, subject
to debate, and subject to criticism. So far as I am
concerned this part of the resolution is only tentative.
I shall be open to discuss and consider any better
substitute for the Council."
Specific proposals of reform were made by the
Karachi session held in 1913, which passed the following
resolution: —
That this Congress is of opinion that the Council
of the Secretary of State for India, as at present
constituted, should be abolished, and makes the
following suggestions for its reconstruction:
(a) that the salary of the Secretary* of State
for India should be placed on the English Estimates;
(b) that with a view to the efficiency and
independence of the Council, it is expedient that it
should be partly nominated and partly elected;
(c) that the total number of members of the
Council should be not less than nine;
(d) that the elected portion of the Council
should consist of not less than one-third of the
total number of members, who should be non-official
Indians chosen by a constituency consisting of the
elected members of the Imperial and Provincial
Legislative Councils;
(e) that the remaining portion of the nomi-
nated Qouncillors should consist of officials who
have served in India for not less than ten years and
who have not been away from India for more than
two years; • ; , ii
36 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
(f) that the character of the Council should
be advisory and not administrative;
(g) that the term of office of each member
should be five years.
The reason for the modified • resolutions passed at
a few later sessions is not a weakening of conviction that
the abolition of the Council is desirable, but the feeling
that there was less probability of early abolition than
of reform. That the conviction of the inutility of the
Council is still there, is proved by the clause advocating
its abolition in the scheme of Reforms adopted in 1917.
CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES
Few people could lay the charge of immoderation
against the Congress at its inception and for a long time
thereafter. All that was prayed for at the first Congress
was that " the Supreme and existing Local Legislative
Councils should be expanded by the admission of a
considerable proportion of elected members (and the
creation of similar Councils for the N. W. P. and Oudh
(U.P.) and also for the Punjab)," holding that all Budgets
should be referred to the Councils, that the right of
interpellation be granted, and that "a standing Committee
of the House of Commons should be constituted to
receive and consider any formal protests that may be
recorded by majorities of such Councils against the
exercise by the Executive of the power, which would be
vested in it, of overruling the decision of such majori-
ties." That is to say, in 1886, the Congress wanted a
Parliamentary safeguard against bureaucratic actions,
such as have been lately witnessed in profusion in the
Assembly in respect of the rejection or vetoing of
popular demands accepted by a majority, and the certifi-
cation of Government demands rejected by the people's
representatives. The second session of the Congress
elaborated a scheme of Council Reform, and while asking
EEV1EW OF THE RESOLUTIONS 57
for a 50 per cent, elected strength, conceded the principle
of indirect election by Municipalities and Local Boards,
by the Chambers of Commerce and the Universities, to
the Local Councils, and by the Local Councils to the
Supreme Council. It further conceded to Government
the right of overruling the decisions of the Councils,
but provided for appeals against Executive action to the
Government of India and to the Standing Committee
of the House of Commons, to which bodies the respective
Executives concerned should, within a month of over-
ruling, duly explain their action. The same resolution
was repeated in 1887, 1888, 1889. In 1890 the Congress
supported the Bill to amend the Indian, Councils Act
introduced by Charles Bradlaugh as calculated to secure
a substantial instalment of Reforms. The Bill, it may
be noted in passing, was dropped. In 1891 the Congress
reiterated its conviction that India could not be
governed well until her people) were allowed, ^through)
their elected representatives, a potential voice in the
Legislatures. Lord Cross's Act of Council Reform was
passed in 1892, and then the Congress concentrated upon
an attack on the Rules of the Government of India and
the practice of Local Governments which necessitated
many alterations.
We must not omit to mention the fact that the
Reforms of 1892 did not provide for the election of the
representatives to the Legislative Councils. The so-
called right of election to the Legislatures enjoyed by
Local Bodies and by other Electorates amounted merely
to nomination by those bodies, and it was up to Govern-
ment to accept them or to reject them. In practice,
however, Government invariably accepted the nomina-
tions The fact was that Lord Lansdowne's Government
uniformly resisted the principle of election even of an
indirect character. The representation to the Supreme
* THE HISTORY OF THE CONGBESS
Council was similarly arranged, only four seats being
open to be filled up by the recommendation of the non-
official members of the four Provincial Legislative
Councils then in existence, — Madras, Bombay, Bengal
and N.W.P.
In 1892 the Congress, while accepting in a loyal
spirit the Indian Councils Act, regretted that the Act
itself did not in terms concede to the people the right
of electing their own representatives to the Councils. In
1803 it thanked the Government for its liberal spirit in
giving effect to the Act but also pointed out material
alterations considered necessary, if real effect was to be
given to the Act. It also reiterated the demand for a
Council for the Punjab. These requests were repeated
in 1804 and 1897. The Reforms of 1892 however conceded
the right of interpellation for the members of Councils
in 1893, and the Congress asked in 1895 for the right
to preface their questions by short explanations which is
not permitted even to-day.
; THE MORLEY-MINTO REFORMS
It was not till 1904 that the Congress reverted to
the subject. In that year a demand was also made in
favour of direct representation to the House of Com-
mons, at the rate of two members to each Province, and
a further expansion of the Councils in the country, with
the right to divide the House on financial matters, the
•right of veto to the Head of the Government being of
course conceded. A plea was also put in for the ap-
pointment of Indians to the Council of the Secretary of
'State and to the Executive Councils in India. In 1905
the Congress 'again pressed for Reforms and in 1906'
•expressed the opinion that the system of Government
obtaining in the Self-Governing Dominions should be
extended to IfcdiA, and as steps leading thereto, therfc
BBVDBW OF THE RESOLUTIONS 39
should be simultaneous examinations held in England
and India, adequate representation of Indians in the
Council of the Secretary of State, an expansion of the
Supreme and Provincial Legislative Councils, allowing
larger and truer representation of the people and larger
control over the financial and executive administration
of the country, and an increase in the powers of local
bodies. In 1908 the Congress began to rejoice over
the coining Reforms before time for it, gave a most
hearty and unqualified welcome to the Reform proposals,
and expressed the hope that the details would be worked
out in the same liberal spirit in which the proposals
were conceived. Disappointment, however, was in store
for the country. Even apart from the measure of re*
presentation, there remained the fact that the Regula-
tions passed under the Reforms Statute of 1909 were
even less liberal than John Morley had indicated in
his Despatch earlier. This reminds us of later events
in which the pronouncements of Lord Irwin were toned
down by the Round Table Conferences of 1930-33, and
the plans of the Conferences were further diluted by the
White Paper, which in turn was softened by the J.P.C.
Report, while the Bill went lower down than the Report,
and the Act finally has emerged as an attenuated form of
the Bill.
It is necessary at this stage to review rapidly what
the Reforms were, which were for a decade associated
with the names of Minto and Morley. The Supreme
Council consisted of 60 additional members, of whom
only 27 were elected representatives. Of the remaining
33, not more than 28 might be officials. But the Gover-
nor^General also nominated three non-officials to
represent certain specified Communities, and had at his
disposal two other seats to be filled by nomination, more
to represent interests than territories. The elected
49 THE HISTORY OF THE CONCHES*
seats themselves were partly shared by certain special
constituencies, such as the Landowners in seven Provin-
ces, the Muslims in five Provinces, Muslim Land*
owners in one Province (at alternative elections only),
and two Chambers of Commerce,, while the residue
of open seats was filled by election by the non-official
members of the nine Provincial Legislative Councils.
Lord Morley made no secret of the fact that the
"Governor-General's Council, in its Legislative as well
as its Executive capacity, should continue to be so
constituted as to ensure its constant and uninterrupted
power to fulfil the 'constitutional obligations that it
owes, and must always owe, to His Majesty's Govern-
ment and to the Imperial Parliament." Of thd Reh
forms themselves Morley stated: "If it could be said that
this chapter of Reforms led directly or indirectly to the
establishment of a Parliamentary system in India, I for
one would have nothing at all to do with it." But the
verdict of Lord Chelmsford and Mr. Montagu as em-
bodied in their (Montford) Report on these Reforms is
doubtless even more authoritative: "They have ceased to
satisfy Indian opinion, and their continuance can only
lead to a further cleavage between the Indian members
and the Government and a further cultivation of criti-
cism unchecked by Responsibility."
Before dealing with Congress resolutions on the
subject, we may here anticipate events and complete the
picture.
The Morley-Minto Reforms opened the next stage
of the question. Two Indians (since increased to
three) were appointed in 1907 as members of the India
Council, one was appointed to the Governor-General^
Executive Council in 1909, and one each to the Execu-
tive Councils of the Goromors of Madras and Bombay
REVIEW OF THU BfiSOLUTIONB 41
in 1910. Aa Executive Council was constituted in
Bengal in the same year and an Indian member was
.appointed to it. Subsequently the Province was raised
to the status of a Presidency under a Governor-in-
Council. The separate Province of Bihar and Orissa
was formed in 1912 under a Lieutenant-Governor-in-
Council witli an Indian member in it.
In 1909 the Congress passed four resolutions deal-
ing with the Reforms. In the first it recorded its sense
of disapproval of the creation of separate electorates on
the basis of religion; it expressed dissatisfaction at "(a)
the excessive and unfairly preponderant share of repre-
sentation given to the followers of one particular reli-
gion; (b) the unjust, invidious and humiliating distinc-
tions made between Muslim and non-Muslim subjects of
His Majesty in the matter of electorates, the franchise
and the qualifications of candidates; (c) the wide,
arbitrary and unreasonable disqualifications and restric-
tions for candidates seeking election to the Councils; (d)
the general distrust of the educated classes running
through the Regulations; and (e) the unsatisfactory com-
position of the non-official majorities in the Provincial
Councils, rendering them ineffective and unreal." By
the second resolution it urged the creation of Executive
Councils to assist the Lt. Governors in the U.P., the
Punjab, Eastern Bengal and Assam, and Burma. By
the third resolution the Congress pointed outi the unsatis-
factory nature of the Reforms Regulations for the Punjab
in (a) that the numerical strength of the Qouncil was
inadequate, (b) that the elected element was unduly small
and altogether insufficient, (c) that the principle of protec-
tion of minorities applied in the case of Muslims in
other Provinces was not applied to non-Muslim minorities
in the Punjab, and (d) that the Regulations tended to
practically keep out non-Muslims of the Punjab
442 THB ^HISTORY <* THE CONGRESS
from the Imperial Council. By a fourth resolution the
^Congress expressed dissatisfaction at fee non-establishment
of a Council for the C.P. and Berars and at the exclusion
of the Berars from participation in the election of two
members of the Imperial Legislative Council by the land-
holders and members of District and Municipal Board*
of C. P.
In 1910 and 1911 the Congress practically reiterated
the objections and suggestions of 1909 regarding the
Reforms and further protested against the extension of
the principle of separate electorates to District Boards
and Municipalities.
In 1912 the Congress expressed disappointment at the
non-removal of the defects mentioned iYi the previous
resolutions, and prayed for an elected majority in the
Imperial Legislative Council and in all the Provincial
Councils, the system of voting by delegates to be done
away with, the franchise to be widened, removal of the
disqualifications of candidates on the ground of convic-
tion not involving moral turpitude, the right of putting
supplementary questions and similar other reforms. It
reiterated the resolutions regarding the establishment of an
Executive Council in the Punjab and condemning the
extension of separate electorates to Local Bodies.
Curiously enough, the Congress resolutions on the
Reforms had a clause to the effect that "a person
ignorant of English should be ineligible for membership."
The Congress expressed satisfaction at the recognition by
the Government of India of the necessity of introducing
Provincial Autonomy and protested against an interpre-
tation sought to be put upon the Despatch which was
contrary to its letter and spirit. The same resolution
was practically reiterated in 1913.
f •
, In 1915 the Congress was held in Bombay under the
EKVIEW OF THE RESOLUTIONS ?4S
presidency of Sir S.P. Sinha who was the first Law
Member of the Government of India. Resolution XIX
of the Bombay Congress (1915) instructed the All-India
Congress Committee to confer with a committee of the
All-India Muslim League, and as the result of the con-
ference, a scheme was drafted embodying the aspirations
of United India, and the Lucknow Congress of 1916
approved of this scheme. The Congress demanded a
definite step to be taken towards Self-Government and
that India should be raised in status "from the position
of a Dependency to that of an equal partner in the
Empire with the Self-Governing Dominions." The scheme
that was then elaborated, strangely enough, provided for
4|5 elected and 1|5 nominated members in the Provincial
Legislative Councils, for elections being direct and
being based on as broad a, franchise as possible,
adequate provision being made for the Muslim minori-
ties by Separate Electorates and the following quotas: —
Punjab 50 per cent., of the elected members, U.P. 30 per
cent., Bengal 40 per cent., Bihar 25 per cent., C.P. lo per
cent., Madras 15 per cent and Bombay 1/3. They were
not to contest in any other Election (Imperial or Provin-
cial) than those representing special interests. It was
also provided that "no Bill, nor any clause thereof, nor
a resolution introduced by a non-official member affecting
one or the other community, which question is to be
determined by the members of that community in the
Legislative Council concerned, shall be proceeded with,
if three-fourths of the members of that community in
the particular Council, Imperial or Provincial, oppose the
Bill, or any clause thereof, or the resolution." In the
Imperial Council there should be a four-fifths elected
element, and a third of the Indian elected numbers should
be JMuslims elected by separate Muslim Electorates
in the proportion, as nearly as possible, in which they are
represented in the Provincial Councils by separate Muslim
41 THE HI8TOBY OF THE CONGRESS
Electorates. This is the Hindu-Muslim concordat passed
at Lucknow and subsequently accepted by, and en bloc
incorporated in, the Montford Reforms.
The scheme comprised various details which need
not be gone into here. The Congress League Scheme is
extracted in full in the Appendix. The Congress did not
rest content with the passing of the resolution. An
Executive Committee was appointed to carry on educa-
tive and propagandistic work in this behalf. The General
Secretaries referred the scheme to a lawyer of eminence,
Mr. S. Varadachariar, who has recently become a Judge
of the Madras High Court, for preparing an Amending
Bill to carry out the changes proposed in the Govern-
ment of India Act in accordance with the Congress
League Scheme. The 9ome RU'° agitation led by Mrs.
Besant, her internment, the scheme of Passive Resistance
thought of jointly by the Congress and the Muslim
League, the great speech of Mr. Montagu on the
Mesopotamian muddle, the resignation of Mr. Austen
Chamberlain, the then Secretary of State, and the
appointment of Mr. Montagu as S. of S. for India, the
famous Announcement of August 20th, 1917, adumbrating
the future policy in India, Mr. Montagu's promised visit,
Mrs. Besant's release and her election as President of the
Congress are only enumerated here, though they are
dealt with in detail elsewhere (in Part II), as they form
the background for the picture of the Calcutta Congress
of 1917.
In Calcutta (1917), the grateful satisfaction of the
Congress was expressed over the pronouncement that the
establishment of Responsible Government was Govern-
ment's object, and the Congress asked that a time-limit
be fixed in the Statute itself for its full realization, and
that as a first step the Congress League Scheme Of
REVIEW QT THE RESOLUTIONS €5
Reforms should be introduced. The reader may note how
the Congress had in mind an elastic and self-expanding
-scheme of Reforms.
Mr. Montagu arrived in India in November 1917.
The Montford Report itself was published in the month
of June 1918, and the scheme therein set forth was dis-
cussed at a Special Congress held in Bombay in
September 1918, presided over by Mr. Hasan Imam. The
Congress League Scheme was eclipsed by the scheme
elaborated in the Montford Report, and Dyarchy was its
central factor. A Second Chamber in the Central Legis-
lature— namely, the Council of State — was contemplat-
ed, and ''grand committees" in the Provinces in order to
help the Governor-General and Governors to have
•effective power in respect of measures not approved of by
the popular Chambers. The Bombay (Special) Session
resolved, 'That there shall be no Council of State, but if
a Council of State is to be constituted, a system of reserv-
ed and transferred subjects similar to that proposed for
ihe Provinces, shall be adopted for the Central Govern-
ment. At least half of its total strength shall consist of
•elected members and procedure by certification shall be
confined to the Reserved subjects." Dyarchy was
^accepted and a Second Chamber in the Centre was agreed
to in return for an extension of Dyarchy in the Centre,
which was demanded by the Congress but which the
Montford Scheme had not contemplated. The Congress
"League Scheme was really much nearer to the Home Rule
idea than the bicameral scheme which successfully puts
•<iown the popular voice of the Lower House without the
odium of a veto by the Governor-General or the
•Governor.
Government took what was given, viz., the Council
•of State, and did not give what was demanded as a quid
m THE HI8TOEY OF THE OWORESS
pro quo, viz., Dyarohy at the Centre. The Bombay
.Special Congress was a complete triumph for Mr.
Montagu. That it considered the Montford ^proposals,
as a whole, disappointing and unsatisfactory, or that m
reaffirming the demands of the two previous Congresses it
added a section relating to fundamental rights, namely,
equality of all subjects before the law, guarantees of
liberty, life and property, freedom of speech or writing or
of association, right to bear arms, freedom of Press, and:
the making of corporal punishment equally applicable to
all, docs not really disprove this statement. The Delhi
Congress (1918) which was presided over by Pandit
Malaviya also re-affirmed these conditions, but demanded
full Responsible Government in all Provinces, not Dyarchy.
At Delhi, Dyarchy was pleaded for in the Central Gov-
ernment, Foreign Affairs, the Army and the Navy being
agreed to be left as Reserved subjects. On the question
of the Second Chamber, the Bombay Special Congress
resolution was repeated, a half of the total strength being
required to be elected. The War ended by the declara-
tion! of armistice on 11-11-1918, and the Congress quoted
the pronouncements of President Wilson, Lloyd George
and other British statesmen, stressed that the principle
of self-determination be applied to all progressive nations,
and resolved that it be applied to India, and that all
repressive laws be repealed. Strenuous times were
ahead, however, for the Congress. Before the next session
met at Amritsar, the Rowlatt Bills and the Satyagraha
movement, the shootings at Virangam and Delhi and the
Jallianwalabagh tragedy, Martial Law in the Punjab and
Sir C. Sankaran Nair's resignation from the Government
of India, the Hunter Commission and its failure,— these
were the chief occurrences that engaged and even per-
turbed the national mind.
RBVIBW OF THE BBSOOLT7TI0N8 4T
PUBLIC SERVICES
The Congress has always attached great importance
to the employment of Indians in the public services, and
particularly in what are known as the covenanted services.
It will be recalled that in 1833 the eligibility of Indians
to all posts had been recognised by statute, and when in
1853 competitive examinations were introduced it was
pointed out that Indians were under a great handicap.
During the regime of Lord Salisbury the age of candi-
dates for competitive examinations for the Civil Service
was reduced, and this was regarded as adding to the
.handicap from which Indians suffered. Indians had
always demanded simultaneous examinations to be held
in England and India so that that handicap might be at
least partially removed. The very first Congress advocat-
ed simultaneous examinations.
Let us study the subject in greater detail. It may be
mentioned here that the demand for simultaneous exami-
nations has been made by the Congress ever since 1885
when its first session was held, and that it dates back to
at least eighteen years earlier, apart from the important
circumstance that, as early as 1861, a committee of the
India Council recommended the same as essential if
justice was to be done to India and if the promises of
Parliament were to be fulfilled. The resolution in support
of simultaneous examinations passed by the House of
Commons in June 1893 was acclaimed by the Congress
and throughout the country, and the decision of Govern-
ment, announced in the followig year, not to give effect
to it was received with the deepest disappointment. The
evidence of the Indian witnesses before the Royal Com-
mission on the Public Services in India left no room for
doubt as regards the persistence of the opinion that
justice could never be done to the claims of Indians
4W THE HISTORY Of THE CONGRESS
^unless this reform was accomplished, and the principal
reason for the emphatic disapproval of the Majority
Report of the Commissioners was that they negatived this
proposal.
At the second Congress a sub-committee appointed
5n this behalf formulated certain details and demanded
that simultaneous competitive examinations be held in
India and England open to all subjects of His Majesty,
that a classified list of appointments be made in order of
merit, that with the holding of these simultaneous
examinations, the Statutory Civil Service be closed for
tfirst appointments which, however, sheuld be left open to
the members of the uncovenanted service and to pro-
fessional men of proved merit, and that all other appoint-
ments be filled by competitive examinations held in the
Provinces. The practice then prevalent was that certain
young men were being chosen as Deputy Collectors
straightway. By the time of the fourth session the
•agitation met with a measure of success. The Congress
appreciated the concessions proposed in the Report of the
Public Service Commission but complained of their in-
adequacy. No doubt the age limit for the I. C. S.
examination was raised from 19 to 23 as was desired by
the Congress, but otherwise the position was made worse
T>y the Government's orders on the Commission's recom-
mendations, for the Indian officials were compelled either
to remain in the position they then field in the Statutory
ftervice or to enter the Provincial Service, the members
of which were banned from all the higher Executive offices,
{xokhale made an indignant speech at the Sth Congress
in which he stated: "The terms of the enactment of 1833
tmd the Proclamation of 1858 are so explicit that those
iriio now try to withhold the privileges then assured to
us mufift be prepared to face the painful dilemma of
or treachery, must be prepared to admit th*t
MVIEW OP THE RESOLUTIONS 49
England was insincere when she made those promises or
that she is prepared to break faith with us now." The
position then was that first, there were competitive:
examinations for the All-India Services, secondly, there-
was the Statutory Covenanted Service in which 1|6 of the-
posts, by the enactment of 1861, were reserved for Indians,,
and thirdly there was the uncovenanted service which)
was wholly Indian. In 1892 the Congress regretted the
resolution of the Government of India on the Report of*
the Public Service Commission and had a humble petition
submitted to the House of Commons. Out of 941 posts
under the second category, a sixth i.e. 168 posts belonged:
to the Indians. But the Public Service Commission said
108 should be given, and the Secretary of State changed'
the word "should" and said they may be given. As a
matter of fact even out of the 108 poets left to the dis-
cretion of Government as against 158 which had formed:
the rightful claim of Indians, only 93 were given to them
in 1892.
Matters soon grew worse. The Government of India.
Resolution on the subject was confirmed by a despatch
from the S. of S. and a positive disability founded upon:
race was created against the Indians in 1894, for the
despatch laid down that a minimum of European officials
in the Covenanted Service was indispensable. It gave
the go-bye to the Resolution passed by the House of"
Commons on 2-6-1893, that the question of holding simul-
taneous examinations should be speedily carried out as-
an act of justice to the Indian people. While India was-
demanding facilities through simultaneous examinations
for entering the Indian Civil, Medical, Police, Engineering.
Telegraph, Forest and Accounts Services, Government
took a reactionary step in 1895, for, in reorganising the
Educational Service which Indians could enter in any
aad on equal pay with Europeans, Government,
Sfr* THE HISTORY OF THE OOH0B8BB
pubMshed a Resolution stating that "in future Natives of
India who are desirous of entering the Educational depart-
ment will usually be appointed in India and to the Pror
vincial Service." Thus in the field of Educational Service
a new injustice was perpetrated in the scheme for its
reorganization. Indians were excluded from the higher
grades of that service. The scheme divided the superior
Educational Service into two— the higher, the I.E.8.,
to be filled by persons appointed in England and the
lower, the P.E.S., to be filled in India. Before 1880, in
Bengal, both Indians and Europeans in the higher service
received the same pay. Both began on Rs. 500. In
1880 the pay for Indians was reduced to Rs. 333 and in
1889 to Rs. 250, although the Indians had graduated in
an English University. The highest pay for the Indian
was to be, in 1896, Rs. 700 however long he might serve,
while the Englishman had Rs. 1000 at the end of 10 years.
The new scheme further barred the Indians from the
Principalship of certain Colleges reserved for Englishmen.
The regret at these changes was all the greater, said
Mr. A. M. Bose, as they were brought into force in the
year of Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee (1897). It is
thus that as the Congress movement became more real
and more earnest, the bureaucratic reaction became more
unabashed and more naked.
In 1896 and 1897, the Congress demanded a place for
Indians in the Executive Councils of Bombay and
Madras. The Civil Medical Service came in for some
attention in these and subsequent years. In 1900, the
Congress deplored the exclusion of Indians from the
higher branches of the P.W.D., Railway, Opium, Customs
and Telegraph Services and also the restriction of eligi-
bility for appointment through the Cooper's Hill College
of Engineering only to two. An additional invidious dis-
tinction was made in respect of guaranteed appoiatnrtteto
REVIEW OF THB RESOLUTIONS 51
in connection with the College at Roorki. The separation
of the Indian Civil Medical from the Military Medical
Service became another topic of agitation and the same
old grievances continued to be reiterated at subsequent
sessions.
MILITARY PROBLEM
The Congress of the period had dealt with nearly two
hundred subjects during the thirty years covered by this
period. Amongst these subjects, there was one of unfailing
interest which became an annual theme for years but
which obtained no redress or relief in spite of repeated
protests and prayers from the Congress. The very first
Congress protested against the proposed increase of mili-
tary expenditure and suggested that if it was inevitable
it should be met by retrenchment of other expenditure
and by a reimposition of Customs duties and extension
of the License tax on those officials and non-officials till
then exempt therefrom, taking care however to maintain
a sufficiently high taxable minimum. In the next year
a plea was put forward for the admission of Indians as
volunteers who would be of immense assistance to Govern-
ment, in view of the unsettled state of public affairs in
Europe. In the third year India's claims for admission
into the higher grades of military service were pressed
on the plea of India's loyalty and of the Queen's pledge
in her Proclamation of 1868. To this end, Congress asked
for the establishment of Military Colleges in this country.
The fourth and fifth Congresses confirmed the earlier
resolutions, the sixth ignored the subject. The seventh
resumed discussion on the subject and while urging that
" Government should conciliate Indian public opinion and
encourage and qualify the Indians to defend their homed
and Government/' demanded a certain relaxation of the
rules under the Arms Act, the organization, throughout the
St THE -HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
more warlike races of the Empire of a system of Militia
Service, and the establishment of Military Colleges and
of a system of Volunteering. The abnormal increase of
military expenditure in spite of these prayers and protests
was made the ground by the eighth Congress for a
demand that England should share a portion of this
expenditure with India. The ninth Congress turned ite
attention to a social aspect of the question, namely pros-
titution and contagious disease in Indian Cantonments,
and this was confirmed by the tenth session. In 1894r
the Welby Commission was appointed and was to consider
the question of apportionment of military expenditure
between England and India. The eleventh and twelfth
sessions passed over the subject but the thirteenth
reverted to it on account of the Frontier policy adopted
by Government and asked that the expenditure necessi-
tated by it should be shared by England. The fourteenth
session followed suit. The fifteenth Congress touched a
new aspect of the matter and pointed out that inasmuch
as it was thought prudent and safe to withdraw large
bodies of troops outside India, the cost of 20,000 British
troops be borne by the British Government. The Fron-
tier emergency having passsed, the Congress harked back
to the question of a Military College at its 16th session.
With this the 19th century closed, Queen Victoria passed
away in 1001, a new sovereign (King Edward VII)
ascended the throne, but India's military woes remained
as ever before. In 1902 at its 17th session, the Congress
demanded a division of expenditure between England and
India on the ground urged at the 15th session. Things
soon became more concrete. The Welby Commission of
1894 had reported and the small relief given to India was
noore than compensated by a fresh burden of £786,000
per annum imposed on the country by an increase in the
pay of the British soldier. This was the subject of
protest at the 18th session. <
BSVIEW OF THE BEflOLUTIONB 5*
Moreover it appeared at the time that more
British troops were to be saddled on Indiar-aad this,
after the Boer War and the operations in China which
had drawn lots of troops from India had conclusively
shown that it was quite safe an4 prudent to withdraw
them outside the Statutory limits of British India. The
19th session took a comprehensive view of the situation
and recalling how the Army Amalgamation Scheme of
1859 had worked hardship on India, attacked the Military
policy of Britain in India as really an Imperial policy
for which England must pay its quota, especially in view
of the fact that the British troops in India, forming as
they did an Imperial garrison, amounted to a third of
the whole British Army. Lord Curzon's forward policy
in Tibet was by this time in operation though he had.
described his Tibetan expedition as a "political mission19
and incurred expenditure thereon without the express sanc-
tion of Parliament as was required by the Statute of 1858,
under which Indian Revenues should not be spent without
such sanction outside the Statutory limits of British India,
except to repel foreign aggression. Now in the year 1935
we see the Indian Reform Act validating this deviation
from an age-long law. The 20th Congress protested
against this act of Lord Curzon's and also pointed out
how the military expenditure was growing and becoming
unbearable on account of Lord Kitchener's army reorgani-
zation scheme at an additional cost of £10 millions.
Towards the end of Lord Curzon's renewed term of
office— 1905, acute differences arose between him and
Lord Kitchener on the question of Civil Control over the
Military, the former upholding it, the latter upsetting
it.
The Congress at its 21st session held at Benares in
1905 protested against any change in the prevailing
policy which ensured the supremacy of Civil Control over
$4 ' THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
the Military authorities, and drew attention once again
to the question of military policy in India being dictated
by British policy in the East. It further emphasised the
fact that such Civil Control could not be exercised except
by representatives of the tax-payer. In 1906, in the
midst of the new forces of National resurgence, this hardy
annual was not given the go-bye and it was pointed out
that within twenty years the military expenditure had
nearly doubled from 17 crores to 32 crores a year and
that during a period which synchronised with the most
disastrous famines that ever raged in India causing no
less than 11 million deaths for want of food.
In 1908 the Congress emphatically protested against
a fresh burden of £300,000 which the British War Office
had imposed on the Indian Exchequer on the recommenda-
tion of the Home Committee and urged upon the British
Government the necessity of. revising the Army Amalga-
mation Scheme of 1859 and the desirability of laying
down a fair and reasonable principle which should free
the Indian Exchequer from unjust exactions of this char-
acter. In 1909 and 1910 the annually growing military
expenditure was commented upon. In 1912 and 1913 at
the 27th and 28th sessions, resolutions on the injustice
of keeping the higher ranks of the Army closed against
Indians were again passed.
•
In 1914, the Congress repeated its demand that the
higher ranks of the Army should be thrown open to
Indians and that Military Schools and Colleges should
be established and Indians should be allowed to volunteer.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cohnaught had urged
the first two points. Lord Kitchener, it was said, was
in favour of admitting Indians as far as Majors and it
was fondly hoped that the King would announce thia in
Indians ware in no way debarred from volunteering
REVIEW OF THE RESOLUTIONS W
in those days and when the question was first raised in
the earlier years of the Congress, Mr. 8. 8. Sankaram
declared that he was a volunteer. It is of interest to
note that Mr. B. N. Sarma who became in 1920 a member
of the Viceroy's Executive Council was himself a volun-
teer. But in 1898, the Indian Volunteers' names were
taken off and in 1914, only Indian Christians were
allowed to volunteer. A partial reparation for the great
damage done to Indian name and character in the military
sphere was made in 1917 when the racial bar against the
admission of Indians to the commissioned ranks of the
Army was removed and nine Indians were appointed to
such ranks. The Congress of 1917 (Calcutta) expressed
its satisfaction over the matter and urged the formation
of Cadet Corps for young men between 16 and 18 years
of age.
LEGAL AND JUDICIAL PROBLEMS
The Congress, dominated as it doubtless was from its
•earliest days by men of high legal position and attain-
ments in the country, was naturally punctilious about
safeguarding the legal rights of the people. Neither
popular experiences nor bureaucratic repression advanced
iar enough to compel the realization that all legal forms
•and procedure are only for normal times and for sub-
missive subjects. When once the subjects of the State
become conscious of the rights that legal forms are
designed to secure to them, that is, when the spacious life
incidental to a nascent nationalism begins to dawn upon a
country or community, the hoDowness of those forms and
that procedure at once will become apparent. So did it
when the Government having introduced the system of
trial by Jury in all its fulness, thought fit to make an
innovation in 1872 in the system of such trials, by dt-
priving the verdicts of Juries of all finality and vesting m
Sessions Judges and High Courts powers of setting aside
$6 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
verdicts of acquittal. The very second Congress
(Calcutta, 1886) declared such an innovation injurious and
asked for its immediate withdrawal and subsequently
protested against further reactionary changes proposed in
the system, and later Congresses repeated the request from
time to time but without effect until even to-day.
Certainly more important than the curtailment of the
powers of Juries, was the combination of the Judicial
with the Executive functions which made the same
authorities, prosecutor, judge and jury — all rolled up into
one.
The movement for this reform; in British India dates
from the time of Raja Rammohan Roy, who died in England
over eighty years ago after he had given evidence before
a Parliamentary Committee, and who placed a memor-
andum, as we have already said, before the Parliament
on this amongst other questions. It is interesting to recall
that one of the reforms which he advocated was the
separation of Judicial from Executive functions, for
which the Indian National Congress and the All-India
Muslim League have been pleading in vain. Incidentally,,
the history of this question illustrates, about as well as
anything can do, how unfavourable are existing conditions*
for the introduction of even much needed reforms. Among
others, the Marquis of Dufferin as Governor-General,
Viscount Cross and the Earl of Kimberley as Secretaries
of State, and Sir Harvey Adamson as Home Member of
the Government of India acknowledged at different times
the soundness of the Congress proposal, and the last-
named officer promised on behalf of Government in 1909
that it would be tried as an experimental measure. But
Judicial and Executive duties are still combined in one
and the same officer. A band of devoted workers, of
•whom Mr. Dadabhai Naoroji was the most prominent^
REVIEW OF THE RESOLUTIONS 57
took up the cause of reform after Rammohan Roy, and
associations were formed for the purpose in Bengal,
Bombay and Madras. Of these, mention may be made
in particular of the Bengal National League. With the
spread of education the movement gained in volume and
momentum, and the Indian National Congress took up
the subject in 1885.
The second Congress opined that a complete separa-
tion of Executive from Judicial functions was an urgent
necessity. The third called for this reform even though
this should involve some extra expenditure. By the next
year, this subject as well as the Jury question came to be
bundled together and were perilously near finding a place
in the omnibus resolution. The Congress repeated however
this resolution year after year to the point of feeling, in
1893, that the combination of the two functions con-
stituted " one of the gravest stigmas on British Rule in
India, one fraught with incalculable oppression to all
classes of the community throughout the country," and
the Congress expressed its sense of "hopelessness of any
other redress" and "humbly entreated the Secretary of
State to order the immediate appointment in each Province
of Committees to prepare suitable schemes in this behalf."
How innocent the Congress was, rather how desperate it
must have felt, to believe that a Government that would
not initiate a reform, would appoint a Committee to work
out all the necessary details for its initiation! This
*hows the void that was already beginning to appear in
Congressmen's minds and before Congressmen's vision.
Only a year later (1894) the Congress was able to quote
the admission of its contentions by two former Secretaries
of State (Lord Kimberley and Lord Cross). What mat-
ters really is admission by men in office and not those
who are out of it. Agitation however continued in this
behalf and the late Mr. Man Mohan Chose made this
56 THE .HISTORY .OF THE CONGBESS
question the subject of his special study. His death in
1896 was lamented by the 12th Congress which noted with
satisfaction the support of public opinion both in England
and in India which the question had received. Further
support came in the year 1899 in the form of a petition
presented to the Secretary of State-in-Council to effect
the much needed separation, by a body of eminent men*
like Lord Hobhouse, Sir Richard Garth, SIB Richard
Couch, Sir Charles Sargent, Sir W. Markby, Sir Jtohn Budd
Phear, Sir John Scott, Sir Roland K. Wilson;, a!! Judges
of eminence, Mr. Herebert. J. Reynolds and Sir William
Wedderbum. In 1901, the Congress found matters had
progressed further and that the question was under the
jconsideration of the Government of India. But it was
not till 1908 that any tangible progress was made, for inr
that year the Congress recorded its satisfaction that the
proposal had received the sanction of the Government of
Bengal in some definite shape for the Province of Bengal r
but before 12 months elapsed, the Congress recognised
its disappointment in that no effective steps had been
taken in that direction and the same disappointment was
repeated at two successive Congresses.
While the chronic sores of abridged Jury powers, and
combined Judicial and Executive functions were still
festering and showed no signs of improvement, new ulcers
broke out in the body politic in 1897 which brought to
light Regulation III of 1818 (Bengal) II of 1819 (Madras)
and XXV of 1827 (Bombay) under which anybody
could be deported without trial. This was applied to the
Sirdars Natu who by the time the Congress of 1897 met
had been imprisoned for over 5 months. Congress was-
aghast because a certain notification which even these
Regulations required was not made before the imprison-
ment
REVIEW OF THE RESOLUTIONS 59
The year 1897 was a reactionary year in every sense.
Lokamanya Tilak was convicted for sedition for publish-
ing matter of which he was not the author. Punitive
Police was quartered on Poona and the Law of Sedition
124 (a) and of spreading false alarms (506) was sought
to be amended so as to make the sections even more
stringent. The Congress duly protested against these
invasions of popular rights and Surendra Nath Banerjea
made one of his characteristic speeches which may be
quoted for the eloquence of its expression: —
"We regard the quartering of the Punitive Police
at Poona as a mistake. We regard the imprisonment
of Mr. Tilak and of the Poona Editors as a still
greater mistake. For Mr. Tilak my heart is full
of sympathy, my feelings go forth to him in his
prison-house. A Nation is in tears. Englishmen
have won for themselves the Magna Oarta and the
Habeas Corpus. The principles which underlie those
concessions are embalmed in their glorious constitu-
tion. The constitution, I have no hesitation in
saying, is ours by birthright. Born British subjects,
we are entitled to the privileges of British subjects.
Who will filch away these rights from us? We are
resolved and this Congress will take the pledge, you
and I will enter into a 'Solemn League and Covenant.'
Let it go forth from this hall, let it impregnate the
public mind of India. We are resolved, by every
constitutional means that may be available to <us, to
assert under the Providence' of God our rights as
British subjects, not the least important of which is
the inestimable right of personal liberty."
PERMANENT SETTLEMENT, WATER-CESS, POVERTY ANn
FAMINES
India being predominantly an agricultural country,
it is but to be expected that the Congress should have
given its early if not first attention to the hardship*
caused to the ryots by the periodical revision of settle-
60 THE HISTORY OF rHE CONGBESS
ments, leading to ever increasing assessment. Accordingly
the 4th session at Allahabad (1888) referred the matter
to the standing committees and asked them to report to
the Congress in 1889. Babu Baikunta Nath Sen dealt
with the question in 1889 and pointed out that a famine
in 1860 had led to a Commission which reported in
favour of Permanent Settlement and this was approved
of by the Secretary of State in a despatch in 1862. Some-
times the increase in assessment exceeded the total
fresh produce of the village, as in one case dealt with by
Mr. Colvin (later Sir Auckland Oolvin). Dr. Besant
gives the following interesting extract in her book, dealing
with the allied subject: —
"There is the same amount of water in the pot,
but there are now six holes through which it runs out,
when before there was but one."
"We had our cattle in plenty, lots of grazing free
and salt to keep them healthy; now the land is all
taken up by the Forest Department and we have no
grazing ground, and if the starving herds stray where
there is food, they are run into the pound and we are
fined."
"We had plenty of wood for our houses, for our
ploughs and for every agricultural purpose; now it is
all under the lock and key of the Forest Depart-
ment, and if we touch it without leave we are run in
and if we want a stick we have a week's running about
from one official to another before we get it, and we
have to pay, pay, pay. We had arms, and we could
shoot or destroy the wild beasts that ravage our crops,
but now we have an Arms Act that allows a basketful
of arms to every Negro rascal who lands on our
shores, but takes good care that we poor cultivators,
who need them to protect our subsistence from wild
animals, are practically debarred from any."
In 1892 the Congress pleaded for fixity and
permanence to the Land Revenue demand so as to permit
"capital and labour to combine to develop the agriculture
REVIEW OF THE RESOLUTIONS 61
of the country" and urged the establishment of Agricul-
tural Banks. Next year the Congress demanded the
fulfilment of the pledges given by the Secretary of State
in his despatches of 1862 and 1865 for a Permanent
Settlement. In 1896 the Congress adopting the usual
temporizing policy prayed for at least an interval of
sixty years from one revision to another. On the 22nd
December, 1900, the Government of India published a
Resolution on the subject through its Revenue and
Agricultural Department and the Congress demjanded the
publication of the Provincial Governments' views on
paragraph 4 thereof. In 1903 the Congress went further
and sought judicial and legislative restrictions on over-
assessments. In 1906, the Congress contrasted the
policy enunciated by Lord Canning in 1862 and by Lord
Ripon in 1882, advocating a limitation of the State
•demand on land, with the policy of Lord Cureon
announced in his Resolution of 1902. and protested
against the view that Land Revenue is not a tax but i*
in the nature of rent; and with the repetition of a like
resolution on another occasion in 1908, the Congress
virtually gave up the subject in despair.
We may appropriately refer to the allied topics of
water-cess, famine and its remedies. The Congress dealt
with the question of water-cess but once, and that in 1894
in Madras, in which year the cess was raised by execu-
tive orders from Rs. 4 to Rs. 5 per acre. These ever
increasing taxes and cesses were partly at the root of the
ever recurring famines of recent times. The famine
conditions of 1896 gave occasion to the Congress to
review the economic policy of Government and charge
them with extravagance in Military expenditure and put
down the famines to excessive taxation and over-assess-
ment The neglect of indigenous and local arts and
industries which had practically been extinguished was
fit THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS ; .%
put down as another cause. The Government was called
upon to redeem its pledges to constitute a Famine
Insurance Fund. Permanent Settlement, Agricultural
Banks and Technical Schools were advocated as the real
remedies. Soon after, a Famine Commission was
appointed. In the meantime generous help came in aid
of famine from Britain and the U. S. A. and the Congress
resolved to send a £1,000 to the Lord Mayor of London
to put up a Memorial in some conspicuous part of London
expressing India's gratitude for help rendered. This was
in 1898. The Congress nevertheless did not lose sight of
the real remedies all along advocated by it for famines
and urged on Government once again in 1899 to stop the
drain of wealth and curtail public expenditure, to
moderate taxes and develop local and indigenous
industries. A wider view of affairs was taken next year
and a demand was made for an enquiry into the economic
condition of the people of India. We no more hear of
the subject, the outlook of the Congress having consider-
ably changed in the later years of its career.
FOREST LAWS
The havoc done by the Forest Laws is not
sufficiently appreciated. They vied only with Land
Revenue assessments and the Salt Tax in burdening the
people with fetters they could not bear. With a single
stroke of the pen, as Mr. Paul Peter Pillai pointed out
at Nagpur in 1891, Government had extinguished the
immemorial communal rights of the ryot, and village
society had thus been revolutionized. There is little
doubt that these laws have served, as Dr. Besant said, to
alienate the peasantry from British Rule more than any
other thing. In one district, N. Arcot, 3,00,000 cattle
perished in nine months in 1891. The bes£ gifts of Nature
to the ryot were denied to him. "Your land is on th*
hills but you cannot use the forest produce thereon,
x BKVIEW OF THE BESOLTJTION8 • 6ft
stwh as bush and scrub, and the very leaves of the tree*
grown by you, are not yours."
An earnest appeal was made in 1892-83 to the
Government of India to investigate the hardships created
by the Forest Laws, particularly in Peninsular India and.
the hilly tracts of the Punjab. The rules made by the
Punjab Government were particularly cruel and unjust —
"very arbitrary and unworthy of a civilized Government""
as Pandit Meghan Ram pointed out at the ninth session*.
"An owner or occupant of land was made liable for an
accidental fire caused by any one on his land and might,,
according to the rules, be treated as if he had been guilty
of the infraction of the Rules." The hill men to whom
the hill grass and wood was their very life and the life
of their cattle were prevented from taking them. They
could not warm themselves by kindling a forest fire. Thi$
agitation resulted in a Circular Resolution No. 2/F, dated
20th October, 1894 by the Government of India in which
they had enunciated the generous principle of "sub*
ordinating fiscal interest to the needs and agricultural
interests of the ryot population in the management of
Forests."
The Congress urged that "in forests falling under
classes 3 and 4, fuel grazing concession, fodder, small
timber for building houses and making agricultural
implements, edible forest products etc., may be granted
free of charge in all cases under suitable restrictions and
that, in any case, sufficient margin should be left in
administering Forest Laws and fixing forest boundaries so
as not to molest or annoy the agricultural population in
the enjoyment of their communal rights." The llth and
14th Congresses emphasised the view that Forest Laws
were meant not as sources of revenue but only to conserve
the forests and complained against the rules which worked
44 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
-a great hardship on the people. We no more hear of
forests in the Congresses held after the year 1899 except
as part of omnibus resolutions.
A new grievance added to existing ones diverted
men's minds from the older ones to which they became
accustomed and the dawn of the 20th century brought to
the fore problems altogether of a different character.
Moreover the Boer War and the Russo-Japanese War
must have changed the outlook of Congressmen and
: shifted their attention from forests and water-courses,
from Salt and Abkari to the larger questions of
^Nationalism and Self-Government.
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
The salient points of the Indian problem under the
British occurred to the minds of the earlier politicians like
^flashes of light which do not sustainedly brighten the path
of the political traveller. That Indian interests were sub-
ordinated to those of Lancashire was recognised, that the
Tillage crafts and arts were neglected, if not positively
Tuined, was equally realized. R. P. Karandikar, who with
"Kelkar and Khaparde formed a trio of ardent and faith*
ful followers of Lokamanya Tilak, speaking of the
problem of Primary Education at the 20th Congress
{Bombay, 1904), quoted Mr. Arthur Balfour's speech on
'Ireland, pointing out how,
"One by one, each of her nascent industries was
either strangled at its birth or handed over gagged
and bound to the jealous custody of the rival interests
in England, until at last every fountain of wealth was
hermetically sealed so that the whole Nation was
thrown on the land/9
Even more interesting and thoughtful was the reply
•jiven by a politician comparing the English Rule with
"the Muslim Rule:—
* BBVIKW OF THE RESOLUTIONS 6^
"The English Rule is the better for security, Educa-
tion and Railways, but, for the wealth of India, the
Muslim Rule was better, for the Muslims became-
Indians and the riches stayed in the country while-
the English carried the wealth of the country away." The
same observation was made by Raja Rampal Singh in
sporting language when he stated in 1893 at the ninth.
Congress that "the English Civilians made India their
happy hunting ground."
In 1894 the Congress protested against the Excise duty
on the cottons manufactured in British India and put OR
iccord its firm conviction that in proposing the Excise-
duty, "the interests of India have been sacrificed to those-
of Lancashire." Of course there was always the
mentality of submission to a coming reactionary Law and
an attempt to mitigate its hardships. In ibis case, the
Congress added that,
"In case the Excise Bill became law, this Con-
gress earnestly prays that the Government of India
will, without delay, seek the sanction of the Secretary
of State to exercise the powers which the Bill confers
on Government to exempt all cottons from twenties
to twenty-fours from the operation of the Act."
At the llth Congress it was declared that the
objection taken by Lancashire to the exemption of Indian
yarns below 'twenties' from Excise duty was not well
founded. At the famous session of the Congress held iir
Calcutta under Dadabhai's presidentship in 1906, Pandit
Madan Mohan Malaviya laid bare the secret of our
failure in regard to our industries:
"The raw material leavestihe country and comes
back as manufactured goods; if we were free we
would adopt protection as all countries do. when
Industries are nascent."
** THE HISTORY OB* THE OONQBBS8
Lokainanya Tilak deplored how it was the middle
classes that were the greatest consumers of foreign goods.
^'Self-help, determination and sacrifice," said he, "are
needed." With the birth of the Swadeshi spirit, supported
by the Boycott Movement of 1906 and succeeding years,
India's attention turned towards the resuscitation of
Indian industries. In 1910 it fell to the lot of Mr. C. Y.
Chintamani, — who was a young man as yet at the time but
Tvho gave ample proof of his future eminence, — to move
the resolution on Swadeshi at Allahabad and he quoted
Ranade, who said: —
"India had come to be regarded as a plantation
of England, growing raw products to be shipped by
British agents in British ships, to be worked into
fabrics by British skill and capital, and to be re-
exported to India by British merchants in India
tthrough their British agents."
This Judge of the Bombay High Cc^sts were qs a
great Economist and a leading Social RfPURSiL %& ^feie
real power for years behind the Congress and was the one
source of inspiration to Congressmen on matters economic
and industrial.
The village and its perishing wealth of industries
tmd agriculture were not neglected by the Indian politi-
cians. So early as in 1898 Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya
proposed that "Government ought to foster Native
industries and Native arts." People had recognized even
^earlier (1891) that the Forest Laws imposed severe hard-
ships on the villages and revolutionized village society,
leading to the destruction of village crafts, and the death
of village cattle, 3 lacs of cattle having died in September
1891. Lala Murlidhar peaking in Urdu at the Nagpur
Congress (1891) made a fervent appeal to the audience
and said: —
REVIEW OF THE RESOLUTIONS 1ST
"You, you, it seems are content to join with these
accursed monsters in fattening on the heart's blood of
your brethren (cries of No. No.). I say Yes: look
round: what are all these chandeliers and lamps, and
European-made chairs and tables, and smart clothes
and hats, and English coats and bonnets and frocks,
and silver-mounted canes, and all the luxurious
fittings of your houses, but trophies of India's misery,
mementoes of India's starvation! Every rupee you
have spent on Europe-made articles is a rupee of
which you have robbed your poorer brethren, honest
handicraftsmen who can now no longer earn a living.
Of course I know that it was pure philanthropy which
flooded India with English-made goods, and "surely, if
slowly, killed out every indigenous industry,— pure
philanthropy which, to facilitate this, repealed the
import duties and flung away three crores a year of a
revenue which the rich paid, and to balance this
wicked sacrifice raised the Salt Tax, which the poor
pay; which is now pressing factory regulations on us
to kill, if possible, the one tiny new industrial depar-
ture India could boast of. Oh, yes, it is all philan-
thropy, but the result is that from this cause, amongst
others, your brethren are starving. Not 30 years ago
wheat sold for 1-1 12 maunds and gram for 2 maunds
for the rupee, for our grain was not exported to
foreign lands. Now it is six times as dear, and six
times as hard for the poor to fill their bellies, because
our philanthropists have conjured up the phantasm of
free trade to drain our granaries. Free trade, fair play
between nations, how I hate the sham! What fair
play in trade can there be between impoverished India
and the bloated capitalist England? As well talk of
a fair fight between an infant and a strong man — a
rabbit and a boa-constrictor. No doubt it is all in
accordance with high economic science, but, my
friends, remember this, — this, too is starving your
brethren."
Pandit Malaviya made a characteristic speech in
1803 at the ninth Congress as follows:—
41 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
"Where are the weavers, where are those men who
lived by different industries and manufactures, and
where are the manufactures which were sent to Eng-
land and other European countries in very large
quantities year after year? All that has become a
thing of the past. Every one sitting here is clothed in
cloth of British-make — almost every one — and wher-
ever you go, you find British manufactures and
British goods staring you in the face. All that is left
to the people is to drag out a miserable existence by
agricultural operations and make infinitesimal profit
out of the little trade left to them. In the matter of
the Services, in the matter of trade, our people are not
enjoying one-hundredth part of the profit and gain
which they used to enjoy fifty years ago. How then
is it possible for the country to be happy?"
The importance of the subject is evident from the
emphasis that Sir S. Subrahmania Aiyar laid on Village
Resuscitation, and the need for loan societies, in 1914,
after his retirement from the Bench. The Congress was
pressed by Lala Lajpat Rai in 1899 to devote a half-day
for the consideration of educational and industrial sub-
jects, and appoint a Committee in that behalf. This was
done and as a direct result of their deliberations* we note
that the first Industrial Exhibition in Calcutta was held
in 1901 and this institution has gone on steadily im-
proving until, in the latter-day developments, the
Khaddar and Swadeshi Exhibitions have come to replace
the old order of things. Attention was fixed on Indus-
tries by the Congress doubtless by the Excise duties on
cotton goods levied in 1894 which had evoked a protest
then and there against their imposition, and incidentally
we learn that even the Governor-General's protest in
this behalf was in vain. Not only was no relief granted
but Lord Salisbury, it is said, "directed that steps should
be taken to protect the British manufactures against the
competition of the Indian manufactures." It! was not
merely an imaginary picture that was drawn of village
BEVIBW OF THE BBSOLtPFIONB 69
poverty and the oft repeated theme of 40 millions of
people going with a single meal a day, for, Waoha and
Mudholkar took care to prove it by quotations from
Anglo-Indian Satraps. Did not Sir Charles Elliot say,
"half the agrarian population do not know from one
year's end to another what it is to have a full meal"?
The rise in the Revenue assessment in one sub-district
was enhanced in 1891, 66 p.c., in another 99 p.c., and in
a third 116 p.c., and in a few villages 300 to 1,500 p.c.,
while the military expenditure rose also by leaps and
Ixninds.
The German soldier cost Rs. 145— the French
Rs. 185 and the English in England Rs. 285, but in India
Rs. 775 a year. This expenditure is contrasted with the
income per head in England of £42 — in France £23 — in
Germany £18 and in India £1. These were the figures
given in 1891. Famines formed the subject of repeated
resolutions, and so early as in 1887, a repeal was sought
of the Penal Labour Law.
SWADESHI, BOYCOTT AND 'SWARAJ'
The new spirit that pervaded the country from end
to end in the latter half of the first decade of this century
had its birth in the Partition of Bengal, although its gesta-
tion had been progressing for some years prior to that
event under the warmth of Lord Curzon's reactionary
rule. The 21st session of the Congress held in the sacred
city of Kasi in 1905 lodged its formal protest against the
Partition of Bengal and asked for its annulment or modi-
fication so as to keep the entire Bengali community tinder
one administration. But the resolution that was passed
by this Congress on the repressive measures then enforced
was a somewhat circuitous one, for it recorded "its earnest
and emphatic protest against the repressive measures
$0 THE HI8TOBY OP THE CONGftESS
Which have been adopted in Bengal/9 and incidental^
added an adverbial clause saying "after the people thttt
had been compelled to resort to the boycott of foreign
goods as a last protest, and perhaps the only constitu*
tional and effective means left to them of drawing the
attention of the British public to the action of the Gov-
ernment of India in persisting in their determination to
partition Bengal in utter disregard of the universal pray-
ers and protests of the people." Here it is not clear —
nor perhaps was it meant to be clear — whether the Con-
gress approved of the boycott of foreign goods. A kind
of academic opinion was expressed to the effect that it
was perhaps the only legitimate weapon left to the
people. Apparently the Nationalist element had real
difficulty in passing a less equivocal resolution, but Lala
Lajpat Rai in seconding the one that was passed struck
a high note when he said that we must show that we are
"no longer beggars and that we are subjects of an Empire
where people are struggling to achieve that position which
is their right." The courage that appeared wanting in
1905 was soon recovered in 1906. While repeating the
formal Resolution on the Partition, the Congress resolved
that "having regard to the fact that the people of this
country have little or no voice in its administration, and
that their representations to the Government do not
receive due consideration, this Congress is of opinion that
the Boycott movement inaugurated in Bengal by way of
protest against the Partition was, and is, legitimattt? The*
Congress later urged the encouragement of indigenous
industries even at some sacrifice. There it stopped. The
•conception of Self-Government did not travel farther than
the formulation of certain Reforms comprising simuHa-
ittcms escamiftaiums, expanded Legislative Councils with
•affective popular representation, and the appointment of
lacttaas to the Council of the Secretary of State at
*t the Executive Councils in India. This was aff
BBVIEW OF THE RESOLUTIONS 71
national aspiration in 1906. The next year witnessed
the Suraft split, and the Moderate Congress of subsequent
years eliminated the subject of Boycott, and adhered to
Swadeshi, while the resolutions on Self-Government
frankly reduced themselves to an examination of the
Minto-Morley Scheme of Reforms. In 1910 there was a
change of Viceroyalty and the Congress passed a resolu-
tion in 1910 appealing to Lord Hardinge, the new Viceroy,
to release the political prisoners in the country. This
was repeated in the succeeding year. But in 1914, the
Congress that met in Madras made bold to demand that
Government should redeem the pledges of Provincial
Autonomy given in 1911 and recognize India "as a com-
ponent part of a federated Empire, in the full and free
enjoyment of the rights belonging to that status."
COMMUNAL REPBESENTATTON
One is apt to think that communal representation is
en idea of recent growth. From the days of Sir Auckland
Colvin (1888) Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West
Provinces (U.P.), there was an attempt to make out that
the Muslims were opposed to the Congress and the
position thus created was considered by Hume to be so
important as to find a place in his long reply to Sir Auck-
land. There was no doubt that the success of the first
two or three sessions of the Congress upset the mind of
the bujttteuracy which found its mouthpiece in this
famoijtiPLieutenant-Governor. The reaction of such a
view on the Muslim community itself was) sufficiently
quick, and how they must have resented the patronizing
attitude of the officials is shown by the fact that at the
fourth Congress, held in Allahabad, in the faee of the
opposition offered by the European elements, Sheik Raia
Hussein Khan, in supporting the election of Mr. Yule as
President of the year's segabft, produced a Fatwa,
72 THE HIBTOBY OF THE CONGBESS
porting the Congress, from the spiritual leader of the
Sunni community of Lucknow and declared that "it is not
the Muslims but their official masters who were
opposed to the Congress." Those acquainted with the
recent Fatwas in 1921 onwards would welcome this fact
doubtless.
It was really during the time of Lord Minto that the
idea of communal representation took shape. Earlier of
course had Curzon kindled deliberately this baneful com-
munal consciousness in partitioning Bengal and carving
out Eastern Bengal and Assam as a separate Province with
a Muslim majority. Although Lord Minto was sent
to ease the horse which Lord Curzon had ridden for seven
long years almost to the point of death, still, the saddle of
communal separateness on which Curzon had been riding
was left intact on the animal's back. Minto's scheme of
Reforms provided for separate electorates for Muslims and
yet their rights to vote in the joint electorates were left
intact. The narrow-minded politicians pointed out that
the Hindu Minorities in East Bengal and Assam and the
Punjab were not given a like privilege, but this was really
going off the track. What was more egregious was the
different franchises set up for the different communities.
To become a voter, the Muslim had to pay Income-tax
on Rs. 3,000 a year, while the non-Muslim had
to pay on three lakhs a year. It was enough for* the
Muslim graduate to have a standing of three years
to become a voter, while the non-Muslim was re-
quired to have thirty years' standing. Three thousands
against three lakhs of income, and three years against
thirty years of standing! We hear occasionally echoes of
a like demand when, in the absence of universal adtalt
franchise, the Muslims demand varying standards of
franchise for Ihe two communities so a* to maintain: the
fcroper ratioe amongst the voter*.
BEVIEW OF THE EE8OLUT1ONS 7
Now, the year 1910 found a critical state of affairs
and Sir. W. Wedderburn presided over the Congress. The
President intended holding a conference between Hindus
^nd Muslims with a view to bringing about communal
harmony. Separate electorates were just then proposed to
be introduced in respect of Municipalities and Local
Boards as well. In U.P. where there were none such, it
was found that the joint electorates with the Muslims
forming but a seventh of the population returned 189
Muslims and 445 Hindus to the District Boards, and 310
Muslims and 562 Hindus to the Municipalities and even
a reactionary like Sir John Hewett, Lieutenant-Governor,
U. P. was against disturbing the amicable relations of the
two communities in the Province. Mr. Jinnah of course
deprecated the extension of separate electorates to Local
Bodies. The 'Burn' Circular in favour of Communal re-
presentation in Local Bodies advocated separate electo
rates for Muslims, while also allowing them, to vote in
mixed electorates as this would be helpful in maintaining
friendly relations between the two great communities. "I
will only say," added Bishan Narayan Dhar, presiding
over the 26th Session, (Calcutta, 1911), "that this solici-
tude for promoting our unity is rather a heavy draft upon
our credulity." He pointed out how "when, under the
advice of Sir W. Wedderburn and H. H. the Aga Khan,
the representatives of the two communities were about to
meet at Allahabad a year ago, with the object of recon-
ciling their differences, an Anglo-Indian paper which is
believed to be an organ of the Civil Service, remarked:
'Why do these men want to unite the two communities, if
it is not to unite them against the Government?' This
one remark throws a ghastly light upon the political situ-
ation in India."
But shortly afterwards the world conditions under-
went a certain change. The Balkans which had for over
?4 THE BISTORT OF THE CONGEE8S
a oentury or two been the cockpit of Europe, once again
furnished the arena for a fresh outbreak of hostilities and
Nawab Syed Mahommed Bahadur, who presided over the
Karachi Session of the Congress in 1013, drew attention to
the "subversion of the Ottoman Empire in Europe and
the strangling of Persia." He expressed the grief with,
which all the Muslims had felt the blow to the Turkish
Empire. He concluded with an earnest plea that Hindus
and Muslims should clasp hands and work for the Mother-
land. This reminds us of the Khilafat Movement of 1021'
and its repercussions on the Hindu-Muslim relations in
India. 'The Sick Man of Europe' (as Turkey was termed
in the 19th century) has all along played a notable part
in shaping the course of Indian politics. It was under
these conditions that at the Karachi Congress (1913) the
Hindus and the Muslims closed their ranks and the
Congress "placed on record its appreciation of the adop^
tion by the All-India Muslim League of the idea of Self-
Government for India within the British Empire," and
endorsed the plea of that body for harmonious co-
operation between the two communities. The Congress
further welcomed "the hope expressed by the League that
the leaders of the different communities would make every
endeavour to find a modus operandi for joint and
concerted action on all questions of national good and
earnestly appealed to all sections to help the object they
had at heart.1'
The exaltation of spirit of Congressmen at the time
was evident in the exuberant language employed by the
speakers on the Resolution at Karachi in 1913, and we
quote below from Bhupendra Nath Basu's speech: —
"Hindus and Muslims must concentrate their attention on
the one united ideal, for the India of to-day is not
(he India of the Hindu or the Muslim, nor of the Anglo-
Jadian, rauch less of the European, but the India in which
BEOTOBW OF THB RESOLUTIONS 75
all have a share. If there have been misunderstandings in
the past, let us forget them. The India of the future will
be a stronger, nobler, greater, higher, aye, and a brighter
India than was realized by Asoka in the plenitude of his
power, a better India than was revealed to Akbar in the
wildest of his visions." Mr. Wacha said that the Congress
had entered on a new Nativity and with the New Star they
would achieve new success. Communal representation,
however, came to stay.
Once the sore having started, it continued to be
festering. If the Hindus had quietly and willingly con-
ceded what the Muslims wanted, the problem would have
been solved earlier. Doubtless it is true that appetite
grows with eating, but equally true is it that eating and
more eating leads to satiety. The Minto-Morley scheme
of communal representation was forced on the country.
People were not consulted on the matter. So when in
1916 a new dole of Reforms was being contemplated,
India thought that a concordat should be brought into
existence, and for this purpose the representatives of the
Congress and the Muslim League met in the Indian
Association rooms of Calcutta in November, 1916 to carry
out the behests of the Congress in 1915 and to hammer
out a scheme of representation based upon mutual under-
standing. Just then the Muslim League had adopted Self-
Government as its object. The principle of self-determina-
tion was in the air. The War itself was being waged for
its application to the smaller and the backward nationali-
ties. The Calcutta deliberations were therefore under-
taken and conducted in a suitable atmosphere. But the
elders on the Congress side were slow to make an offer.
It was therefore left to the younger men — perhaps the
youngest man present there— to take the initiative. The
Hindus and the Muslims were the two eyes of India, as
Sir Syed Ahmed had said, and either without the other
16 THE HISTORY OF THE OOKGUS8
Would deface the Mother's countenance. A spirit af give
and take soon prevailed. A minimum of 15 per cent,
representation in Councils was agreed to in all Provinces
whose population fell short of the percentage. There
remained only the Punjab and Bengal. As usual they
were hard nuts to crack, but cracked they were at the
Lucknow Congress of 1916, and the formula arrived at at
Lucknow that December, was accepted by Mr. Montagu
en bloc and incorporated in the Montagu-Chelmsford
Scheme. The consciousness of a friendly concession made
by a rival community is apt to be a greater power in
bringing about amicable relations than the thought that
toy cominunity owed its protection to the intervention
Of a third party. But it must be noted that separate
communal electorates came to stay. The communal and
the general electorates became exclusive, and equally
exclusive was the right to stand as candidates.
INDIANS ABROAD
While the fate of Indians in India was bad enough,
that of Indians in South Africa was growing from bad to
worse. In 1896, it was ruled that the Indentured
emigrants in Natal, South Africa, should on the termina-
tion of the term of indenture, either renew their slavery,
t.e., renew their indenture for labour, or pay a poll tax
amounting to half their annual earnings. It is interesting
to recall a remark of Dr. Moonjee in this connection, after
his return from South Africa about 1903 where he had
gone in connection with an Ambulance Corps in the Boer
War, nantely, "Our rulers do not believe that we are
men." It was onVffefr same question that Mr. B. N. Sarma
warned England* tfeat there could not be, in the Empire, a
permanent racial supremacy, one race dominating another,
we are.frus to ourselves," said he at the 21st Congress,
, 4905), "then the race that has produced the
philosophers, the greatest statesmen and tha
REVIEW OP THE RESOLUTIONS 77
greatest warriors, shall not crouch for this or that favour
st the hands of other people."
Mr. Madanjit was the man who for long years
brought up the South African question before the Indian
Congress. There were doubtless Indian friends who were
visiting South Africa from time to time and bringing first
hand information to the Indian people, but he was
carrying on his mission from year to year. With his
orange robes and short stature and tall stick, he was not
to be missed in the Congress and his recent death at
a lipe old age has removed a familiar figure from the
National Assembly. The first protest against the South
African disabilities really began in 1894 when the
President moved a Resolution asking that the Bill of the
Colonial Government disenfranchising Indians be vetoed.
Thereafter at Congress after Congress, South Africa
figured as an important subject and it was pointed out
year after year "how we were not permitted there to
travel without a pass, not allowed to walk about in the
night after 9 P.M., how we were consigned to locations
where refuse was shot in Transvaal, how we were denied
admission to the first and 2nd classes on Railways, driven
out of tramcars and pushed off footpaths, kept out of
hotels, and refused the benefit of public parks* and how
we were spat upon, hissed, cursed, abused and subjected
to a variety of other indignities which no human being
could patiently bear."
By 1898 three additional disabling
passed and by that time Gandhi
agitation. The great pity was
Viceroy, consented to the Na
the Secretary of State at the
was content to characterize us
incorporation of the former
7t THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Dominions in 1900" was referred to by the 16th session
U900) as obviating the one difficulty Government had
to contend against in dealing with the independent Boers,
and the Congress urged that the Immigration Restrictions
in Natal and the Dealer's Licences Acts of the Colony
should be done away with. It was at the 17th Congress
(Calcutta, 1901), that Gandhi moved a resolution on
South Africa as "a petitioner on behalf of the hundred
thousand British Indians in South Africa." A deputation
was to wait in 1902 on the Secretary of State in regard
to the subject but nothing came out of it and the Congress
repeated its resolutions in 1903 and 1904. The Congress
drew attention to the statement made in responsible
quarters that "one of the declared causes of the recent
Boer War was the treatment meted out to Indian
Subjects of the King-Emperor by the Republic, and
demanded that justice and equal treatment be secured
to the Indian settlers." The position becamie worse by 1905
and the Congress protested that disabilities not enforced
under the Boer Rule should have been enforced under the
British Rule* and asked for the prohibition of Indentured
Labour as well as for other retaliatory measures. It is
gratifying to note that Government disallowed 'for the
present' the ordinance in the Transvaal, but in 1906, a
Constitution having been granted to South Africa, says thfr
Resolution, there were clear apprehensions of its renewal.
There was no relief even in 1908, and as the New South
African Constitution was just then being implemented,
the Congress urged that Indian interests should be
simultaneously secured. At the 23rd Congress held in 1908
in Madras, Mr. Mushir Hasan Kidwai moved the resolu-
tion expressing the indignation of the Congress at "-the
Harsh, humiliating and cruel treatment to which British
Indians, ewa of the highest respectability and position,
{ hiv6 been subjected by the British Colonies in South
- Africa," and giving a warning that such, treatment
EEVITO OF THE UBQ&imON* 79
Klcely to result in "great injury to the beat interest* of
the British Empire."
By 1909, it was found that the endless representa-
tions that had been made proved unavailing and Gokhak
in moving the resolutions of the year described the
breaches of faith of the authorities and the long patient
struggle of the Indians led by Gandhi. The time had
come for effective action and the great Passive Resistance
struggle was inaugurated. "What is the passive resistance
struggle?" asks Gokhale, and he gives the answer: "It is
essentially defensive in its nature and it fights with moral
and spiritual weapons. A passive resister resists tyranny by
spiritual weapons. A passive resister resists tyranny by
undergoing sufferings in his own person. He pits soul
force against brute force; he pits the divine in man
against the brute in man ; he pits suffering against oppres-
sion; he pits conscience against might; he pits faith
against injustice, right against wrong." A fund was called
for and Rs. 18,000 was subscribed on the spot. Besides
this, Ratan J. Tata, the second son of Sir Jamshedjee Tata
gave a sum of Rs. 25,000 to relieve suffering in South
Africa for which the 24th Congress 1909 (Lahore) thanked
him publicly. By the next session of the Congress
(Allahabad, 1910), the Passive Resistance struggle was
at its height and the Congress expressed "its great admira-
tion of the intense patriotism, courage and self-sacrifice
Of the Indians in the Transvaal, who, heroically suffering
persecution in the interests of their countrymen, are
carrying on their peaceful and selfless struggle for elemen-
tary civil rights against heavy and overwhelming odds."
The 27th session (1911) of the Congress however met
under more auspicious circumstances, for it could
'•cordially congratulate Mr. Gandhi and the Transvaal
Indian Community upon the repeal of the Anti-Asiatic
Legislation of the Province regarding Registration and
«0 THE HISTORY OF THE COKQHBftS
immigration." But the Congress had passed this resolution
''anticipating the forthcoming legislation of the provi-
sional settlement recently arrived at." It was discovered
however next year (1913) that it had still to protest
against the provisions of the Immigration Act in that
they violated the promises made by the South Africa
Union, and respectfully urged the Crown to veto the Act.
Lord Hardinge was then the Viceroy and he took up a
-strong attitude in the matter and, to strengthen his hands,
the Karachi Congress repeated its resolution in 1913
.asking for the abolition of Indentured Labour. Soon after,
it was abolished and the Congress placed on record its
gratitude to Lord Hardinge for the partial settlement of
•the South African question, although it had to revert to
the question in 1916 and 1917. The Karachi session
(1913) had also passed a vote of "admiration for the
heroic endeavours of Mr. Gandhi and his followers, and
their unparalleled sacrifice in their struggle for the
maintenance of the self-respect of India and the redress
of Indian grievances."
This was the real introduction of Mr. Gandhi to
India, if one may say so, for he left South Africa soon
After the Great War had broken out in August, 1914, and
ias been in India since 1915 carrying out his 'Experiments
with Truth/ and his Satyagraha Campaign in Champaran,
Kaira, Borsad, Bardoli and the whole of India, with
results which are now well-known and on which we shall
lave occasion to dwell in the appropriate chapters.
M interesting problem was created for India by a
particular clause of the Canadian Privy Council's order
No, 920 known as the "Continuous Journey Clause," which
fonned the subject of a protest by the Congress at its
28th session (Karachi, 1913), on the ground that
' : REVIEW OF THE RESOLUTIONS 81
"The order in question has practically the effect
of preventing any Indian, not already settled there
(in Canada), from going to Canada, inasmuch as
there is no direct steamship service between the two
countries and the steamship Companies refuse'
through booking, and further subjects the present
• Indian settlers in Canada to great hardship by pre-
cluding them from bringing over their wives and*
children. This Congress therefore urges upon the
Imperial Government the necessity of securing the
repeal of the said Continuous Journey Regulaiton."
When the Great War broke out soon after, a»
interesting incident which has become a romantic episode
in modern Indian history, happened, which the coming
generations should not fail to know. In order to challenge
this clause, one Sikh gentleman, named Baba Gurudutt
Singh hired a steamer called the Komagatamaru and took
600 Sikhs in it to Canada by making a continuous
voyage, without the usual halts at Hongkong or Tokyo.
The steamship — Komagatamaru — was of course not
allowed to land her passengers in Canada and had to
return to India. On her return, the passengers were
directed to go from Budge Budge, where they landed, to
the Punjab and prohibited from going anywhere they
liked. They were, however, unwilling to board the train
for the Punjab, unless they were first allowed to make a
representation to Government about the injustice of such
an order and the loss that they would suffer thereby:
They preferred to be arrested under a warrant. The
subsequent story of the Komagatamaru men among
whom was Prof. Mansukhani (now Swami Govindanand
of Sindh), how a riot took place, how several were shot
and imprisoned, how Gurudutt Singh was a fugitive for
seven or eight years, wandering from place to place in
Orissa, the Deccan, Gwalior State, Rajputana, Kathiawar
and Sindh up to 1918, how after 1918 he went to Bombay
* THE HISTORY OF THB CONQBBSS
and became the manager of a Ship-building Company at
Mahal Bandar outside the Town, under the name of
Valdraja, how in his exile he saw Gandhi (in November,
1821) who advised him to surrender himself, which he
«did, and how Government imprisoned him and he was
released from the Lahore Jail on February 28, 1922 on
the expiry of the term of the Ordinance under which he
was imprisoned, do not really fall within the scope of this
book.
SALT
The question of Salt Tax has, by virtue of the recent
Salt Satyagraha movement of 1930, acquired a peculiar
importance in Indian politics. Knowing as we do the
genesis of the tax and the recommendations made by the
Salt Commission of 1836, we cannot but feel a certain
surprise that the grounds on which the tax was attacked in
1888 by the Congress were, not that it was iniquitous and
meant to assist British Shipping industry and British
export trade, but that it was recently enhanced and as
such involved "a perceptible increase to the burthens of
the poorer classes, as also the partial absorption, in a time
of peace and plenty, of the only Financial Reserve of the
Empire." In 1890 the Congress again demanded only the
xemission of the recent enhancement, not the abolition of
the tax altogether. On eight other occasions did the Con-
gress virtually repeat this prayer, only on one occasion it
•asked for the restoration of the rate of 1868 and on another
the rate of 1888, and the last time it dealt with the ques-
tion (1902), the Congress cited the causation of disease by
insufficient salt consumption as an- additional ground.
Thereafter 'Salt' was promoted from the Congress to the
Ceuncils and became the special concern of Mr. Gqkhale.
DRINK AKD .PBOSTTTUTION . . ' ,
Purity claimed its dwa share of attention from ihe
REVIEW OF THE RESOLUTIONS 83
Congress. The serious increase in the consumption of
liquors led to a demand for a policy promoting sobriety
and temperance. Messrs. Caine and Smith brought up the
question before the House of Commons which passed a
Resolution in this behalf in 1889 and the Congress urged
that it be given effect to. In 1890 the Congress expressed
its pleasure at "the increase in the import duty on spirits,
the taxation imposed upon Indian-brewed malt liquors,
the decision of the Bengal Government to abolish the out-
still system and the closing of over 7,000 liquor shops by
the Madras Government in 1889—90." But all the
Provinces had not acted up to the instructions of the
Despatch of the Government of India that "efforts should
be made to ascertain the existence of local public senti-
ment and that a reasonable amount of deference
should be paid to such opinion when ascertained."
For a decade the Congress did not revert to
the question. It was only in 1900 that the
Congress attributed the growing consumption of liquors
to their cheap supply and appealed to Government "to
pass measures like the Maine Liquor Law of America
and Sir Wilfrid Lawson's Permissive Bill or the Local
Option Act and impose an additional tax upon intoxi-
cants not intended to be used as medicine." It is
interesting to note Kumar M. N. Choudhuri quoting at
this Congress, Eeshab Chandra Sen's complaint that the
British Government had brought Shakespeare and
Milton to them, but also brandy bottles.
The Excise Commission of 1883 having shown great
inclease of drunkenness among the labouring classes, the
Congress pointed out that the evil would defeat the bene-
volent intentions of Government to help the growth of
Indian arts and industries.
An allied subject relating to Social Reform was the
ft* THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
eradication of State-regulated prostitution. It is well-
known that Government procured women for soldiers both
when they were in camps as well as when they were oa
the move. These things when recognized for the first
time looked horrible, but constant touch with them blunts
the edge of resentment. The fourth session of the
Congress (1888, Allahabad), under the presidency of Mr.
Yule, offered co-operation with India's well-wishers in
England who were putting forth exertions "for the total
abrogation of laws and rules relating to the regulation
of prostitution by the State in India." Captain Banon
in a strong speech moved the resolution and Captain
Hearsay, seconding, pointed out that over 2,000 Indian
women were procured by Government "for the hideous
purpose alluded to" and that this provision encouraged
the boy-soldiers to loose living. The 8th Congress (1892;
Allahabad) thanked the House of Commons for its
vigilance "in regard to the recent purity legislation by
the Government in India," and protested against "alF
State-regulated immorality in India."
Next year, the Parliamentary members of the India
Office Committee submitted a Report on the subject of
the Rules, Orders and Practices in Indian Cantonments
with regard to prostitution and contagious diseases. The
Congress declared that the practices and system in
vogue "did not accord with the plain meaning and inten-
tion of the Resolution of the House of Commons on 5th
June, 1888," and asked for "express legislation" to stop
these malpractices.
WOMEN AND THE DEPRESSED CLASSES
The visit of Mr. Montagu to India brought to the
fore the claims of women in respect of civic rights and
it is astonishing to see how readily was conceded to the
fair sex full equality of position with men in this* country.
REVIEW OF THE BUfiOLTJTIONS W
The Calcutta Congress of 1917 expressed "the opinion
that the same tests be applied to women as to men in
regard to the franchise and the eligibility to all elective
bodies concerned with Local Government and Education."
On the allied question of the Depressed Classes, which
too claimed the nation's attention as forming an
important factor in national reconstruction, the same
Congress accepted a liberal proposition and urged
"Upon the people of India the necessity, justice
and righteousness of removing all disabilities im-
posed by custom upon the depressed classes, the dis-
abilities being of a most vexatious and oppressive
character, subjecting those classes to considerable
hardship and inconvenience."
MISCELLANEOUS
Various miscellaneous subjects engaged the attention
of the Congress from time to time during this period. The
chief subject of interest was Education in its several
aspects, Primary, University, Research and Technical.
Provincial Finance as well as Imperial, Silver Duties*
Income-tax, and Exchange Compensation Allowance form
a separate and secondary group. "Local Self-Government
in general and the Corporations of Calcutta and Madras
in particular" roused much resentment by the reactionary
legislation to which they had been subjected off and on.
Sanitation, chiefly with reference to Plague and Quaran-
tine, and Forced Labour were stray subjects. Loyalty to
the Throne was avowed on many occasions. The passing
away of Queen Victoria in 1901 and the demise of King
Edward in 1910 were fresh occasions availed of by the
Congress to proclaim) its loyalty to the Sovereign. Due
welcome was accorded to King Edward and to King
George, to the latter as Prince of Wale* in 1965 and as
King in 19M).
86 THE HISTOBY OF THE CONOEESS
BURMA
To-day we find that a battle royal is taking place
over the separation of Burma. Let us for one moment
turn back to the year of the birth of the Congress and
what the Congress had to say on its annexation. The first
Congress (1885) "deprecated the annexation of Upper
Burma/' and said that "if annexation be considered
inevitable, the entire country of Burma be separated
from India and be constituted into a Crown Colony, as
distinct in all matters from this country as is Ceylon."
THE CONGRESS CONSTITUTION
The question of the Congress Constitution has
gained added interest in view of the wholesale innova-
tions introduced into it in the 50th year of its age. It
is well-known how the Congress did not start with
Articles and Memorandum of Association duly registered
beforehand like a Joint Stock Company, or the Rules
and Regulations of a society registered under Act XXI
of 1860, but that it was an informal gathering of certain
well-known men, which gained, as time advanced, in
volume and strength by virtue of the moral force on
which it has all along relied for the achievement of its
greater object. So early as in 1886, there was a "serious
proposal to frame a constitution and rules for working the
Congress" but the Resolution by which the Committee
was appointed confined itself to rule making, deferring
the constitution till the Congress had gained more
•experience and had visited other Provinces. Yet the need
was apparent for continuing Congress work throughout
the year as, at the time, little work was being done
between two Congresses. By the year 1889, the number
of Congress delegates began to swell in such a large
measure that it was decided by the Congress of the year
to limit the quota of the delegation to five per million of
JAEVIEW OF THB RESOLUTIONS Vt
population. An Assistant Secretary was appointed in
India and the Committee in England was given a paid
Secretary in the person of the well-known Mr. W. Digby,
C.I.E.
It was at the 4th Congress (1888) that it was decided
that "no subject shall be passed for discussion by the
Subjects Committee to the introduction of which the
Hindu or Muslim delegates as a body object unanimously
or nearly so." It may be recalled that the same rule, with
the proportion of objectors fixed at 3/4, was adopted in
the constitution later passed in 1908 after the Surat
imbroglio.
The reduction of delegates to 1,000 was actually
carried out in 1890 a year after it was passed (1899).
The work in England was considered naturally important
and one can gauge the emphasis laid on it by tie fact
that in 1892, a sum of Rs. 60,000 was voted for the
expenses of the British Committee and of the publication
of the Congress Journal, India. A like sum was voted
at the 12th session (1896). There was a renewed effort
made in 1898 to frame a constitution for the Congress.
In fact a draft constitution was circulated by the Madras
Congress (1898) and a Committee was appointed to
consider it and submit a definite scheme at the next
session. At Lucknow next year (1899) a full blown
constitution was passed and it is interesting to compare
the object of the Congress as then laid down with that
accepted in 1908 and 1920 and 1929. At Lucknow it
was laid down that,
"The object of the Indian National Congress
shall be to promote by constitutional means the
- interests and the well-toeing of the people of the Indian
B| THE HISTOEY OF THE CONGRESS
To anticipate matters let us draw the reader's atten-
tion to the 'Colonial type of Self-Government/ accepted
in 1908, 'Swaraj by all peaceful and legitimate means'
approved of in 1920, and 'Complete Independence'
demanded at Lahore in 1929. Under the Lucknow Consti-
tution the affairs of the Congress were to be managed
by a Committee styled the 'Indian Congress Committee/
consisting of 45 members elected by the Congress, of
whom 40 were to be elected by the Congress on the
recommendation of the different Provincial Congress
Committees. The Committee was to have an Honorary
Secretary and a paid Assistant Secretary. A sum of
Rs. 5,000 was voted for the expenses, of which one-half
was to be paid by the Reception Committee of the last
Congress and the other half by the Reception
Committee of the next Congress. Arrangements were*
made for continuous work throughout the year by organiz-
ing Standing Congress Committees and holding Provincial
Conferences. The nomination of the President and th&
drafting of the Resolutions were to done by the Indian
Congress Committee.
A permanent fund was contemplated for the
Congress, to be invested in the name of seven Trustees —
one from each Province in India — to be appointed by the
Congress. In 1900 the Indian Congress Comimdttee of
45 was enlarged by the addition to it of certain ex-officia
members, namely, the President of the Congress, the
President-elect from the day of his nomination, the ex*
Presidents of the Congress, the Secretary and Assistant
Secretary of the Congress, the Chakauae dTibei Reception:
Committee, and the Sectdjfpf of the Reception
Committee nominated by tke Hfccfcption Ofcamittee.
I* 1901, work in Loadtt* Was organiied, t&t news-
pftpbr India Was pitted on a film basis by quotas off
REVIEW OF THE RESOLUTIONS W
subscribers allocated to Provinces, aggregating to 4,000,
and a special delegation fee of Rs. 10 was to be paid by
the delegates as from 1902 onwards, in addition to the
•usual fee paid by them till then. It is obvious that the
Congress had no narrow views regarding the extent of
finances necessary to carry on Congress work in India
or in England. At the 20th Congress (1904, Bombay), it
was decided to send a deputation to England on the eve
of the General Election to Parliament, and to raise a
fund of Rs. 30,000 for the purpose. At Benares (1905),
s Standing Conxmittee of the Congress composed of 15
members was appointed to promote the objects of the
Congress and implement its resolutions during the year.
In 1906 Dadabhai put the object of the Congress in a
nutshell when he said, "The whole matter can be com-
prised in one word, Self-Government or Swaraj,
like that of the United Kingdom or the ColoniesT* Yet
when it came to a question of a Resolution, the matter
was softened, for the Congress demanded, in Resolution
No. IX, "that the system of Government obtaining in
the Self-Governing British Colonies should be extended
to India," and "as steps leading to it" urged certain
Reforms. The atmosphere of the Calcutta Congress being
undoubtedly surcharged with the spirit of Nationalism,
& further step in organizing the country was adopted and
each Province was to organize at its capital a Provincial
Congress Committee "in such manner as may Be deter-
mined at a meeting of the Provincial Conference or at" a
special meeting, held for the purpose, of representatives
of different districts in the Province." The Committee
should "act for the Province in all Congress matters
and it should be its special care to organize District
Associations throughout the Province for sustained and
continuous political work in the Province." The method
of electing the Congress President was revise^. The
Reception Committee was to elect one from those
90 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
nominated by the Provincial Congress Committees, by
a 3/4 majority of its members, failing which the Central
Standing Committee (a committee newly brought into
existence composed of 49 members) was to make the
final decision.
A new system of constituting the Subjects Committee
was adopted. The Committee was to consist of 85
delegates, with ten extra from the Province where the
Congress was being held, elected by the delegates from the
respective Provinces. There were a number of ex-officio
members including the President and ex-Presidents, ex-
Reception Committee Chairmen, the General Secretaries,
and the local Secretaries for the year.
The next phase of the development of the Congress
Constitution was really epoch-making. The Surat split
naturally led those who organized the Convention at
Allahabad to frame a rigid constitution. So the first
step taken was to declare that the election of the duly
chosen President of the Congress could not be challenged,
for the Surat dispute and the cawus belli centred round
Dr. Rash Behari Ghose's election. Next the real interest
centred round the 'Creed' of the Congress. When the
Surat Congress was split; the Convention that met a day
after, i.e., on the 28th December, 1907, at Surat was
composed only of those who subscribed to a view which
afterwards materialized into Article 1 of the Congress
Constitution. We quote the Article as finally passed:—
"The objects of the Indian National Congress
are the attainment by the people of India of a sys-
tem of Government similar to that ^ enjoyed by the
. Self-Governing members of the British Empire, and
a participation by them in the rights and responsi-
bilities of the Empire on equal terms with those
members."
REVIEW OF THE RESOLUTIONS 91
Under the Constitution of 1908, the All-India
Congress Committee was to consist of: —
15 Representatives of Madras
15 „ Bombay
20 „ United Bengal (including
Assam)
15 „ United Provinces
13 „ The Punjab (including
N. W. Frontier Province)
7 „ Central Provinces
15 „ Bihar and Orissa1
5 „ Berar
2 „ Burma
provided as far as possible that one-fifth of the
total number of representatives shall be Muslims.
The Presidents of the Congress, residing or present
in India, and the General Secretaries of the Congress who
shall also be ex-officio General Secretaries of the All-
India Congress Committe, shall be ex-officio members in
addition.
The Subjects Committee was to be composed of the
Members of the A.I.C.C. plus a small elected element,
the electors being the delegates assembled at the
Congress from each Province.1
1 It was under this constitution too that Bihar, which
continued to form, part of Western Bengal, was carved out into
a separate Congress Province and Bihar held its first Provincial
Conference in 1908 under the presidentship of Mr. (later Sir)
Syed Ali Imam.
•The strength of the A.LO.C. was considerably raised later,
until in 1917 it stood at 14 for Madras, 11 Andhra, 5 Sindh, &
each for Bengal (including Assam) and U.P., 5 for Delhi Ajmere-
Merwara and British Rajputana, 20 Punjab, 12 OJ?., 2o Bihar
and Orissa, 6 Berar and 5 Burma. The Subjects Committee wit
to be composed of the AJ.O.C. plus an equal number of elected
members for each Province, the electors being the delegates *f
the Province assembled at the Congress.
98 THE HISTOBY OF THE CONCUSS
. The objects of the Congress "are to be achieved
by constitutional means by bringing about a steady
reform of the existing system of administration, and by
promoting national unity, fostering* public spirit and
developing and organizing the intellectual, moral
economic and industrial resources of the Country." It
was in the Constitution of 1908 that a clause appeared
for the first time, under which any resolution that was
repugnant to 3/4 of the Hindu or Muslim delegates was
to be given up. On looking up old records we come
across a curious application of this restrictive measure.
A resolution was passed in 1899 at the 15th session of
the Congress (Lucknow) condemning the Punjab Land
Alienation Bill which was then before the Supreme
Legislative Council with a view to restricting the aliena-
tion of land either by sale or by mortgage. We find
however that -at the succeeding session (16th
Lahore, 1900) the Subjects Committee decided to post-
jK>ne the discussion of the Punjab Land Alienation Act
(apparently the Bill had been passed into Law) so as to
watch its working for a year, since the Hindu and
Muslim delegates disagreed on it.
Further amendments to the Constitution came in
from the United Bengal Provincial Congress Committee
and these were referred to a sub-committee in 1910
(Allahabad). The recommendations of this Committee
were accepted at the 26th Congress (1911, Calcutta) and
the A.I.C.C. was charged to send in further amend-
ments. No material changes however took place for a
time. From 1910 to 1915 the Congress was merely
marking time. When the Great War broke out in 1914
and Mrs. Besant inaugurated her great political move-
ment, it was done under the auspices of the All-India
Home Rute League. It may be noted that by that time
Irokamapya Tilak had organized a separate Home Rute
REVIEW OF THE RESOLUTIONS 93
League in Maharashtra on the 23rd of April, 1916. It
was not till the Congress of 1920 (Nagpur) after the
Special Congress at Calcutta (September, 1920) had
accepted Non-co-operation, that the Congress revised
the Constitution, replacing the 'Creed' of 1908 by the
simple statement in which it stands embodied to-day,
and reorganized the whole plan of Congress work, includ-
in the re-distribution of Congress Provinces on a linguis-
tic basis. The question of a separate Andhra Congress
Province was indeed mooted earlier in 1915 and 1916 and
was accepted in 1917 by the Calcutta session, after vehe-
ment opposition from the President (Dr. Besant) and
from some of the leading South Indian (Tamil) delegates
from Madras. Even Gandhi thought in 1917 that the
question might await the Reforms, but it was the fore-
sight of Tilak that gave the Andhras a separate Congress
Circle, and in consequence a sub-committee was appointed
in December, 1917, to revise and settle the extent of
representation of each Congress Circle on the A.I.C.C.
This was followed by Sindh asking for and getting a
separate Congress Circle for itself in 1918, but the
demands of Karnataka and Kerala had to wait till the
general re-distribution of Congress Provinces in India
into twenty-one after the Nagpur session of 1920.
UNSATISFIED DEMANDS TILL THE YEAR 1918
^To prove that India's national demand was not
merely sentimental, that there were weighty and
practical reasons which made it imperative, that under
existing coriSitions reform had not much chance, it is
enough to mention the repeated proposals and protests of
the Indian National Congress, which after 32 years had
pot materialised on account of the attitude of the
Government of India and the various Local Govern-
ments And flbey were hi 1918 as follows:—
THE HISTORT OF THE CONGRESS
(1) Abolition of the India Council (1885)
(2) Simultaneous examinations (1885)
(3) Equitable apportionment of military expenditure-
between India and England (1885)
(4) Extension of trial by Jury (1886)
(5) Finality to be given to the verdicts of Juries
(1886)
(6) Enabling accused persons in warrant cases, to
demand that instead of being tried by the
Magistrate, they be committed to the Court of
Sessions (1886)
(7) Separation of Judicial from Executive function*
(1886)
(8) Volunteering among Indians (1887)
(9) Establishment of Military Colleges in India for
the training of Indians as officers (1887)
(10) Amendment of the Arms Act and Bules (1887)
.(11) An active policy of technical education and
industrial development (1888) .
(12) Eeform of the Land Revenue Policy of
Government (1889).
(13) Be. Currency Policy (1892).
(14) Constitution of an independent Civil Medical
Service in India (1893)
(15) Abolition of Exchange Compensation Allowance
(1893)
(16) Abolition of Begar (forced labour) and Rasad
(forced contributions of supplies) (1893)
(17) Reduction of *Home Charges.'
(18) Repeal of the Cotton Excise Duty (1893)
(19) Recruitment of the higher Judiciary from the
Bar (1894)
(20) Condition of Indians in the Colonies (1894)
(21) Repeal of the Government of India's notifica-
tion of 1891 relating to the Press in Indian
States (1894)
(22) Measures for the relief of agricultural indebted-
ness (1895).
(23) Improvement in the conditions of third class-
railway travelling (1895)
(24) Financial independence to Provinces (1896)
(25) Reorganisation of the Educational Services so as-
to do justice to Indians (1896).
(26) Repeal of the Bengal, Madras and Bombay
Regulations of 1818, 1819 and 1827, respectively
(1897)
(27) Re. the Sedition Act of 1898 (1897)
(28) Re. the Criminal Procedure Code Amendment
Act of 1898 (1897)
(29) Be. the Calcutta Municipal Act of 1899 (1808)
(30) Re. the Punjab Land Alienation Act of 1900
(1898)
REVIEW OF THE RESOLUTIONS 9S
(31) Inquiry ' into the economic condition of the
people of India (1900)
(32) Larger employment of Indians in the minor Civil
Services (1900). *
(33) Restriction of the employment of Indians in
the superior offices of the Public Works De-
partment (1900)
(34) Admission of Indians to the Police competitive
examination in England and their larger em-
ployment in the higher ranks of the Police?
(1901) .
(35) Be. the increase of £ 786,000 per annum in the
capitation charges borne by India on account
of the British forces in this country (1902)
(36) Be. the recommendations of the Indian Univer-
sities Commission (1902)
(37) Be. the Indian Universities Act of 1904 (1903)
(38) Be. the Official Secrets Act of 1904 (1903)
(39) Cost of the India Office and the salary of the-
Secretary of State (1904)
(40) Bevival of periodical Parliamentary inquiries*
into Indian affairs (1905)
(41) Advance in Local Self-Government (1905)
(42) Be. the Criminal iLaw Amendment Act of 1908
(1908)
(43) Be. the Newspapers (Incitement to Offences) Act
of 1908 (1908)
(44) Free and compulsory primary education (1908)
(45) Beform of Legislative Councils Begulation*
(1909)
(46) Inquiry into the system of administration of
the North-West Frontier Province (1909)
(47) To throw open the office of Law Member to
advocates, vakils and attorneys (1910)
(48) Be. the Seditious Meetings Act (1910)
(49) Be. the Indian Press Act (1910)
(50) Inquiry into the growth of public expenditure
(1910)
(51) Amnesty to political prisoners (1910)
(52) Mr. Gokhale's Elementary Education Bill (1910>
(53) Governor-in-Council for the United -Provinces-
(1911)
(54) Constitution of an Executive Council in the
Punjab (1911)
(55) Beform of the India Council (1913)
(56) Be. Indian students in England (1915)
THE EAftLY PHASE OF THE CONGRESS
Fifty years have rolled by since the Indian National
Congress was founded. During this long period it has
covered several stages in the course of India's national
evolution, and whatever differences may have come into
"being in its counsels in later years, the earlier opes — from
1885 to 1915 or even 1921, were years of programmes
almost common to the different shades of opinion and
schools of thought that were slowly developing in Indian
politics. Nor were the differences of those earlier years of
-a very material type.
The greatest difficulty in choosing the fight or arrang-
ing the battle lies in selecting the scene of operations and
the strategy that should guide them. The contending
parties are tossed about between the aggressive and the
•defensive, between prayer and protest, between contending
programmes as to whether we should invite the enemy to
•our parlour and, to that end, play a waiting game, or
whether we should take time by the forelock and rush on
liim unawares and envelope him all round. These are the
issues that rack the brains of Generals on the battle-
fields. These likewise are the issues in politics where the
leaders should decide whether agitation should be in words
or in conduct, and whether, if they should decide in favour
of the latter, they should give fight by direct or indirect
•action. These tfeues are rapidly surveyed before our eyes
and still more rapidly revolved in our brains. The pro-
gressive stages of a political fight take decades to evolve
themselves and what appears to-day at the end of fifty
years of strenuous struggle to be profoundly easy and
fdmpie would not have struck our forbears, who had
THE BABLY PHASE OF THE CONGBESS 9T
started the Congress, as wything other than unthinkable*
Imagine a proposal placed bMpre mot like W. C. Bonnerjee
or Siirendra rlath Banerfewi,' Sir Pherozeehah Mehta or
Pandit Ayodhya Nath, Lai Mohan Chose or Man Mohaa
Chose, SubrahmaniaAiyar or Ananda Charlu, A.O. Hume-
or W. Wedderburn, which pleaded for a boycott of foreign
goods or of councils, courts and colleges, or a scheme of
Civil Disobedience of select laws. It requires no imagina-
tion to see that they would have been scandalised by such
ideas. Nor could such extreme programmes be evolved
before the Partition of Bengal, the reactionary policies of
Curzon and Minto, or the South African experiences of
Candhiji, or the Jallian walla Bagh massacre. During the-
fifteen years of strife and struggle which the Congress had
put in towards the end of the last century, the leaders of
thought were mostly lawyers with a sprinkling of mer-
chants and doctors who believed, and believed sincerely,
that what India wanted was a lucid and balanced presen-
tation of her case before Englishmen and their Parliament.
For this purpose they wanted a political organisation and
they found in the National Congress the required organ
through which to voice forth the Nation's grievances and
the National aspirations.
In recounting the personal forces that shaped as welF
as swayed the course of Indian politics and recalling the
faith that lay behind them, we cannot lose sight of the
several epochs into which the Indian political agitation*
during the past half a century divides itself. The circum-
stances under which the aspirations of the people and,
prior to that, their grievances called for powerful expres-
sion, have been explained and the background of the Con-
gress has been pictured in some detail. The times and'
condition^ would not allow in the earlier years anything-
elsjM&W a jeasoned appeal to the authorities f or th*
redress of .grievances and a, moderate demand of new 660*-
9B THE HISTORY OF THE CONOflEBS
cessions «hd privileges. This frame of mind soon deve-
loped into an art. Forensic talint on thfe one hand and a
richly imaginative and emotional eloquence on iheMher,
were soon brought to bear on the task that lay before the
Indian politicians. An irresistible statement of facts
followed by irrebuttable arguments to prove the justice of
the popular cause are to be met with everywhere in the
speeches supporting the Congress resolutions and the
addresses delivered by Congress Presidents. The burden
of these utterances was that the English people are essen-
tially just and fair, and that if properly informed they
would never deviate from truth and the right, that the
problem was the Anglo-Indian and not the Englishman,
that what was wrong was the system and not the indivi-
dual, that the Congress was essentially loyal to the British
Throne and fell foul only of the Indian bureaucracy, that
the English Constitution was the bulwark of popular
liberties everywhere and the English Parliament was the
Mother of Democracy all over, that the British Constitu-
tion was the best of all constitutions, that the Congress
was not a seditious body, that the Indian politicians were
the natural interpreters of Government to people and of
people to Government, that Indians must be admitted into
public services in larger measure, should be educated and
made fit for high positions, that Universities, the Local
Bodies and the public services should form the training
ground for India, that the legislatures should be thrown
open to election and the right of interpellation and discus-
sion of budgets should be conceded, that the Press and
the Forest Laws should be relaxed, the Police should
become friendly to the people, that the taxes
should be moderate, that the military expenditure
should be curtailed by India's burdens being
at least shared in part by England, that the Judicial and
Executive must be separated, and Indians should be given
a place in the executive Councils of Provincial and
THE EARLY PHASE OF THE CONGRESS 99
Central Govenimeqts and in the Council of the Secretary
of State, that India should have direct representation in
the British Parliament at the rate of two members to each
Province, that the non-Regulation Provinces should be
brought into line with the Regulation ones, that eminent
Englishmen in the public life of England should be sent
over as Governors instead of members of the Civil Service,
that simultaneous competitive examinations should be held
in India for the Services, that the annual drain to England
should be stemmed and indigenous industries fostered, that
Land Revenue should be reduced and Permanent Settle-
ment should be adopted. The Congress went the length of
deprecating the Salt Tax as an iniquity, Excise Duties on
cotton goods as unfair, and Exchange Compensation
Allowance to civilians as an illegal gratification. So early
as in 1893 Pandit Malaviya had the vision to sponsor a
resolution on the resuscitation of the village industries of
this ancient land.
From this rapid review of the themes that engaged
the attention of the Indian politicians one can easily see
how their minds should have been constituted. We
cannot blame them for the attitude they adopted as
pioneers of Indian political reform, any more than we can
blame the brick and mortar that is buried six feet deep
in the foundation and plinth of a modern edifice. They,
it is, that have miade possible the superstructure, storey
by storey, of Colonial Self-Government, Home Rule
within the Empire, Swaraj, and on the top of all, Complete
Independence. Let us express our deep and abiding sense
of gratitude to the great men that led the van of progress in
the earlier generations of our public life. They had
largely to quote English authorities in support of obvious
propositions. They had laboured hard and made heavy
sacrifices according to their lights and their capacities: If
to-day, our course is plain and our goal is obvious, we owe
HISTOW or
it »H toour forteaia
fee forest.
Whatever {periodical excitement and exacerbation of
feelings there flritgfet have existed. off and on amongst Con-
gressmen, there is no doubt that the progress of the
Congress from its inceptioif in 1885 to 1905 was one even
march based on a firm faith in constitutional agitation
and in the unfailing regard for justice attributed to the
Englishman. It was in that view that the Congress was
represented in 1893 by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia,
Chairman, Reception Committee "as the greatest glory of
British Rule in this country." For the obverse of the idea
be adcjed, i*We happily live under a Constitution whose
watchword is freedom and whose main pillar is toleration."
Lord Ripdn's view that "the Queen's Proclamation is not
a treaty; it is not a diplomatic instrument; it is a declara-
tion of principles of Government" was quoted by the
official Representative of the fourth session of the Congress
(1888, Allahabad). I/ord Salisbury's dictum that "Gov-
ernment by representation does not suit Eastern tradi-
tions" was deeply resented and Sir Pherozeshah Mehta
declared in 1890, "I have no fears but that British states-
manship will ultimately respond to the Call." Mahommed
Rahimtulla Sayani's declaration as President of the 12th
Congress in 1896 was unambiguous: "A more honest or
sturdy nation does not exist under the sun than this
EagJ&h Nation." And when the nation met India's
approaches and appeals with repression, Ananda Mohan
Bo0e who presided over the Madras Congress in 1898
exkorted saying, "The Educated classes are the friends
a»drnat the foes of England,— her natural and necessary*
aljw* m the great work that lies before her," The faith
ptaeedr in the Englishman and in England by {Cose who
hprre* #p* ferforfe us .may sometimes appear pathetic and*
it is our duty to recognise their Utaita*
Sir William Wedderburn
1889: Hombay
1910: Allahabad
Sir P. M. Mehta
1890 : Calcutta
P. Ananda Charlu
1891 : Nagpur
Alfred Webb
1894: Madras
TH1 EABLY PHASE OF THE COKOUBS
tiora and extend, to quote from Dr. Rash Beha?i Gbose's
speech at the 23rd Congress in Madras, 1908, "some
kindly thoughts for those who too, in their day, strove to
do their duty, however imperfectly, through good report
and through evil report with, it may be, somewhat
chastened fervour, but I may say without boast-
ing, a fervour as genuine as that which stirs and
inspires younger hearts." The first serious agitation in
the history of the Congress spread over five long years
(1906 — 1911) and was attended with a measure of repres-
sion considered barbarous at the time, leading to a je-
agtion in the outbreak of violence of a sporadic character,
and was ultimately crowned with unqualified success in
1911 in the Royal Proclamation annulling the Partition.
This led to a gushing praise of the British Government, a
renewed faith in its sense of justice and a sense of pro-
found gratitude expressing itself in unmeasured flights of
oratory. "Every heart is beating in unison with reverence
and devotion to the British Throne, overflowing with
revived confidence in and gratitude towards British states-
manship," said Mr. Ambika Charan Mazufndar. "Some of
us never faltered," he added "no — not even in the darkest
days of our trials and tribulations — in our hope, in our
conviction and in our faith in the ultimate triumph and
vindication of British Justice."1 At the same time
Congressmen did not lose sight of the galling
laws still in operation in 1911 and in later
1 Congressmen loved to parade their loyalty in toe earlier
days. When in 1914 Lord Pentland, Governor of Madras,
visited the Congress pandal, not only did the whole House rite
s*t Applaud the Governor, but Mr. AP. Patro who was speaking
on ^despatch of the Indian Expeditionary Force was stopped
d Surendra Nath Banerjea was asked to move the
n*the loyally of the Congress to the Throne which
usual exuberance of language.
f Or Jam**
102 THE HISTOBY^OF THE CONGRESS
years. The Patriarchs of the Congress had doubtless
concentrated on reform of administration and the repeal
of repressive laws, but it is wrong to suppose that
they were thinking only of the parts and not of
the whole of the Indian problem. "Self-Government is the
ordering of Nature, the will of Divine Providence," said
Surendra Nath in 1886 at the Calcutta session. "Every
nation must be the arbiter of its own destinies,— such is
the omnipotent fiat inscribed by Nature with her own
hands and in her own book." Presiding over the 20th
4Hbngress, Sir Henry Cotton visualized the ideal of "a
Federation of free and separate States, the United States
of India." Dadabhai spoke of "Self-Government or Swaraj
like that of the United Kingdom or the Colonies."
That the politicians of the earlier half of the Congress
Jubilee Term were not the enemies of Government is
amply proved, not only by their own unequivocal avowals
made every now and then but from the marks of favour
and preferment for which these sturdy patriots were
singled out by Government from time to time. The
Judiciary was naturally the field selected for such prefer-
ment. Sir S. Subrahmania Aiyar of Madras figured in
the very first Congress; Mr. V. Krishnaswami Aiyar was
solely responsible for the first Convention Congress held
in Madras in 1908 under a cut and dry Constitution and
Sir Arthur Lawley, then Governor of Madras, was good
enough to lend his tents for the Congress session. It was
Mr. Krishnaswami Aiyar that said, referring to the
Nationalists and the Congress, that 'the gangrened limbf
must be amputated. Sir Sankaran Nair presided' over the
Congress at Amraoti, 1897. Even Mr. Ramesam (Sip Vepa
since) was a Congressman from the year 1898 in which
he seconded the resolution on South African disabilities.
Then there was Mr. T. V. Seshagiri Aiyar who appeared
in the Congress in 1910 and Mr. P. R. Sundara Aiyar who
THE EAHLY PHASE OF THE CONGRESS ' 103
was an ardent ooadjjuftor of Mr. Krishnaswami Aiyar in
1908. All these six became Judges of the Madras High
Court and two out of them became Members of the
Executive Council, one of Madras and the other of Delhi.
The first, who should have presided over the Congress in
1899 and was unable to do so as he was made a Judge
of the High Court, reverted to the Congress in 1914 and,
during the Home Rule agitation of Mrs. Besant, surren-
dered his Knighthood and provoked the ire of both
Montagu and Chelmsford. It is said that there was a
talk at the time of discontinuing his pension as a Jud
but, apparently, better counsels prevailed. Then
both Sir P. S. Sivaswamy Aiyer and Sir C. P. Roma-
swami Aiyar were Congressmen, the former figuring -at
the Congress of 1895, and the latter being a more recent
lecruit but ever more ardent than the former, for he
-actually signed the Passive Resistance pledge during the
internment of Dr. Besant and her coadjutors. Between
1917 and 1919, Sir C. P. was the one star on
the Congress firmament flooding the horizon
of Indian politics with his radiance. Both -these rose to
the position of Members of the Executive Council. So
•did Sir Mahomroed Habibulla who first appeared on the
Congress platform in 1898 and gave a sample of his
talents and eloquence. He became a Member later of the
Madras and Delhi Governments. Sir M. Krishnan Nair,
a Law Member of the Government of Madras, spoke at
the Congress of 1904, and his successor— Sir K. V. Reddi
— was, even on the eve of the birth of the Justice Party
in 1917, an ardent and well-known Congressman. Sir
M. Ramachandra Rao had for long been a devoted
Congressman and was actually appointed Member of the
Madras Executive Council in 1921, but was passed over
at the last moment. Thus we had, from Madras alone,
Judges and six Executive Councillors. Mr. G. A.
recent etevation to the Tariff Board adds an
104 THE HlfcTOKY OF THE CONORES6
example of preferment in some of the unusual lines, even
as Sir R. K. Shannmkham's appointment as Dewan of
Cochin furnishes still another deviation from the beatea
track of the Judiciary and the Executive. Perhaps the
earliest prizeman from the Congress ranks was Mr. C.
Jambulingam Mudaliar, an elected member of the Madras
Legislative Council in 1893, who was made a City Civil
Court Judge. In Bombay, both Tyabji and Chanda-
varkar who presided over the Congress sessions of
Madras (1887) and of Lahore (1900) respectively, and
K. T. Telang, became Judges of the Bombay High Court.
Mr. N. M. Samarth and B. N. Basu were made members
of the Secretary of State's Council and Sir Chimanlal
Setalvad was at a later stage made a Member of the
Executive Council of Bombay.
In Calcutta, A. Chaudhuri who took a leading part
in the anti-Partition (of Bengal) agitation became a High
Court Judge, almost then and there. When Lord Morley
wanted to select the Law Member of the Government of
India in 1908, the choice, we learn from Lady Mintote
biography of Lord Minto, lay between Messrs.
Ashutosh Mukherjee "as the leading jurist of India, but
as a sincerely orthodox man whose claims were carefully
canvassed" and S. P. Sinha. It was stated by Lord
Minto that Sinha was "a Congressman although a
Moderate." S. P. Sinha spoke at the 12th Congress
(Calcutta, 1896), on the deposition without trial of a
native chief. And as we all know, the Congressman was
preferred. Likewise, when a vacancy arose fa* the
Executive Council of the Governor-General in 1920,
Lord Chelmeford's choice fell on the Maharaja of
Burdwan, but Mr. Montagu preferred an elected inemBer
of the. Imperial Council and mentioned Mr. V. S.
§rimvaw Sastrri's name. Chelnuford would not have him,
*e he thought Sastri had failed him at the
•THE EARLY PHASE OF *HE <*>NGfc£SS UK
rttomenV And the choice fell on Mr. B. N. Sannat-~a man
that had not failed him at Amritear, as we shall see
later on. In Bengal, other names familiar to Congress
circles, which have sinee been associated with high poets
under Government, are those of Messrs. S. R. Das Who
spoke in 1905 on the question of Indians in Executive
Councils, and who became the Law Member of the
Government of India, and Sir Provash Chandra Mitter
who became an Executive Councillor of Bengal . In U.P.
Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru was the stalwart chosen for the
Law Membership of the Government of India, and from
Bihar Syed Hasan Imam became, after inviting the
Congress to Patna for 1912, a High Court Judge;
Mr. Sachchidananda Sinha was raised to a place in the
Executive Council of Bihar.
But let us add that the governmental recognition
did not always take the form of posts. Pherozeshah
Mehta was raised to Knighthoo4 in 1905 by one of the
most reactionary Viceroys — Lord Curzon. Gopal Krishna
Gokhale would not accept a Knighthood, and would not
have accepted even a Membership of the Government of
India if it had been offered to him. He preferred to be
the plain, unsophisticated Servant of India that he really
was, and would have been happy not to have been made
a O.I.E. Mr. V. S. Srinivasa Sastri was nominated a
member of the Legislative Council by Lord Pentland
during the Great War. Thereafter he was nominated to
the Assembly under the Montford Reforms, and in 1921,
was appointed India's representative at the Imperial
Conference along with the Maharaja of Kutch, and
.shortly after made a Privy Councillor. Then he went to
America and lectured on India and the Empire. The
Dominions invited him, except South Africa which
-declined to invite him. The Government of India voted
Us. 60,000 for his expenses. But ample amends were
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
made to him later when he was appointed in 1927 the
first Agent-General in South Africa itself, to look after
the interests of Indian settlers there. The very stone
which was rejected became the corner-stone of the edifice
of the Empire.
We have mentioned some instances of preferment of
distinguished Congressmen. Let no one run away with the
idea that these men were not fitted by their education,,
culture and high character to fill the posts to which they
were appointed. These illustrations only show that the
Government, too, if it wanted to have able Indians, had .
to look to Congress ranks for recruiting them, and that
their politics were not regarded by the Government with
such disfavour as to make them unfit for places of the
greatest responsibility and trust.
r CHAPTER IV
BRITAINS' REACTION TO THE CONGBESS MOVEMENT
AND RISE OP NEW FORCES AND PARTIES.
The history of the British Rule in India is a
continuous story of Reaction and Reform, the former
always preceding the latter. Popular agitation gives
birth to repression on the ground that, unless the people
are thoroughly beaten, no concession should be made to
popular demands. Lord Lytton's Press Act of 1870
which was however quickly withdrawn was the real fore-
runner of this policy. The Arms Act was another reply
to the growing self-consciousness of the Nation and
continued a festering sore. Later in 1886 came the
Income-tax Act which was objected to seriously at the
time. As the Congress grew from year to year, the
officials began to eye it with suspicion. Lord Dufferin
who had advised Hume to make the Congress under-
take political organisation and not merely Social Reform,
became an open enemy of the Congress and characterised
it as seditious.
Although it was gratifying to Hume that in 1886
the Congress should have been duly received by Lord
Dufferin, the Viceroy, in Calcutta, and in 1887 by Lord
Connemara, the Governor, in Madras, yet in later years
it evoked the hostility of Provincial Satraps like Sir
Auckland Colvin of the North-Western Provinces (U.P.).
This gentleman advised that the Congress had better
turn its attention to Social Reform, not knowing that
that was the original line of action
for the Congress, and that it
a political organization at
Sir Auckland Colvin thou
premature, and in itsi
3rd session (1887, Madras)-
108 THE HISTORY OF THE OONGBBSS
denunciatory method would, he said, excite hatred and
create a split between the Loyalists and the Nationalists.
He added that Congress "unfairly claimed to represent
the Indian population." Hume replied that "the hatred
Was already there and required to be assuaged, that any
counter agitation would be taken up only by Anglo-
Indians, uncultured men and time-servers." The
"Muslims/' he said, "were as intelligent as, and more
democratic than, any one else and in their antipathy to
Congress were only being used by a few ill-advised
officials who clung to the pestilential doctrine of Divide
bt Impera." "The wretched plea that they are inferior
to Hindus," was, he added, "monstrous," and he quoted
the names of Sir Salar Jung, Mr. Justice Budruddin
Tyabji and Mr. Justice Syed Mahmud. On the
question of Congress representing the people, he quoted
the ten per cent, of the population that were polling at
the English Parliamentary elections, as in those of
constituencies like Aberdeen, and the two seats that
Weymouth was selling, of which, by the way, it may be
mentioned one was purchased by his father.
As for the Congress confining its attention to Social
Reform, he pointed out how the Congress sought the re-
generation of India on all lines— spiritual, moral, social,
And political. Meeting the charge of the Congress propa-
ganda being premature and mischievous, he warned
officialdom as to how it was surrounded by self-seekers
And flatterers and kept out of touch with real public
opinion. "Indians of high character and public spirit,"
"he said, "do not willingly present themselves in official
quarters where they may be met with suspicion from the
Authorities and insult from underlings." He concluded
)iy, saying Jthat the real question to be asked was not
it pfeinat^rk?" but "Is it too late?" In narrating
stoiy'Sir W. Wedderburn appropriately winds tip by
BRITAIN'S REACTION: m* PARTIES
quoting the parallel of the Bourbons at the close of the
18th century. "They had neither eyes to see, 'nor ears
to hear, and sudden destruction was brought upon them
by the hatred of the intellectuals energizing the dull
despair of the peasant masses."
The fourth Congress held at Allahabad had untold
difficulties in its way. It could not get grounds whereon
to put up the tents. Mrs. Besant in her book on the
Congress quotes the instance of a gentleman who had
attended the Madras Congress in 1887 "in defiance of his
district officer and was called on to give a security of
Rs. 20,000 to keep the peace." Matters rapidly became
worse and Government's hostility took the shape, in 1890,
of a Circular issued by the Bengal Government to all
Secretaries and Heads of Departments subordinate to
it "pointing out that under the orders of the Government
of India, the presence of Government officials, even as
•visitors, at such meetings is not advisable and that their
taking part in the proceedings of any such meetings is
also prohibited." The seven cards of admission sent by
the Congress to the Private Secretary to the Governor
were returned. A Government of India Notification was
promulgated on 25th June 1891 (Foreign Department)
restricting the rights of free Press in Native States which
was protested against by the Congress in 1891. We
extract below the Notification: —
"Whereas some misapprehension has hitherto exist-
ed as to the regulations in force in territory under the
administration of the Governor-General in Council, but
"beyond the limits of British India, with reference to
newspapers published within such territory, the Oover-
aor-General in Council has been pleased to make the
following orders:—
L ?No newspaper or other printed work, whether
periodical or other, containing public news or comments
on public news, shall, without the written permission
for the time being in force of the Political Agent, be
edited, printed or published after 1—8—1891 in any local
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGBE8S
area administered by the Governor-General in Council
but not forming part of British India.
2. If this is contravened, the Political Agent may
by order in writing,
(a) Require him to leave such local area within
seven days from the date of such orders,
(b) and prohibit him from re-entering such local
area without the written permission of the Political
Agent.
3. Disobedience of orders mentioned in the last
foregoing paragraph shall make one liable to forcible
expulsion."
The bogey of Muslim opposition to the Congress
was set up quite in the early years of the Congress and
it is curious to note that Sheik Raza Hussein Khan
produced at the fourth session (1888, Allahabad) a Fatwa
supporting the Congress from the Shams-ul-ulma, the
leader of the Sunni Community of Lucknow, and
declared that "it is not the Muslims, but their official
masters who are opposed to the Congress." By 1893 the
Legislative Councils were expanded and people's repre-
sentatives— all too few, being seven in Madras, six in
Bombay (including two for the Sirdars) and seven in
Bengal — became vocal, with the result that Government
thought it necessary to cut short certain privileges
enjoyed by Indians in the Public Services (lor further
details see the Section on th'e summary of Resolutions on
the Public Services). At first in the Educational Depart-
ment Indians and Europeans were equally eligible for all
offices; then, while the equality of eligibility was there,
the grades were made unequal. Next the Indians were
excluded from certain posts and their status was lowered
while their pay suffered a still further cut. In the mean-
time the European officers began to receive what was
called Exchange Compensation Allowance which was des-
cribed by Lokamanya Tilak as "the crime of 26th June,
1893." And the drain of Home Charges increased from
7 to 16 millions of pounds in 30 years. Sections 124 (A)
and 153 (A) were forged in the year 1897 and really
BRITAIN'S REACTION : NEW PAHTIES 111
created disaffection towards Government. It is interest-
ing to note that sections 108 and 144 were first applied
to politicals even in the last century. Secret Press-
Committees were established in 1898 which evoked a
vehement protest from Mr. W. A. Chambers at the four-
teenth Congress (Madras' 1898) and the Resolution was
seconded by Mr. N. C. Kelkar, the able and cultured!
lieutenant of Lokamanya Tilak. Kelkar spoke against
"the hateful institution of the Press Committees which
are only a thinly veiled Press censorship and as such a
distinct disgrace to British India." Even more obnoxious-
was the statement unearthed by Mr. Mudholkar who in
1897 referred to Sir James Fitz-James Stephen's standard
of Loyalty as expressed in the following words of his:
"Go to the English newspapers; whatever they say, you
may say; that any body should want to be more offensive-
than they, is inconceivable." In 1899 the Natu brothers,
who had been imprisoned without trial since 1897 in
connection with the plague riots of Poona, were
released. Bengal was hit and was clipped of its
wings. The first five years of the 20th century wit*
nessed the strenuous days of Lord Curzon's rule. His-
curtailment of the powers of the Calcutta Corporation,
his Official Secrets Act, his officialization of the Univer-
sities which made education costly, his tirade against
the untruthfulness of Indians, his budget of twelve
Reforms, and his Tibetan Expedition euphemistically
called the Tibetan Mission, and finally his Partition of
Bengal, broke the back of loyal India and roused a new
spirit in the Nation. Even more galling to our sense of
self-respect than his speech in Calcutta regarding our un-
truthfulness, was his sweeping charge that we Indians
were, by our environment, our heritage and our up-
bringing "unequal to the responsibilities of high office
under British Rule." In fact, by his Resolution dated
24*6-1904, Lord Curzon made race the test of qualifier
br1
tion not merit, so much so that the continuation of
policy made Lord Morley declare, as Secretary of Siate,
that what India resented was racial domination, not so
much political domination. Lord Ctirzon's term was
characterized by activity, indeed breathless activity. He
had a scheme of twelve Reforms and appointed several
Commissions. "Commissions there are that shelve and
Commissions there are that solve. But mine are of the
latter category", said he. He did some lasting good,
doubtless, to India. His Ancient Monuments Preservation
Act is a blessing for which Indian Nationalism owes him
a deep debt of gratitude. The manly way in which he
punished a regiment in the Rangoon and O'Hara1 cased
remains as a tribute to his courage and sense of justice.
The period of time between 1900 and 1906 was one
of a critical nature in the history of India. While the
people were showing increasing signs of self -consciousness,
the retrograde policy of Government could not but make
itself more and more assertive and ever more naked. We
shaft show how one of the favourite themes of Surendra
Nath Banerjea's was the Public Services. In 1893 there
were only twenty Indians in the I.O.S., as against a
thousand Europeans, — and this in 35 years after its
introduction. The House of Comjmons had actually passed
a Resolution on the need for simultaneous examinations
in India about the year 1893, but ten years after, you
have Lord Curzon's mSmite disparaging Indian talent.
No wonder that Surendra Nath was forced to state that
Mfitory of the Civil Services is one unbrokto record
reference is 40 Lord CuyzonV denunciation pf,t fr
British battalion in Bangoon, some privates of which were
have outraged an Indian woman t6 death, but could
detected, e wing:, to a combination amongst toe
n^'Os^^
ftaal*a< mtjlndian cock to death formatting tbtMft
*n Indian woman for them and who too could not be detected.
BRITAIN'S REACTION: NEW PAITH&S US
-of broken promises." Mr. ML M. Samarth bemoaned that
Burke and Sheridan were not there to impeach Cunon
and bis policy. The result was a sense of helplessness-
Which made the Congress pathetically ask for the
periodical Parliamentary enquiries so late as in 1905, in
a resolution at Benares moved by Ambalal Desai. While
Lord Curzon's University Commission, followed by the
Universities Act, "sealed up" in the words of Dr. GOUT
"the portals of knowledge with golden locks wEch would
open only to golden keys," his Police Commission result*
ed in excluding the Indians from the special Police Ser-
vices. On the top of these came Lord Curzon's speech
to the merchants in which he stated that "administration
and exploitation go hand in hand." All these led to what
popularly was known as the National movement, intensi-
fied by the anti-Partition movement. The Partition of
Bengal divided the Bengali speaking people into two
Provinces against their wishes and was a signal for
a most extensive and intensive agitation on the part of
the people and an equally intensive repression on the part
of the Government. Processions, meetings and demon-
strations were organized, but erelong they were prohi-
bited. Hartals came into existence and students and
citizens alike were punished. Educational rules became
strict and prohibited students from taking part in politics.
Sir B. Fuller, Lt.-Governor of East Bengal, promulgated
his threats; and his rudeness to respectable people whom
he bullied saying, "Bloodshed may; be necessary," was
followed by the announcement of the arrival of Gurkha
troops into East Bengal. All this, when there was not a
trace of violence indulged in by the people, ad pointed
out by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya at the time. But
like the ball that bounds the higher, the more it is hit,
and the drum that sounds the louder, the more it is
beaten, 4h* newly awakened National spirit of 1905—1906
,aotually prospered under the oft-repeated blow* i>f
til THE HISTORY OF THE CONGURSS
«v«r growing repression which Government were com-
pelled to adopt in all its nakedness. The events of the
day in one part of the country became well-known
throughout the rest of the land. Every act of reaction by
Government had its repercussions all over the country.
The cause of Bengal was made India's cause. Each local
area forced to the front its own grievances which had
long been pent up and made it an added cause of agita-
tion. The Ganal Colonization Bill of the Punjab gave
occasion for a popular upheaval in that martial area,
'which led later to the deportation of Lala Lajpat Rai
srnd Sardar A jit Singh. The Calcutta Congress aptly
chose the Grand Old Man of India to preside over its
deliberations. And Dadabhai^s introduction of the term
"Swaraj' only added incense to the flames of Anglo-Indian
irritation.
The prohibitory orders against students participating
in political meetings and demonstrations led to the boycott
•of schools and colleges, followed by the establishment
of 24 National High Schools in East Bengal alone,
and the organization of a Society for the Promotion . of
^National Education in Bengal (Banga Jateeya Vidya
Parishad) under the headship of ex-Justice Sir Gurudas
Banerjee. Babu Satish Chandra Mukherjee was the
"Principal of this institution which was imparting educa-
tion "on National lines and under National control and
directed towards the realization of the National destfny,"
in accordance with the resolution of the Calcutta
•Congress on the subject in 1906. Babu Bepin Chandra
Pal who had been, since 1903—1904, doing splendid work
3n the cause of National Renaissance through his weekly
J?ew India, became the avowed and authoritative ex-
ponent of the cult of Nationalism, National Education,
nmd the New Spirit, throughout the country. His tour in
the Andhradesa in the summer months of 1907 was *
BRITAIN'S REACTION: NEW PARTIES 115
roaring success. His visit to Rajahmundry (Rajamahen-
yaram) led to a resolve by the townspeople to open a
National High School there. An address presented to him
by the students of the Government Training College led
to the rustication of several students who became
soldiers in the National cause. Thus did the unrestrained
policy of repression manufacture our patriots and heroes.
The seed of National Education sown by Pal in the year
1907 at Masoilipatam (Machilipatnam) sprouted forth-
with, was since watered and manured by the National
movements of 1917 and 1921, and has grown into a tree
and remains there to this day, bearing flower and fruit
such as we can expect under the withering winds and the
scorching heat of State displeasure. The year 1907 wit-
nessed the implementing of the new slogans of Swadeshi,
Boycott, and National Education in practical programmes.
While National Schools and a National University were
springing up here, there and elsewhere — in Bengal,
Maharashtra, C.P., Punjab and Andhra — the Swadeshi
movement spread far and wide. The handloom Industry
was once again revived but with the flyshuttle, and in
order to give it an impetus a boycott of foreign goods
was organized, the banner of boycott being first hoisted
on the 7th August, 1905, a day which was observed for
years with the same spirit of sacredness as was shown
to the 16th of October— <he day of the Partition of
Bengal. The whole atmosphere was surcharged with a
new enthusiasm and Governmental repression was keep-
ing pace with the National upheaval. National Renais-
sance was thriving under State repression. In August,
1907, the situation in India was really acute, so much so
that Lord Minto was thoroughly disappointed and
happened to say of Gokhale, "I believe he is honest at
heart, but the part he has played of late has disgusted
me." That shows incidentally how some of the National
leaders were caught between two stools.
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGftESS
Two characters emerged from Bengal at the time
who played a notable part in making India's history.
Bepin Bapu and his work has already been referred to.
Aurobindo shone for years as the brightest star on the
Indian firmament. His association with the National
Education movement at its inception lent dignity and
charm to the cause. He was during his early years
brought up and educated in the English atmosphere andf
English schools and Universities. He came to India
much as any European would come, to join the Educa-
tional Department of Baroda, he having failed to secure
a place in the I.O.S. as he did not pass the Riding test.
Aurobindo's genius shot up like a meteor. He was on the
high skies only for a time. He flooded the land from
Cape to Mount with the effulgence of his light.
Nine deportations took place in Bengal, namely of
Krishna Kumar Mitra, Pulin Behari Das, Shyam Sunder
Chakravarti, Aswini Kumar DuttT Manoranjan Guha-
Thakurta, Subodh Chandra Mullik, Sachindra Prasad
Bose, Satish Chandra Chatter jec and Bupesh Chandra
Nag. These leaders had been organizing Bengal— the
youth of Bengal in particular. Physical prowess and
courage were the ideal of the time. Sir B. Fuller's ideal,
on the other side, was the Gurkha soldiery and "blood-
shed if necessary." Things reached their acjne in 1908.
Press prosecutions were to be witnessed everywhere. The
Yugantdr, the Sandhya and the .Bandemataram were
the organs of the New Spirit and were all suppressed.
Brahma Bandhav Upadhyay*, Editor of the Sandhya and
a strenuous patriot, died in hospital. Aurobindo himself,
after undergoing. many, hardships and three prosecutions,
left the British Territory and started an Ashram in
PoiWicherfy., ,
BRITAIN'S REACTION: NEW PAETIEB 117
On the 30th April, 1908, fell two bombs at Muzaffer-
pore on two ladies— the Kennedys— which were meant
for Mr. Kingsford, the District Judge of the place.
Khudiram Bose, a young man of 18, was executed for the
crime. His photoes were circulated broadcast in the
country. The cult of violence was openly preached in the
columns of Yugantar, edited by a young man named Bhu-
pendra Nath Datta, a brother of Swami Vivekananda.
When the young man was given a long sentence, his
mother expressed her joy at the service rendered by her
son, and 500 Bengali women went to her to congratulate
her. The son himself declared in Court that there were
300 million Editors behind the paper to take his place.
That was the faith which sustained the movement. Sedi-
tion and its punishment therefore ceased to rouse any
fears in the popular mind. People preached it far and
wide, but when prosecuted employed all the resources of
the Law to obtain a discharge or acquittal. Aurobindo's
prosecution for sedition in the Bandemataram, was no
exception to this plan of popular campaign. In Maha-
rashtra, Bal Gangadhar Tilak was arrested on the 13th
July, 1908, and on the same day were arrested in
Andhra, Mr. Harisarvothama Rao and two others. After
five days' trial, Tilak was given six years' transporta-
tion to which was added the half year remitted in his
sentence of 1897. The nine months' punishment given to
Harisarvothama Rao in Andhra was sought to be revised
by Government and the High Court raised it to three
years. Five years for sedition was quite a common affair.
Soon, however, sedition disappeared from the land. It
really went underground and the bomb and the revolver
took its place. New measures, called the Seditious
Meetings Act and the Press Act, were passed in the
teeth of popular opposition in 1908, and ' two yeare
later, the Criminal Law Amendment Act. Gokhale
warned Goverm— 1 in the debate on the Seditious
TIHB HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Meetings Bill that the younger men were getting out of
hand and that they, the elders, could not be blamed if
they could not control the youth.
Sporadic murders of a political nature were taking
place from time to time and the most daring of the kind
was the nwirder of Sir Curzon Wyllie in London at a
public meeting, in 1907, by a young man named Madan
Lai Dhingra, who was hanged. In trying to rescue the
victim, Dr. Lalkaka, a Parsee, also shared his fate. Pandit
Madan Mohan Malaviya who presided over the 24th
session of the Congress at Lahore (1909), deplored these
incidents as well as the murder of Mr. Jackson, Collector
of Nasik. The violence movement was rapidly spread-
ing to different Provinces in India and had its support
amongst a section of Indian students in London. The
tension of feeling was not relieved either by the Minto-
Morley Reforms or the admission of Indians into the
Executive Councils of the Government of India, and of
the Madras and Bombay Governments. As Gokhale
repeatedly pointed out, Reforms delayed "lost half their
value and all their grace." By this time Lord Morley
began to see the mischief done by Lord Curzon's policy.
He repudiated Lord Curzon's interpretation of the Queen's
Proclamation of 1858 and the emphasis laid by him on
the words "so far as may be" as the disqualifying factor
in respect of obliterating "all distinctions of race." But
there was no chance of any peace in the country until the
'settled fact' of the Partition of Bengal was unsettled. The
prestige of the bureaucracy was at stake. It could not
respond to agitation; for, once that was done, its rule
would be at an end. A fine description of this "special
•creation of the Almighty — the Bureaucracy" was given by
Pandit Bishan Narayan Dhar who presided over the 26th
Congress session in Calcutta. The essence of bureaucracy
is pithily expressed by Lord Minto in one of his speeches
BRITAIN'S REACTION: NEW FAUTIES 119
in which he said that Government would not yield either
in response to agitation from below or in obedience to
authority from above, but out of its own free will and on
its own initiative. Therefore a device was found out to
get out of the impasse created by the Partition, which,
strangely enough, was disowned both by Lord Curzon who
had conceived it, and by Lord Ampthill who signed it as
the Acting Viceroy at the time. It was equally disowned
by Lord Morley and by Viscount Middleton (Mr. Brod-
rick) who were the two Secretaries of State concerned.
Anyway, when Lord Minto gave place to Lord Hardinge
as Viceroy and Lord Crewe succeeded Viscount Middleton
as the Secretary of State, advantage was taken of the
King's Coronation celebrations in India to annul the Parti-
tion, and to shift the metropolis of India from Calcutta
•to Delhi. When the King was about to leave the pavilion
at the close of the ceremony on the 12th December 1911,
in Delhi, he stood and said: —
"We are pleased to announce to our people
that on the advice of our ministers and after consul-
tation with our Governor-General-in-Council, we
have decided upon the transfer of the seat of the
Government of India, from Calcutta to the ancient
^Capital of Delhi, and simultaneously as a consequence
of that transfer, the creation at as early a date as
possible of a Governorship-in-Council for the Presi-
dency of Bengal, of a new Lieutenant-Governorship-
in-Council administering the areas of Bihar, Chota
Nagpur and Orissa, and of a Chief Commissioner-
ship of Assam, with such administrative changes and
redistribution of boundaries as our Governor-General-
in-Council, with the approval of our Secretary of
State for India-in-Council, may in due course deter-
mine. It is our earnest desire that these changes may
conduce to the greater prosperity and happiness of -
our beloved people."
"When it is said that the Partition was annulled, let it
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
not be understood that the status quo ante was restored.
The partition of Bengal into West Bengal and East Bengal
(with Assam) only underwent a change of form, Bihar
which was, in the partition, included in West Bengal, being
separated into a Province, along with Chota Nagpur and
Orissa. So that in place of West Bengal and East Bengal
(with Assam), we have Bengal as one Province, and Bihar r
Chota Nagpur and Orissa as another Province, and Assam,
as a third Province. The one injustice left unredressed oa
the occasion of the Coronation celebrations in India has
just now been repaired by Orissa being integrated into a
distinctive Province. Lord Hardinge, they say, made his
term memorable for the abolition of Indentured Labour in
South Africa and the annulment of the Partition of Bengal,
but what makes his administration memorable was that he
worked for the Despatch of August 25th, 1911, which has
formed the basis for all further Reforms in India and in
which he unreservedly acknowledged the supreme claims
of Provincial Autonomy in any scheme of National recon-
struction.
With these achievements to the credit of the Con-
gress, it is but to be expected that the highest jubilation'
should have prevailed over the country when the annual
session met in Calcutta in 1911. Surendra Nath Banerjea
made a handsome acknowledgment of the help rendered
to Bengal by the whole of India and expressed
the buoyant hope "that India would form part
and parcel of the Self-Governing States of a Free
and Federated Empire, rejoicing in our indissolu-
ble connection with England and in the enjoyment of
the inestimable blessing of new-born freedom." But there
was a skeleton in the cupboard. In the midst of these*
wild rejoicings, people could not forget the Seditious
Meetings Act (1908) and the Press Act (1908) and the
Criminal Law Amendment Act (1910) which cut at the
•BRITAIN'S REACTION : NEW PARTIES 121
Toot of -popular liberties. Above all, there were the
century-old obsolete Regulation III of 1818 and allied
.Regulations in the different Provinces, under which the
deportations of 1906-1908 were freely taking place. There
•were, too, the Excise duties on cotton goods manufactured
an India. These directly jeopardised the security of
.person and property and national industrial interests.
"There were, above all, political prisoners in jail, notably
Bal Gangadhar Tilak confined in the Fort of Mandalay,
•suffering from diabetes, — alone and unfriended, but full of
fortitude. At this time, Gokhale's Elementary Education
Bill was on the tapis, with poor chances of being passed,
.-and there was the South African situation which called
forth a nation-wide agitation.
That was the position in 1911. The political tension
was somewhat relaxed in 1912. But a great tragedy was
enacted in the year, when an attempt was made on the
life of Lord Hardinge, who was perhaps the mpst popular
Viceroy about the time. A bomb was thrown on him — and
he narrowly escaped death — while he was riding an
elephant in the procession organized on entering Delhi, the
mew Capital. The Congress deviated from its usual
practice of dispersing at the close of the Presidential
address at its Patna session (1912) and resolved to send a
telegram to Lord Hardinge expressing its sorrow and indig-
nation at the outrage. The Press began to be rigidly con-
trolled, as was expected after such incidents, and this led
in turn to an insistent demand for the repeal of the Press
Act in 1913. Bhupendra Nath Basu gave the history of
the vicissitudes of the Press in India, and described how
in 1835 Sir Charles Metcalfe had liberated the Indian
Press, but Lord Lytton gagged it in 1878-79 by his Verna-
cular Press Act, which was repealed later at the instance
of Mr. Gladstone. In 1891, however, the Government of
India published a Notification dated 25th June 1891 in the
222 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Foreign Department, gagging the Press in territories-
under British administration in Native States, which
•evoked warm protests from the Congress in successive
years. The latest reactionary measure was the Press Act
of 1908— permanently placed on the Statute Book in 191ft
— which authorized Government to demand securities from,
new Printing Presses and newspapers up to Rs. 2,000, and
from old ones up to Rs. 5,000. Sir Herbert Risley, the
Home Member at the time, said that the Act would not
affect existing papers and that the administration of the
Law would not be in the hands of the Police, but both the
assurances proved false. People lost sight of the fact —
including Sir S. P. Sinha who, as the Law Member of the
Government of India, was responsible for the final shape
of the Bill, — that fresh declarations were necessary under
the Printing Press and Newspapers Act of 1867 for various
minor causes, such as change of premises, temporary
r >sence of the printer or the publisher, death of the
orijr 1 owner, and change in the management. All these
necessitated fresh declarations, and that meant security
as for a new Press, especially under the inexorable reports
of the secret Police. As soon as the Great War broke out,
in 1914, a notorious instance of misuse of the Act occurred
in respect of a pamphlet published by Mahomed Ali,
entitled "Come over into Macedonia and help us," whi<»h
was forfeited without the notification stating the grounder
for Government's opinion as was required by the Press Act
of 1910. The pamphlet was held to be not seditious and
was outside the scope of the Penal Code. The Chief
Justice of Calcutta (I.L.R. 41 Calcutta 466) stated that
it would be the duty of the Court to hold, but for
Section 22, that there had been no legal forfeiture. On the
merits, His Lordship observed:
"The provisions of Section 4 are very compre-
hensive and its language is as wide as humaf*
BRITAIN'S REACTION: NEW PARTIES 123
ingenuity could make it. Indeed it appears to me to
embrace the whole range of varying degrees of assur-
ance, from certainty on the one side to the very limits
of impossibility on the other. It is difficult to see to
what lengths the operation of this Section might not
plausibly be extended by an ingenious mind. They
would certainly extend to writings that may even
command approval. An attack on that degraded
section of the public which lives on the misery and
shame of others would come within this widespread
net, — the praise of a class might not be free from risk.
Much that is regarded as standard literature might
undoubtedly be caught. The Advocate-General has
contended, and rightly in my opinion, that the provi-
sions of the Press Act extend far beyond the Criminal
Law and he has argued that the burden of proof is
cast on the applicant, so that, however meritorious
the pamphlet may be, still if the applicant cannot
establish the negative, the Act requires his application
must fail. And what is this negative? It is not
enough for the applicant to show that the words of
the pamphlet are not likely to bring into hatred or
contempt any class or section of His Majesty's sub-
jects in British India, or that they have not a tendency
in fact to bring about that result. But he must go
further and show that it is impossible for them to
have that tendency either directly or indirectly, and
whether by way of inference, suggestion, allusion,
metaphor or implication. Nor is that all. The legis-
lature has added the all embracing phrase 'or other-
The C. J. added: "Mr. Mahomed Ali then has lost
his book, but he retains his character and he is free from
the stigma that he apprehended. And this doubtless will
be some consolation to him when we dismiss, as we must,
his present application." The colleague of Sir Lawrence
Jenkins, the Chief Justice, was not less pronounced in his
condemnation of the Press Act, for Mr. Justice Stephen
observed: "So wide indeed are the powers which the Legis-
lature has conferred on the Government, that they would
1J4 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
be able to confiscate a newspaper containing words that
might cause one man to hate or even to condemn a class,
if such there should unhappily be, who sought to embarrass
the Government of the country by murder and robbery ."
Speaking of the pamphlet he says: "I find myself in a
position which is unfamiliar to me and in which, as far as
I am aware, no Judge in the British Empire has been
placed since the remote days of early English jurisprudence.
I have to decide a question of fact on such evidence as is
supplied by one document. The side on whom the onus
of proving his case is cast, is not in a position to give
evidence. As the other side has not called any witness,
no cross-examination has taken place."
Regarding the case of New India edited by
Mrs. Besant, the Officiating Chief Justice of Madras
remarked: "Section 3 (1) imposes a serious disability on
persons desiring to keep printing presses." Mrs. Besant
forfeited Rs. 20,000 altogether, in 1917, oinder the Press
Act. A deputation of the Press Association headed by
Mr. B. G. Horniman and composed of Messrs. Malaviya,
Chintamani, Sachchidananda Sinha and others waited on
Lord Chelmsford on March 5th, 1917, and in reply the
Viceroy rebuked the deputation in unmeasured terms. But
that was not all; he rebuked the Judges already quoted,
saying, "The function of a Judge is not to say what the
Law ought to be, but what it is. Executive action is and
must always be based upon information, experience, con-
siderations of policy which find no place in the Courts of
Law. Sir Lawrence Jenkins was not entirely consistent
with himself. And I cannot but think that if he had any
knowledge of the statistics I have given you, he would
have hesitated before describing the keeping of printing
presses and the publication of newspapers as an extremely
hazardous undertaking."
BRITAIN'S REACTION: NEW PABTIES 125
It was only after the Montford Reforms were in
operation that the Repressive Laws were repealed (except
the Criminal Law Amendment Act) about the year 1922.
We have digressed into the full story of the Press Law, in
ihe course of describing the hardships it had worked on
the public in 1913, even after the Partition of Bengal had
been annulled and the violence movement had become
quiescent. But the comparative lull and tranquillity in
the political atmosphere were seen to give place to the
commotion created by the Great War of 1914-1918, and
one gratifying event took place on the eve of this world
cataclysm. The Muslims who, ever since the Partition
days, had remained aloof from National ideals and pinned
their faith on the bureaucracy, saw better in 1913, and the
Congress placed on record that year its "warm, apprecia-
tion of the adoption by the All-India Muslim League of the
ideal of Self-Government for India within the British
Empire, and of the belief which the League had so empha-
tically declared at its last session 'that the political future
of the country depends upon the harmonious working and
co-operation of the two great communities'."
In July 1914, the Great War broke out and when
towards November, that year, the Germans were knocking
at the door of France, Lord Hardinge took courage in both
hands and depleted India of her soldiery. England was in
great peril. The soldiers in India were meant to save
India for England, but if England herself was going to the
bottom of the sea, why this Standing Army in India? So
he packed off the Army to Flanders, iriarching it from
Marseilles without a day's rest to the firing line. The
Indian Army saved the Allies from a disaster which should
have been theirs otherwise, before the close of the first
winter in the War. In the Congress of 1914, therefore, the
demand for Self-Government was revived. The Congress
resolved that "in view of the profound and avowed
126 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
loyalty the people of India have manifested in the present
crisis, this Congress appeals to the Government to deepen
and perpetuate it and make it an enduring and valuable
asset of the Empire, by removing all invidious distinctions
here and abroad between His Majesty's Indian and other
subjects, by redeeming the pledges of Provincial Autonomy
contained in the Despatch of the 25th August, 1911, and
by taking such measures as may be necessary for the
recognition of India as a component part of a Federated
Empire, in the full and free enjoyment of the rights
belonging to that status." We have quoted the Resolu-
tion in extenso because it represents the high water mark
of National aspiration at the time. Mrs. Besant, however,
did not place the Indian problem on the basis of a reward,
but on the basis of a right. She boldly demanded the-
application of the principle of Reciprocity at the Madras-
Congress (1914), urging that India should exclude imports
from countries from which her people were excluded.
W Besant inaugurated her great Home Rule movement
during the days of Lord Pentland. The same old pro*
gramme was revived, — Swadeshi, Boycott, National Edu*
cation and Home Rule. She disaffifiated her Theosophical
Educational institutions at Madanapalle from the Madras
University, established a National High School at Adyar,
established other like institutions in Sindh and elsewhere,
and organized a Society for the Promotion of National
Education (S. P. N. E). under the headship of Dr.
Arundale. The Home Rule League was being organized
by Mr. B. P. Wadia. Mr. C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar,
who had already begun to take part in the Congress,
became an active participant in this movement. AW
India was the daily through the columns of which the
Home Rule movement worked. The students became
a great force in the agitation, and Lord Pentland pro-
mulgated the notorious G. 0. SSS prohibiting them from
taking part in politics. As usual*, agitation led to
BRITAIN'S REACTION: NOW PARTIES 12T
repression and Mrs. Besant, Mr. Arundale and
Mr. Wadia were interned in Ootacamund on June 16th,
1917. These events, from the year 1915 up to
September, 1920, constitute really facts and factors
of a thickly crowded era,— the era of the Home Rule
movement — and are dealt} with in a separate Chapter
in Part II of the Book.
CHAPTER V
OUR BRITISH FRIENDS
Some members of the British Parliament and
certain other eminent Englishmen played a notable
part in the evolution of Indian politics.
Long before the Congress was organized by Mr. A. O.
Hume, we had a number of members of Parliament who
interested themselves in the Indian question and brought
an altruistic spirit to bear upon the Parliamentary dis-
cussions relating to India. John Bright was the earliest
of these, whose activities in the cause of India are trace-
able to the fifties and sixties of the last century.
Mr. Bright entered Parliament in 1847, and from that time
to 1880 he kept up his interest in India through all the
vicissitudes to which this country was subjected. Next
•came Mr. Fawcett who entered Parliament in 1865 and
moved the resolution in favour of simultaneous examina-
tions in 1868. He condemned in 1875 the ball to the
Sultan of Turkey given by Lord Salisbury in England at
the expense of India, and from that time forward his
career was one continued story of a warm espousal of
India's cause. It was as a result of his protests that the
•cost of the Abyssinian War came to be divided between
England and India. He condemned the cost of the Duke
of Edinburgh's presents to the Indian Princes being debit-
ed to India's account and likewise saved India a debit of
£ 30,000 spent on the visit of the Prince of Wales.
"Lord Lytton's sacrifice of cotton import duties, the Delhi
Assemblage, and the Afghan War were all protested against
T>y Fawcett. It is interesting to recall how, so early as in
1872, an address was voted in Calcutta expressing deep
gratitude to Mr. Fawcett and how when in 1874 Fawcett
OUR BRITISH FRIENDS 129
lost his seat in Parliament, a purse of £ 750 was voted
in this country to enable him to contest a seat.
The part which A. O. Hume played in organising ait
Indian Parliamentary Committee and the Congress has*
already been referred to. It is meet and proper that we
know something more about this Scotchman who laboured
for India's good, both as an official and as a non-official
for over sixty years. He was a member of the Indian.
Civil Service and served India in various capacities. A&
a District Officer he laboured for "the cause of popular
education, police reform, the liquor traffic, the vernacular-
press, the juvenile reformatories and other domestic
requirements." His one interest was the village and its'
agriculture, his one care and concern was for the people.
He had no doubt fought in the Mutiny in the district of
Etawah and saved India for the British. The moment
peace was restored, he began, however, to vindicate a
policy of enlightenment declaring that, "Assert its supre-
macy as it may at the bayonet's point, a free and civilis-
ed Government must look for its stability and per-
manence to the enlightenment of the people and their
moral and intellectual capacity to appreciate its bles-
sings." This attitude evoked a Government circular
dated 28th January 1859, in which objection was taken
to the employment of native agency for the promotion
of education, and the Collector was warned not to at-
tempt to persuade the people to send their children ta
the schools or to contribute to their maintenance.
Hume's protest against this is historic. "I cannot but
found hopes of indulgence," he wrote, "on the intense*
interest I feel in the subject and the ceaseless attention
that I have paid it. For years past, it has been the
dream of my leisure moments, the object of my hopes,
and although I have achieved little as yet, I cannot, as
I watch the feeble beginnings, avoid recalling an Alpine
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
scene of happy memories when I saw the first drops of
.a joyous stream trickling through the huge avalanche
•that had so long embayed, and feeling confidence from
that augury that, day by day and month by mX>nth, that
tiny rill gathering strength and size, will work out its
resistless way and, at last, despite the whole chilling mass
of ignorance, the accumulation of ages, pass on unobstruct-
ed to fertilise and enrich an empire." Hume's next
favourite, "Police reform," was based upon a scheme
•which provided for the complete separation of Police and
Judicial functions. Of Abkari he says, "while we de-
bauch our subjects we do not "even pecuniarily derive
any profit from their ruin. All this revenue is the
-wages of sin; it may, in the words of the old adage, be
truly said that 'ill-gotten wealth never thrives.' And for
*€very rupee additional that the Abkari yields, two at
least are lost to the public by crime and spent by the
Government in suppressing it. I at this moment see no
Shopes of reform; yet I have no doubts whatsoever that
if I be spared a few years longer, I shall live to see
'effaced, in a more Christian-like system, one of the
•greatest existing blots on our Government of India."
At the end of 1859 he helped in starting a vernacular
paper called the People's Friend, 600 copies of which were
taken by the North-West Provinces (U. P.) Government.
The Viceroy appreciated it and copies of the paper were
forwarded with translation to the Secretary of State for
submission to Queen Victoria. So early as in 1863,
Mr. Hume pressed for the establishment of a juvenile re-
formatory where the boys would be separated from! adult
criminals and given a chance of amendment by discipline,
l>y instruction, and by training in useful industries. As
Commissioner of Customs, his principal achievement was
the gradual abolition of the vast Customs barrier, 2800
miles long, which had hitherto been kept up to protect
OUR BRITISH FRIENDS 131
*he Government's salt monopoly by excluding the cheap
salt produced in the Rajaputana States. "This grotesque
fortification/' it is said, "extended from West to East
across India, from Attock on the Indus to near Cuttack
on the Bay of Bengal." And Mr. Hume's success in
bringing this about evoked praise from the Secretary of
State.
In 1879, Mr. Hume prepared a scheme of agricultural
reform and in spite of the sympathy Lord Mayo showed
towards it his scheme came to nought. On the question
of litigation he held the "''Civil Courts in the rural dis-
tricts directly responsible for the bondage of cultivators
to the money-lender'1 and he recommended that "rural
•debt cases should be disposed of summarily and finally
on the spot by selected Indians of known probity and
intelligence" who should be "sent as judges from village to
village to settle up, with the aid of village elders, every
<case of debt of the kind referred to in which any one of
its inhabitants was concerned. These judges would be
fettered by no codes and forms of procedure and they
would hear both parties' stories Coram Populo on the
village platform of the debtor's own village." "It is
needless to tell any one who knows the country," said he,
"that while, when you get him into court, no witness
seems to be able to tell the truth, on his own village
platform surrounded by his neighbours, no villager in per-
sonal questions like these seems able to tell an untruth.
Everybody knows everybody else's affairs. Let the
speaker deviate perceptibly from the facts, and immediately
out go tongues all round, and hisses and cries of 'wah,
wah', remind him that he is not in court and that that
kind of thing will not go down at home." In 1879, a
detailed scheme on these lines was formulated for the
benefit of the distressed Deccan ryot but it was disallow*
ed by the Bombay Government. Mr. Hume was Secretary
1S2 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
to the Government of India from 1870 to 1879 but he
was ejected from that place for the offence that he was
too honest and too independent. There was a chorus o£
condemnation in Indian papers, but in vain. Lord Lytton's-
proposal to give him a Lieutenant-Governorship was
turned down by Hume himself, because he was not equal
to the task of feting and feasting that it involved, and
the alternative proposal to make him the Home Member
was turned down by Lord Salisbury, on the ground that
Mr. Hume was stiffening Lord Northbrook against the
repeal of cotton duties. He retired in 1882 after spending
£ 20,000 on a museum of ornithology, and £ 4,000 on the
preparation of a great work on the "Game Birds of
India."
The services of Sir William Wedderburn are too well-
known to need recounting. He was the chief character
for years together in running the British Congress
Committee, for the expenses of which the Congress had
been voting sums ranging from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 50,000'
annually. Sir William Wedderburn presided over
the National Congress at two of its sessions, — in Bombay,
(1889) and at Allahabad (1910). Mr. David Yule presid-
ed over the fourth session of the Congress at Allahabad
in 1888 and was the author of the classical and oft-quoted
statement which says: "The House of Commons regards:
India as a great and solemn trust committed to it by an
all-wise and inscrutable Providence. The six hundred
and fifty odd members have thrown the trust back upon
the hands of Providence, to be looked after as Provi-
dence itself thinks best." In subsequent years the visit
of members of Parliament to India and their presence at
the Congress session became an annual event. We can
recall such well-known names as those of Mr. W. 8.
Caine, the great Temperance Reformer, and Charles
Bradlaugh, the protagonist of lost causes, Mr. Samuel
OUB BRITISH FBIEND6 139
Smith, Dr. H. V. Rutherford and Dr. Clarke. In later
years various other members of Parliament visited India,
Ramsay Mac Donald should have even presided over the
Congress of 1911 but that his wife's death prevented this
event, which would have been an interesting episode in
the great tragedy of this Labour Leader's career in rela-
tion to India. Keir Hardie, Holford Knight, Maxton,
Col. Wedgwood, Ben Spoor, Charles Roberts, Pethwick
Lawrence, are a few more of the 'Commoners' that have
visited India and attended different sessions of the
Congress to study India's problems. But the ovation
given to Charles Bradlaugh in 1889 was royal in its
style and more than royal in its cordiality. His reply
contains many noble sentiments, but his definition of
loyalty is remarkable. "That is no real loyalty," he said,
"which is only blind submission. Real loyalty means
that the governed help the Governors, leaving little for
the Government to do." The bureaucracy's definition,
however, is quite the opposite, for they say that the
people must leave every thing to be done by Govern-
ment, themselves doing nothing.
Bradlaugh prepared in 1889 a draft Bill on the
Reform of the Legislative Councils and circulated it. It
embodied the views of the Congress as expressed till
then, and the Congress in accordance with his wishes
drafted certain proposals embodying the mature opinion
of the Indian people on the subject. The Bill was drop-
ped later. But Bradlaugh 's position in Parliament was so
strong that Lord Cross's first Bill itself had to be dropped
in 1891 owing to Bradlaugh 's opposition; and his second
Bill was accepted, embodying the first instalment of
Reforms, with the principle of election to the Legislatures
indirectly given.
A name not less dear was that of William Ewart
Gladstone. Pandit Bishan Narayan Dhar quoted the
9
THE HISTOaY OF THE CONGRESS
following declaration of the Grand Old Man of England,
ia Madras at the 3rd Congress (1887) :— "I hold that the
capital agent in determining finally the question whether
•our power in India is or is not to continue, will be the
will of the 240 millions of people who inhabit India. The
•question who shall have supreme rule in India is, by the
laws of right, an Indian question, and those laws of
right are from day to day growing into laws of fact.
Our title to be there depends on a first condition, that our
being there is profitable to the Indian nation, and on a
second condition, that we can make them see and under-
stand it to be profitable." The repeal of the Vernacular
Press Act relating to Lord Lytton's time was put down
to Gladstone's abhorrence of it.
Gladstone's direct approval of the Congress move-
ment was the real cause of his popularity in India. "It
will not do for us to treat with contempt or even with
indifference the rising aspirations of this great people,"
said he, in 1888. For years together his birthdays evoked
congratulatory resolutions from, the Congress. His 82nd
birthday fell on 29th December, 1891 and was duly
observed by the Congress. His advocacy of India's
rights no less than Ireland's was the direct cause
of such unparalleled devotion to a distant statesman.
'Gladstone was regarded as a friend of India and
Eardley Norton quotes a statement of his at the tenth
•Congress (1894) regarding the Press Law, which was as
follows: — "Suddenly in the dark, in the privacy of the
Council chamber, I believe in answer to a telegram, with-
out the knowledge of Parliament, without the knowledge
of the country, a law was passed totally extinguishing
the freedom of the Native Press. I think a law such as
that is a disgrace to the British Empire." Gladstone's
<d*ath was sincerely bemoaned by the Congress in 1898.
OUB BRITISH FRIENDS 135
Lord Northbrook was thanked by the ninth Congress
<1883) for pleading in Parliament for the reduction of
"'Home' charges. In moving the proposition before the
Congress, Gokhale quoted the Duke of Argyll's statement
that the grievance should be remedied before the impres-
sion got abroad in India that there was such a grievance.
The Duke was a great authority on public questions and
Mr. Wacha quoted the following statement of the Duke at
the 17th session of the Congress: "Of chronic poverty
and permanent reduction to the lowest level of subsis-
tence, such as prevail only too widely, amongst the vast
population of rural India, we have no example in the
Western world." The same Duke had said in 1888 that
"they (the English) had not fulfilled the promises and
engagements which we have made." The English friends
were remembered with gratitude in their death, as they
were for their services while alive. Lord Stanley of
Alderley was another friend of the Nation and when he
passed away in 1903, the Madras Congress recorded its
grief over his death and over that of W. S. Caine. There
were other Englishmen or Anglo-Indians who strove for
the uplift of India year after year, who had spent their
lives hi this country, and whose services were memorable.
At the very first Congress appeared Mr. D. S. White who
wished to "stop the importation of these boys from
England at great expense and to abolish the Civil
Service, utilising, both from England and India, men of
experience and reputation." Mr. Eardley Norton is a
famous character. He was the son of John Bruce Norton
who was a well-known public man in South India and
whose portrait is hung in the Pachaiappa's Hall, Madras.
The younger Norton spent the best part of his life in
India and laboured like his father for India's uplift. In
1894, he moved the Resolution on the abolition of the
India Council and formulated the conundrum : "If the
Secretary of State is to be controlled by the Council,
136 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
then abolish the Secretary of State. If the Council is to
be controlled by the Secretary of State, then abolish the
Council. The dual existence is useless, dangerous, expen-
sive and obstructive.'1 He gave instances of commercial
incapacity of the Secretary of State and his Council, such
as sanctioning the Calcutta and S. E. Railway, against
Lord Canning's protest, guaranteeing interest at 5 per
cent., and when it was practically bankrupt, buying it up
at % a million sterling. Five per cent, interest was
guaranteed on a million sterling for the Madras Irrigation
Co., and as the work never paid its expenses it was purchas-
ed for India at par. The Council bought at Rs. 1,000 per
share, the shares of the Elphinstone Land and Press Co.,
selling in the market at Rs. 339. The expenses of the
India Council included, we are told, "the wages of 28
housemaids, a house-keeper and 3 charwomen." Amongst
other English friends who stood by India was Mr. HI
Morgan-Browne who, while seconding a resolution at
the 10th Congress for an enquiry by the House of
Commons into Indian Finance, pointed out how out of
the Famine Insurance Fund of 24 crores of Rupees, only
16 crores had been spent as promised. The 'Stores/ he
said, was one of the meanest and most corrupt depart-
ments and India was made to pay Rs. 1,20,000 for a
ball in Constantinople. Another English friend was
Mr. John Adam, a known Educationist of Madras who
stood by the Congress in the earlier days.
There remains one great public character to whom
we must make a reference. It is General Booth, who
urged on the Nagpur Congress (1891) a scheme by which
the poor, destitute multitudes could be settled on the
waste lands of the country. A fitting reply was sent to
him by telegram.
OUR BRITISH FRIENDS 137
An account of the services of these European friends
would not be complete without a reference to the names
of Captain Banon and Captain Hearsay who respectively
proposed and seconded a Resolution at the fourth Congress
in 1888 (Allahabad) and pointed out how over 2,000
Indian women were procured by Government "for the
hideous purpose alluded to ( prostitution) " how the provi-
sion encouraged the boy-soldiers to loose living and how
it would be better to encourage the soldiers to marry.
Nor can Sir Henry Cotton and his abiding services
to the Nation be forgotten in this brief narrative.
The Cottons were a family long connected with
India, and no sooner had the Chief Commissioner
of Assam retired from the I. C. 8. than he was
called on by the Congress to guide its delibera-
tions at the Bombay session in 1904. He it was that
visualized the ideal of the Federated States of India for
the first time.
CHAPTER VI
OUR INDIAN PATRIARCHS
Before we take up the further development in the
Congress policy and programme, it is but meet and proper
that we pay our tribute of praise and gratitude to the
great leaders and founders of the movement for emanci-
pation, who worked and toiled in the earlier days of the
Congress. Looking at the Congress with its widespread
organization and with its great National programme, we
arc apt to imagine that all this has come about in our time
and as a result of our efforts. The programme and out-
look of the progenitors of the Congress may not appeal to
the Congressmen of to-day; and the programme and
outlook of to-day may not have appealed to the progeni-
tors of the Congress. But we must remember that what
we are able to accomplish and aspire to-day would not
have been possible without their hard pioneer efforts and
great sacrifices. We would be therefore failing in a duty
\vhich we owe to the memory of those who have passed
away, and to those who are still happily amongst us, if we
did not devote a few pages to recording the great services
and sacrifices of our patriarchs.
DADABHAI NAOROJI
The first name in the list of patriarchs is that of
Dadabhai Naoroji who, beginning his connection with the
Congress from its very outset, continued to serve it till
the evening of his life, and took it through the whole
gamut of evolution, from the humble position of being a
people's organ seeking redress of administrative grievances,,
to that of a National Assembly working for the definite
object of attaining Swaraj (Calcutta, 1906). He presided'
over the Congress thrice, in 1886, 1893 and 1906, and.
INDIAN PATRIARCHS 139
throughout his association with it, held aloft the Congress
banner before India and England. Dadabhai's second
selection to the Presidentship of the Congress was in
appreciation of his election to the House of Commons a»
& member for Central Finsbury. At that time the idea
of ventilating India's grievances in London was being
seriously discussed. There was an earnest proposal in
1891, to suspend the Congress until a London session was
held. But it was turned down. Just then A. 0. Hume
was about to depart for England, and about the same
time there was a demand for direct Indian representation
to the House of Commons. It was at this juncture that
Dadabhai was elected Congress President for the second
time, and he took the opportunity to exhort the British
"not to drive this force (the educated Indians) into oppo-
sition instead of drawing it to your own side." "This
Congress," said he, "represents the aristocracy of Intel*
lect." Dadahhai hoped that "our faith in the instinctive
love of justice and fair play of the United Kingdom is not
misplaced." "The day, I hope," he said, "is not distant
when the world will see the noblest spectacle of a great
Nation like the British holding out the hand of true follow
citizenship and of justice." To the last day, Dadabhavs
faith in the British remaind unimpaired. "Indians;
are British citizens," he said in 1906, "and are entitled to
and claim all British citizens' rights." When Dadabhai
presided over the Calcutta session in 1906, India was in a
seething cauldron; the Partition of Bengal which was
effected on the 16th of October 1905 was followed by ttoe
uprise of the New Spirit. East Bengal was seething with
discontent. Hindu-Muslim troubles were being fomented.
Ordinance rule came into existence. The quartering of
the Military and of punitive Police became a new develop-
ment in the maintenance of Law and Order, and the
Provincial Conference at Barisal was dispersed "by the
Police who wantonly broke the peace in order to keep thte *
140 THE mSTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
peace," to quote the words of Dr. Rash Behari Ghose.
Dadabhai pointed out how, since 1893-94, the population
grew 14 per cent,, but the net Government administrative
expenditure 16 per cent, while since 1884-85 the population
grew 18 per cent., and the expenditure 70 per cent. The
Military expenditure alone rose from 17 to 32 crores,
7 crores being spent in England. The recommenda-
tions of the Welby Commission in favour of an
apportionment of the Military expenditure between
England and India were honoured in letter but
disregarded in spirit, for a certain contribution
was made by England but the pay of the English soldier
was raised so as to take away thrice the contribution made.
The year that Dadabhai presided over the Calcutta
Congress (1906) was the year when the Gaekwar visited
the Congress. The spirit of boycott pervaded the
atmosphere of the Congress. Babu Bepin Chandra Pal
gave an extended application to the word, boycott and
interdicted all association with Government. Provinces
other than Bengal sought to exempt themselves from the
operation of the Resolution on Boycott. Swadeshi, which
was its obverse, meant various things to various people.
To Malaviya it meant the protection of indigenous indus-
tries; to Tilak it meant self-help, determination and
sacrifice on the part of the Nation in order to end the sad
spectacle of the middle classes using foreign goods. To
Lalaji, it meant the conserving of capital. But to Dada-
bhai himself, the Spirit of the Times echoed itself in a
cry for economic and educational reform, and the spread
of Education created the craving for Swaraj. The
Englishman fell foul of this old man of eighty coming
from a distance of 6,000 miles and adding the new slogan
of 'Swaraj9 to the existing ones of Swadeshi, Boycott,
and National Education. The way was preparing itself
for the clarification of the Indian demand. In 1905,
Gokhale had marked out the four lines of progress to
OXJR INDIAN PATRIARCHS 141
rSelf-Government which were embodied in the cardinal
Resolution of 1906. We give below the four main resolu-
tions of the Calcutta Congress passed under the presidency
of Dadabhai Naoroji in 1906: —
SELF-GOVERNMENT
I. Resolved that this Congress is of opinion that
the system of Government obtaining in the Self- Governing
British Colonies should be extended to India and that, as
steps leading to it, it urges that the following reforms
-should be immediately carried out:
<a) All examinations held in England only should
be simultaneously held in India and in England,
and that all higher appointments which are made
in India should be by competitive examination
only.
<T)) The adequate representation of Indians in the
Council of the Secretary of State and the Execu-
tive Councils of the Governors of Madras and
Bombay.
<c) The expansion of the Supreme and Provincial
Legislative Councils , allowing a larger and truly
effective representation of the peoples and a larger
control over the financial and executive adminis-
tration of the country.
<(d) The powers of local and municipal bodies should
be extended and official control over them should
not be more than what is exercised by thp Local
Government Board in England over similar bodies.
BOYCOTT MOVEMENT
H. Hesolved that having regard to the fact that the
Iteople of tjua country have little or no voice in its
Administration, and their representations to the Govern-
ment do not receive due consideration, this Congress is
of opinion that the boycott movement inaugurated in
Bengal by way of protest against the partition of that
.Province was, and is, legitimate.
SWADESHI
HI. Besolved that this Congress accords its most
-cordial support to the Swadeshi movement and calls upon
the people of the country to labour for its success, by
Tnaking earnest and sustained efforts to promote the
growth of indigenous industries and to stimulate the
production of indigenous articles by giving them pre-
ference over imported commodities, even at some sacri-
fice. , i i -
3MQ THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
NATIONAL EDUCATION
IV. Besolved that in the opinion of thi*. Ctagrea*
the time has arrived for the people all over the country
earnestly to take up the question of national' education,
for both boys and girls, and organise a system of edu-
cation, literary, scientific and technical, suited to the
requirements of the country on National lines and: under
National control.
It is impossible to recount within the short space of a
few pages the services of one who lived and worked
incessantly for India's uplift, whose pen knew no rest and
to whom Providence gave more than the proverbial three
score years and ten. Dadabhai lived and laboured and
has left behind him not only the noble example of a
dedicated life, but also in flesh and blood his grand-
daughters who are maintaining the noble traditions-
created by him.
ANANDA CHARLU
When the first Congress was held in Bombay in 1885,
Editor G. Subrahmania Aiyar and Mr. Anandk Charlu,
Telang and Dadabhai Naoroji, Narendra Nath Sen and
W. C. Bonnerjee, S. Subrahmania Aiyar and Rangaiah
Naidu, Pherozeshah Mehta and D. S. White — all eminent
men, founders and patriarchs of the Congress — gave an
indication, in their speeches, of the forces that were gather-
ing strength in Indian Politics. They constituted, in the
march of time, the Moderates of India, but their language,
however polite, was certainly not moderate. Ananda
Charlu, who later became the President of the Nagpur
Congress in 1891, began with his characteristic eloquence,
describing the India Council as "the oligarchy of fossi-
lized Indian administrators" who were "superannuated for
service in India."
He presided over the Nagpur (7th) session in 1891
and made a stirring speech. "Take the case of the-
OUR INDIAN PATK1AECH&
volunteers," said he. "We are excluded from? the enrolment.
Armenians, Negroes, West African Mulattoes and non-
descripts of humanity who infest the back slums of
Calcutta — these are all eligible as volunteers, these are our
martial heroes, these are the defenders of our hearths-
and houses. These are invidious distinctions and I an*
sure they must disappear before the irresistible might
of constitutional agitation. They are opposed to the
spirit of British Law. They are opposed to the spirit
of that law which is higher than all human laws, the law
of Nature which is engraved on the hearts and consciences
of the people of this country."
He was a shining light of the South Indian political
firmament for nearly two decades, and though he never
had a following or a school of thought behind him, he
was a notable personality with a rugged eloquence all
his own.
Amongst the earlier leaders, we could count a variety
of men and temperaments. Men like G. Subrahmania
Aiyar, D. E. Wacha, and G. K. Gokhale were of
one type. Their forte was economics, their eloquence
was the eloquence of facts; they never appealed to
popular imagination by quoting ancient tradition or
harping upon the golden age of India. Their arguments
were clean cut, their logic was unassailable, their autho-
rities above criticism.
D. E. WACHA
It is difficult to say which subject is the forte, and
which the favourite, of this venerable patriarch of the
Congress. His brilliant attainments showed themselves
even at the first session of the Congress when he "made
the first of many great speeches" and gave an able and
exhaustive review of the Military position. At the*
Mr* THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
t
second Congress he turned his attention to the poverty
of the -Indian population and drew attention to
the annual tribute to Great Britain which was enriching
England and impoverishing India.
He referred to "the increasing poverty of vast
numbers of the population iii India" and pointed out
that "the condition of the ryot had steadily deteriorated
since 1848 and that 40 millions of people had only one
meal a day, and not always that." The main cause, he
said, "was the tribute to Great Britain which is exported
there, only to fructify and swell still further the un-
paralleled wealth of those distant isles, never in any
shape to return here to bless the country from whose soil
it was wrung, or the people the sweat of whose brows it
represents."
At the fifth Congress (1889, Bombay), he dealt with
the Excise policy and pointed out how the House of
Commons, by a resolution, had directed the Government
of India to modify their Excise policy so as to meet the
wishes of the people, and after nine months, however, the
Government had done nothing. He turned to the subject
again at the 6th Congress, as well as to the question
of Salt Tax. In 1892, the Congress at Allahabad
was agitated over the Currency question and Mr. Wacha
explained the effects of the demonetization of silver by
Germany in 1873, the bearing of the 'Hoirte Charges' on
India, the Sherman Act of 1890, and the effect on India
of a gold standard as jeopardising the interests of the
masses. The 'State-regulated immorality' in India came
up for severe censure at his hands at the 9th session. At
the same session, Mr. Wacha moved a resolution against
the stoppage of silver coinage and said:
hard working labourers, the overtaxed
peasantry, are being impoverished in order that
OUR INDIAN PATBIABCHS 145
Government officials and usurers may fatten at tbeir
expense. It robs the ryots; it entails an additional
burden on them in order to actually compensate a
microscopic minority, already in receipt of salaries
which find no parallel in any part of the civilized
globe."
Wacha's shrewdness led him to dwell upon the pro-
blems of Lancashire so early as in 1885, for he said, "It
Military expenditure be not diminished, it should be met
by a re-imposition of the import duties, the abolition of
which had robbed poverty stricken India to enrich wealthy
Lancashire."
Again in 1894, \Vacha turned to "the injustice of
imposing Excise duties on cotton goods, crippling the*
infant mill industry of India and sacrificing the interests
of India to those of Lancashire." He praised the Govern-
ment of India for its resistance to the Excise Bill and
blamed the Secretary of State for this act of injustice. He
deplored the helplessness of the former because "it was
merely the registrar of the ukases of the Great Autocrat
for the time being at Westminster." We shall not pause
to mention in detail the various occasions — they are
really many — on which Mr. Wacha dealt with his favou-
rite themes, the Military problem, and the poverty of
the people. Finance was still to the fore at the eleventh
Congress (Poona, 1895), and Mr. Wacha exposed the
serious misrepresentation of facts by Sir James Westland
when he said that the increase in Civil and Military
expenditure was due to the Exchange. Mr. Wacha proved
the inaccuracy of the statement by quoting official figures.
By the llth Congress, Mr. Wacha earned the title of the
"Firebrand of Bombay" and in a vigorous speech, full
of facts and an intimate knowledge of his subject, he
supported the import duties on cotton. He next distin-
guished himself by his brilliant evidence before the Royal
£16 NBDE MISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
Commlisskra on Expenditure, popularly known fis the Welby
Commission, and elicited the praise of the Congress and
of scholars like Gokhale. The Frontier policy was a
source of concern in the year 1897, and at the 13th
session held at Amraoti that year, Mr. Wacha protested
against the policy adopted, pointing out that if the
Imperial policy required these trans-frontier excursions,
the British Exchequer should bear most of the cost. The
Indian Currency question became once more a burning
question in 1898, i.e., between the reporting of the
Herschell Commission and the appointment of the Fowler
Committee. Mr. Wacha dwelt upon the wrong course
pursued in closing the mints to silver coinage in 1898 and
pointed out that the Amended Coinage Act of 1893 passed
*4n half an hour by the Simla Legislature, without any
representative of India being summoned, was the starting
point. "It was the Home Charges that were the disease,"
said he, "not the currency. Then came attempts to fix
-exchange value and to prop it up by the Gold Bill.
Frontier policy, famine and plague exhausted the cash
balances." He followed up his attack on the Currency
question by condemning the introduction of the gold
standard into India at the 15th Congress (Lucknow,
1899). "The Congress had already discussed Currency
Keform thrice. He condemned Lord Curzon's idea that
gold would flow into India from all gold producing
countries. The root of India's poverty was the yearly
drain. Only indigenous wealth was fruitful. The silver
of the rupee had been depreciated while its nominal value
ivas enhanced. Silver had sold at a rupee per tola but
JM>W only at 10 or 11 annas. So silver jewels, the reserve
fund of the poor, had diminished in market value."
Mr. Wacha was called upon by the Nation to preside
over the 17th session (1901, Calcutta), and delivered a
marvellous address which should only be read and can*
not be quoted from: We (have given some extracts
OUR INDIAN PATWAHCH8 147
in other chapters. Mr. Wacha had been Joint General
Secretary of the Congress since the year 1896 and
^ontinfced to be such till 1913. His active association
with the Congress reached its climax with his President-
ship, and thereafter he took only passive interest in the
affairs of the Congress, occasionally moving a resolution
or seconding it. Virtually his last appearance was in
Bombay in 1915 when he was the Chairman of the
Reception Committee. Mr. Wacha had been, for over a
quarter of a century, one of the most oustanding figures
of the Congress. For versatile talents, for mastery of facts,
and for an intimate knowledge of obscure subjects like
the Military question and of vague and widespread pro-
blems like the poverty of the people, there were few to
equal and none to excel Mr. D. E. Wacha.
Presiding over the 17th Congress in Calcutta in 1901,
Wacha asks in despair as well as derision: "Did
England sit quiet while the Plantagenets were filling all
the high offices to the great disadvantage of the English
themselves? Was not England pauperized when the
Papacy was rampant and abstracted millions from
it annually, as history recorded? Would England
refrain from complaining, supposing that the position of
India and England was to-day reversed?" Is it any
wonder that D. E. Wacha should have been dubbed 'the
Firebrand of the Congress'? The extremist of one era
becomes the moderate of a later era, and Wacha has lived
to be a Knight, a nominated member of the Central Legis •
lature and a much esteemed confidant of the Britisb
Government in India.
G. K. GOKHALE
Gokhale was even more pronounced in his views and
more severe in his language. His first appearance at the
Congress was in 1889 along with Tilak. His bete noire
148 THE HISTOBT OF THE CONGBBSS
in the Councils was the artificial surpluses during Lord
Ourzon's time which were the result of a manipulated
exchange, and he put it to Government either to purify
currency or reduce taxation. His attacks on the Salt Tax
were profusely illustrated with facts and figures, as when
he pointed out how a basket of salt costing 3 pies was-
made to cost 5 annas. If he spoke on the Public Services
Commission and the orders of the Secretary of State on
the Commission's recommendations, he showed how,
instead of 125 posts legitimately due to Indians, they
would get only 108, and how out of these, 93 were made
by the Secretary of State discretionary. He, however,
had the remarkable knack of saying the hardest things
in the gentlest language. Condemning the open avowal
in 1894 by Government that "the highest posts must for
all time to come be held by Europeans," he says, "the
pledges of equal treatment which England has given us
have supplied us with a high and worthy ideal for our
Nation, and if these pledges are repudiated, one of the
strongest claims of British Rule to our attachment will
disappear." If Gokhale was pleasant in his criticism, he
was nevertheless not given to mincing matters in any
measure. His attack on Sir James Fitz-James Stephen-
was outspoken and stern. "An English Judge (the refer-
ence is to Sir James Fitz-James Stephen) famous or
infamous in a way, did not scruple to accept this latter
position (that England is prepared to break faith with us
now) and propound the preposterous doctrine that the
Proclamation of 1858 was never meant to be seriously
taken." And he asks in utter despair whether we "should
fling into the flames all these pledges as so much waste
paper." Gokhale had a particularly euphemistic way of
dealing with the bureaucracy. When the Reform Act of
1892 was passed, it was discovered that that Act did not
give the right of election of members of Councils, but
allowed the Viceroy to make rules subject to the approval
OUR INDIAN PATRIARCHS 149
of the Secretary of State, and Gokhale Bays, re.
the rules, "I will not say that they have been deliberately
so framed as to defeat the object of the Act of 1892, but
I will say this, that if the officer who drafted them had
been asked to sit down with the deliberate purpose of
framing a scheme to defeat that object, he could not have
done better." Gokhale always had a soft corner in his
heart for the "starving, shrunken, shrivelled-up ryot,
toiling and moiling from dawn to dark to earn his scanty
meal, patient, resigned, forbearing beyond measure,
entirely voiceless in the Parliament of his rulers and
meekly prepared to bear whatever burdens God and man
might be pleased to impose upon his back." And it was
in the cause of such a ryot that he dealt with questions of
taxation and expenditure. Even Gokhale's disciplined
and proverbial moderation failed him on occasions, and
the strain imposed upon it by the reactionary policy of
Lord Curzon was really great. The Partition of Bengal,
the curtailment of the rights of the Calcutta Corporation,
the University Reform which, in the name of efficiency,
officialized the Senates and made education expensive
and even costly, the Official Secrets Act — all these more
than counterbalanced Lord Curzon's good acts, such as his
Famine Policy and Bis regulations re. passes to soldiers
for shooting, the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act,
and the punishment in the Rangoon and O'Hara cases,
and provoked Gokhale into saying, "then, all I can say
is 'Good-bye to all hope of co-operating in any way with
the bureaucracy in the interests of the people'." "A great
rush and uprising of the waters such as has been recently
witnessed in Bengal cannot take place without a little
inundation over the banks here and there. These little
excesses are inevitable when large masses of men move
spontaneously — especially when the movement is from
darkness to light, from bondage towards freedom."
Gokhale justified, as President of the Benares Congress
10
ISO THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
(1905), Boycott as a political weapon to be used only at
the last extremity and with strong popular feeling
behind it. Gokhale's courtesy for the opponent did not
obscure his clarity of language or effectiveness of attack.
"Four villages out of every five are without a school-house
and seven children out of eight grow up in ignorance."
This is far more telling than to say that literacy is only
12 per cent. It was in Gokhale's Presidential Address at
Benares that he gave wide publicity to the confidential
document of Lord Lytton in which the latter wrote: —
"We all know that these claims and expectations
never can or will be fulfilled. We have had to choose
between prohibiting them (the Natives of India)
and cheating them, and we have chosen the least
straightforward course Since I am writ-
ing confidentially, I do not hesitate to say that both
the Governments of England and India appear to me
up to the present moment unable to answer satisfac-
torily the charge of having taken every means in
their power of breaking to the heart the words of
promise they had uttered to the ear."
Gokhale was the chosen representative sent to
England in two successive years, 1905 and 1906. Indeed
he had visited England earlier in 1897. Gokhale's posi-
tion between the people and the Government was an un-
enviable one. The former disparaged his moderation, the
latter deprecated his extremism. This was largely due to
the role that he filled as an intermediary between the
two, a role which Chandavarkar as President of the
Lahore Congress (1900) assigned to the Congress as the
tfrue interpreter between the rulers and the ruled. Gokhale
interpreted popular aspirations to the Viceroy and the
(Government's difficulties to the Congress. This made him
^somewhat unpopular. Even Lord Minto wrote of
Ctakhale, when in October, 1907, a split occurred in the
Congress at Swat, "as party manager he is a baby— he
OUR INDIAN PATRIARCHS 151
is always whining just like a second-rate Irishman,
between Dan O'Connell and Parnell." Another incident
indicating the attitude of the Viceroy towards Gokhale
is set out in Minto's biography by Lady Minto. Gokhale
had written a letter to a friend in England which Morley
saw and he sent to Minto an extract therefrom. Minto
remarked: "I can only call it mischievous and written
with the intention to mislead. Gokhale would not have
spoken in the same sense to me, and that is the worst of
him, that one cannot rely upon his absolute good faith,
although I know him well, admire him much, and am
on most friendly terms with him."
It must also be admitted that as Gokhale advanced
in years, he complained that "the bureaucracy was
growing frankly selfish and openly hostile to National
aspirations. It was not so in the past." What oppressed
him was not capitalism but absentee capitalism super-
added to the racial ascendancy of the West, the moral and
material drain, the increasing death rate in India. And
he formulated a definite programme embracing the
demand for a larger share in administration and control
by a steady substitution of Indians for Europeans,
improvement in methods of administration, readjustment
of financial arrangements and measures to improve the
condition of the people.
Gokhale's great constructive work is the Servants of
India Society, being an order of political workers pledged
to work for the Motherland on a pittance and subject to
rigid rules of discipline as well as loyalty to the Empire.
"Sastriar is his great Successor. As First Member of the
Society, Gokhale may be regarded as the forerunner of
the order of self-denying patriots established later by
Mrs. Besant in the 'Sons of India1 and of the still more
ascetical and exacting order of Ashramavasit and
THE HI8TOBY OF THE CONGRESS
Ashrams, established by Gandhi in 1916, and others after
the model of Gandhi's Ashram, since 1920
After the Surat Split, Gokhale took a leading part in
the Congress. He visited South Africa and rendered
signal help to Gandhi in his campaign of Passive Resis-
tance. At the Congress of 1909, he was in raptures over
the cult of Passive Resistance and explained to an
admiring audience the philosophy underlying it.1 Later
his activities were chiefly concentrated on the arena of the
Central Legislature. In 1914 when there was an attempt
to reunite the wings of the Congress, he agreed first to
such a reunion but changed his mind afterwards. After
a strenuous public career marked by a spirit of devotion
to the country and intense sacrifice in its cause, Gokhale
passed away on the 19th February, 1915.
G. SUBRAHMANIA AlYAB
One may ask out of curiosity as to who moved the
first resolution of the first Congress. It was Mr. G.
Subrahmania Aiyar of Madras, the Editor of The Hindu,
popularly known as Editor Subrahmania Aiyar. The
resolution was that the promised enquiry into the working
of the Indian administration should be by a Royal Com-
mission with adequate representation of Indians thereon.
He made the pithy statement that "Parliament took
control in theory but abandoned it in fact,— except where
English Party interests were concerned — and the India
Council took the place of the defunct Company, but
ruled without enquiry." We do not hear of Mr. Subrah-
mania Aiyar till the 10th Congress which met in Madras*
in 1894, and at this session, he dealt with the question of
Indian finance and the necessity for enquiry into it. He
1Tbapa«Mge is quoted in Chapter II entitled <B«view of
Section H—Indiana Abroad.
OUR INDIAN PATRIARCHS 153
pointed out how Sir William Hunter in The .Times
impugned the honesty of the Government of
India, and where such accusations were made enquiry
was needed. Another subject of interest at that session
was the deprivation of the liberty of the Press in Indian
States, and Mr. Subrahmania Aiyar entered a vigorous
protest against it. At the twelfth session (1896, Calcutta),
9ie dealt with the subject of simultaneous examinations as
jfclso the question of short settlements of Land
Revenue. At the Amraoti Congress next year he pro-
tested against the Frontier policy. When the Congress
imet for the third time in Madras in 1898, Mr. Subrah-
jnania Aiyar reverted to the question of Frontier
policy, which he condemned as "mischievous, and
dangerous a policy prompted by that spirit of aggres-
sion abroad and repression at home." He also spoke on
the currency question pointing out how "Government
looked only to exchange, Anglo-Indian merchants only to
trade; none considered the people. Taxes were levied in
silver and the ryot would have to sell 60 per cent, more
of his produce to gain the inflated value of the rupee. The
great flow of English capital into the country is not an
advantage, for it increases the drain. Indian capital
should be invested here, and then the gain would be real."
Mr. Subrahmania Aiyar 's favourite subject, however, was
the economic condition of India, and at the sixteenth
session (Lahore, 1900), he asked for an enquiry with a
view to discovering and adopting remedies for the oft-
recurring famines, and he also dealt with the question of
the Public Services and the exclusion of Indians there-
from. At the seventeenth session (Calcutta, 1901), the
sad story of the ryot and his poverty arrested his
attention. He remarked that the reason for the ryot
living at all was "the tropical climate where life can
linger on the scantiest of subsistence." "But," he asked,
*is the life's function of the Indian ryot to live and die
t$i THE HISTORY OP THE CONGRESS
merely like a brute? Is he not a human being endowed
with reason, sentiment and latent capacity? There are
nearly 200 millions of people living a life of chronic
starvation and of the most abject ignorance, grim and
silent in their suffering, without zest in life, without
comfort or enjoyment, without hope or ambition, living
because they were born into the world and dying because
life could no longer be kept in the body." He also dealt
with the question of famine at this Congress and pleaded
for industrial independence. He made practical sugges-
tions for founding technical institutions, foreign scholar-
ships and a careful survey of indigenous industry*
Mr. Subrahmania Aiyar's range of vision was as wide as his
knowledge was deep. In 1902, at the 18th session at
Ahmedabad, Mr. Subrahmania Aiyar dwelt upon the
poverty oi the people once again. He pointed out that
"there had been a time when the population of India was-
so flourishing that foreign visitors envied it and whe»
arts and industries flourished. The East India Company
had deliberately sacrificed India to the commercial
advantage of England, had discouraged industries and!
encouraged agriculture, so that India might produce raw
materials for the manufacturing industries of England;
that policy had destroyed Indian industries, and Govern-
ment, which had inherited it, should reverse it. What
is being done? The gold mines of Kolar are worked bjr
European capital. They yield 20 crores of rupees' worth
of gold annually, which is taken to another country.
When, in another 20 or 30 years, all the gold is dug up
and carried away, what will remain to the people of
Mysore, but stones? Government ought to protect Indian
wealth, not allow it to be carried away." Year after
year Mr. Subrahmania Aiyar hammered away at subjects
of not only economic, but also of cultural and administra-
tive interest. The Tata Research Institute, the University
Bill, Legislative Council Reform,— all these equally
0DB INDIAN PATRIARCHS 15S
claimed his attention as well as his affection. The
disposal of artificial surpluses, to which Gokhale drew
public attention for the first time, and the currency
problems under which the enhancement of the value of the
rupee would be a new burden on the people and a silent
addition to the taxes, were also his favourite themes.
Subrahmania Aiyar was ultimately put into jail for his
writings and only his physical disease got him. his release.
He was one of the most fearless and far-sighted politicians
of his time and deserves the gratitude of posterity.
BUDRUDDIN TYABJI
Budruddin Tyabji was a staunch Congressman who
rose to be the President of the Congress in its third year,
(1887, Madras). Mr. Tyabji laid stress in his address on
the representative character of the Congress and asserted
its loyalty. It was at his instance that a Committee was
appointed to consider the many suggestions sent in for
discussion and to draw up a programme for the work of
the Congress. The Committee was really the precursor of
the Subjects Committee of later days. We do not hear
of Mr. Tyabji in connection with the Congress till the
20th session held in 1904 in Bombay, as he had become a
Judge of the Bombay High Court. In 1904, he took part
in the discussion on the resolution dealing with Indians in
Public Service. He passed away in 1906 and his demise
was the subject of a resolution of intense grief, for, three
ex-presidents died that year, — W. C. Bonnerjee, Tyabji
and A. M. Bose. There was a peculiar appropriateness in
Tyabji, a Muslim, presiding over the 3rd session, after the
first had been presided over by a Hindu. — W. C.
Bonnerjee, and the secondbyaParsee— Dadabhai Naoroji.
THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
JUSTICE KASHINATH TRIMBAK TELANG
He was "one of the most active founders of the
Congress" and its "first hard-working Secretary in
Bombay." At the very first session the Hon'ble
Mr. K. T. Telang moved the resolution relating to the
Supreme and Provincial Legislative Councils and out-
lined the electorates for members. At the fourth Congress,
when Sir Auckland Colvin was looming large in the
Congress horizon, the Hon'ble Mr. Telang effectively
answered the hostile criticisms of Colvin and Dufferin.
At the same session he had to intervene at a critical
moment which arose in course of discussion on
the subject of Permanent Settlement. Speaking at this
very session Mr. Telang remarked that while Govern-
ment had always money for its varied activities, it gave
only one per cent, of its revenues to Education. He
died a premature death in 1893 which was referred to by
Dadabhai Naoroji at the ninth session.
W. C. BONNEBJEE
For an authoritative statement of the objects of
the Congress, one must necessarily turn to the first pre-
sidential address of the Congress, and W. C. Bonnerjee
was the President of the first Congress who stated clearly
these objects which have already been quoted in the
account of the first session. He had the honour of pro-
posing the President of the 3rd and the 5th Congress
and was himself made again President of the eighth session
(Allahabad, 1892). It may be remembered that in 1891
the Age of Consent Bill was the cause of considerable
public agitation and Tilak made himself conspicuous by
his opposition to it. Mr. W. C. Bonnerjee referred in
his presidential address at Allahabad to the reasons
for the non-interference by the Congress with social
OUB INDIAN PATRIARCHS 157
questions. There is, on the general question of political
agitation, a striking passage in this address which we
quote below: —
*
"Is our voice not to be listened to because, forsooth,
to that voice has not been added the voice of our
European fellow-subjects? We would welcome, welcome
with open arms, all the support which we can get from
our European fellow-subjects But apart from
that, why is our voice to be despised? It is we who feel
Ihe pinch; it is we who have to suffer; and when we
cry out, it is said to us: 'Oh, we cannot listen to you:
yours is a contemptible and useless and a vile agitation,
and we will not listen to you.' Time was when if we,
natives of the country, agitated about any matter, with
the help of non-official Europeans, the apologists of the
Government used to say triumphantly: This agitation is
not the agitation of the natives of the country, but has
been got up by a few discontented Europeans; don't listen
to them, it is not their true voice, it is the voice of these
Europeans.' And now we are told: 'Don't listen to them;
It is their own voice, and not the voice of the
Europeans'."
W. C. Bonnerjee was a member of the delegation
that went to England in 1890. He had taken part in
the discussion on various resolutions, such as the appoint-
ment of a Parliamentary Committee (1888), the question
of 'Grievances before supply' (1889), and the extension
of the Jury system (1895). It was in connection with the
Jury system that he made an excellent point in urging
that "a judge, translating in his mind the verna-
cular of a rustic witness, was tod engrossed with the
language to attend properly to the witness. Indian
jurymen understanding the language would* watch the
demeanour of witnesses and would distinguish truthful
158 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
speech from false." He pleaded strongly for the main-
tenance of the British Committee at the seventeenth
Congress (1901), and after meritorious services rendered
to the national cause, passed away in the year 1906.
LOKAMANYA TlLAK
Tilak and Gokhale go together. Broadly speaking,
they between them had a certain kinship, though there
were marked differences. When Lokamanya Tilak spoke,
there was as much that was left unsaid as was actually
said. That is how his writings and speeches were under-
stood. They had a flair all their own. Lokamanya Tilak
employed gentle satire in his remarks. "If you take
away the produce of the land, " said he, " and do not
give it back to the land in some form more material
than prestige and advice, the country must grow poorer
and poorer. " Talking of provincial contributions at the
12th Congress (Calcutta, 1896), he said: "The arrange-
ment between the Supreme Government and the Local
Governmiente is like that between an intemperate husband
and his wife — that when the first had indulged all his
extravagant habits, he asked his wife to surrender all
her savings. f> In further illustration of this feature, we
may quote the famous passage in his Amritsar speech
where he said " give unto Oaesar what is Caesar's and
unto God what is God's. " The implication was that it
was our duty doubtless to obey the laws, but the duty
to our country was not less imperative.
Lokamanya Tilak was the uncrowned king of
Maharashtra, and later, of India during the Home Rule
days. This position he attained by service and suffering.
The outbreak of plague and the excesses of some of the
officers in 1897 in Poona and Bombay led to great dis-
content and Dr. Besant considered that that wae the
CUB INDIAN PATBIABCHS
birth of extremism. The murder of Mr. Band and
Lieutenant Ayerst while they were driving in a carriage,
by a pistol shot from behind, ended in the execution of
Damodar Hari Chapekar and his brother and the incar-
ceration of the Sirdars Natu without trial.
Lokamanya Tilak was responsible for reviving the
memory of Shivaji. Public meetings were organised and
festival^ held all over Maharashtra. The first public
meeting so organised was attended by the leading
Chiefs of the Maratha States as also by the leading Jagir-
dars and the Inamdars of the Deccan. We have referred
to Lokamanya Tilak's sentence of 18 months' R. I. It
was awarded on the 14th September 1897 for publishing
a few verses (descriptive of an imaginary message of
Shivaji) and a report of his speech at the Shivaji festival,
and he was released on the 6th September 1898 as the
result of an application signed by Prof. Max Muller, Sir
William Hunter, Sir Richard Garth, Mr. William Caine,
Mr. Dadabhai Naoroji and Mr. Ramesh Chandra Dutt.
He was himself responsible for the condition that, if he
should ever be convicted again for sedition, the six
months now remitted should be added to the next
sentence. It was while Tilak was in jail that sections
" 124-A and 153-A were added to the Penal Code so as
to amplify the scope of the offences.
An attempt to pass a special resolution about Tilak's
release at the Amraoti Congress in 1897 failed. What was
lost in the Congress was gained in the speeches of the Presi-
dent, Sir Sankaran Nair, and of Surendra Nath Banerjea.
Both of them paid an eloquent tribute to the great man
and scholar who was wasting away in the jail. This raised
Tilak's fame to the pinnacle of its glory, more so in con-
trast with the cloud that gathered over the head of
Mr. Gokhale in the same year. Gokhale had gone to England
160 THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGKES8
in the summer of 1897 with a grand send-off. On his return
be tendered an apology for certain statements he had
made in England regarding the "violent acts of soldiers in
the Rand regime." He could easily have substantiated
his charges, but that meant the revealing of secret infor-
mation as well as betraying his informants who were high
placed men. Accordingly Gokhale chose the only honorable
course open to him — of tendering an apology — and thus
raised himself in the estimation of discerning judges.
Ever since 1896 Tilak was trying to induce the Con-
gress to show a little more grit. In 1899, when he wanted
to move a resolution condemning the regime of Lord
Sandhurst, a storm of opposition was raised. He chal-
lenged the delegates to prove that Lord Sandhurst's regime
had not been ruinous to the people. He quoted the mis-
deeds of the bureaucracy categorically and asked whether
lie was at all exaggerating. But Mr.R. C. Dutt, the Presi-
dent, and many other delegates were, it is said, violently
against Tilak's propositions, and when Tilak began to
quote chapter and verse to prove that he could not be
restrained on the ground that provincial matters should
not engage the attention of the Congress, the President
threatened to resign if Tilak persisted. Mr. R. C. Dutt
had only recently retired from the I. C. S. after holding
the position of an Acting Commissioner.
The split in the Congress at Surat in 1907 was the subject
of much bitter controversy at the time, and Lokamanya
Tilak was described as the arch-offender who had brought
about the ruin of the Congress which had been built up
in more than 25 years. Varying versions were given by
the two parties. There can be no doubt that the differences
which had manifested themselves in Calcutta between
the Moderate leaders and the Nationalists, and which had
been somehow composed for the time being by the com-
OUR INDIAN PATRIARCHS 161
manding personality of Dadabhai Naoroji, became acutcr
in 1907. The change of the venue of the Congress from.
Nagpur to Surat was due to these differences, and the
Nationalists openly alleged that Surat had been purposely
selected by the Moderates as a safe place where they
could, with the help of local delegates, have their own
way. The Nationalists wanted Lokamanya Tilak to
preside, but the Moderates were opposed to this and
Dr. Rash Behari Ghose was elected according to the
constitution. The Nationalists put forward the name of
Lala Lajpat Rai, thinking that the great prestige attendant
on his recent return after deportation would carry his name
without opposition. But Lala Lajpat Rai, with
characteristic self-abnegation, declined the honour. When
the delegates had arrived at Surat, the Lokamanya got the
delegates of his way of thinking together in a separate
camp. Attempts were made to compose the differences but
misunderstandings went on increasing. The Nationalists
were keen on getting the resolutions passed at Calcutta
relating to Self-Government, Boycott and National Educa-
tion to be repeated, if not extended, but they were under
the impression that the Moderate leaders were keen on
going back on them or, at any rate, watering them down.
Unfortunately the draft of resolutions prepared by the
Reception Committee was not available till the Congress
actually met, and statements made to the effect that they
were included in the draft were not accepted. Attempts
were made by Lokamanya Tilak through intermediaries to
bring about a compromise but these failed, and his effort
to meet Mr. Tribhuvandas Malvi, the Chairman of the
Reception Committee, met with no better success. When
the Congress actually met on the first day, the 27th
December, at 2-30, over 1,600 delegates were present, and
.after the Chairman of the Reception Comtaittee had read
out his address of welcome, the name of Dr. Rash Behari
Ghose, who had been nominated by the Reception
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGEESS
Committee under the rules, was proposed as President.
There were shouts and noise and when the proposition was
being seconded by Surendra, Nath Banerjea, the noise and
•disturbance were so great that the proceedings had to be
adjourned till the next day. Fresh efforts appear to
have been again made for a settlement with no result.
On the 28th the Congress met again. When the
Presidential procession was passing, a slip signed by
Lokamanya Tilak was handed over to Mr. Malvi
telling him that he wished "to address the delegates
on the proposal of the election of President after it is
seconded. I wish to move an adjournment with a con-
structive proposal. Please announce me." The proceedings
started at the step at which they had been terminated on
the previous day and Surcndra Nath Banerjea completed
his speech seconding the proposal for the election of
Dr. Ghose. This slip was not attended to in spite of a re-
minder, and Lokamanya Tilak proceeded to the platform
to assert his right of addressing the delegates. The Chair-
man of the Reception Committee and Dr. Ghose both
thought Dr. Ghose was duly elected, and would not permit
him to address the House. Shouting and confusion natu-
rally followed which was intensified by the fact that a
"shoe was hurled from amongst the delegates which grazed
Surendra Nath Banerjea and hit Sir Pherozeshah Mehta.
Then a general melee ensued. Chairs were thrown and
sticks were brandished and the Congress ended for the
day. The Moderate leaders met and organised the Con-
vention and fixed a constitution for the Congress which
practically excluded the Nationalists. At this distance of
time it is possible to form somje opinion on the view-
points of the two parties. That there were differences in
outlook, and each party was anxious to have its out-
look accepted by the Congress, cannot be gainsaid. But
w matters stood at the time when the Lokamanya rose to
Speak, the point was a small one. He insisted that,
OUE INDIAN PATRIARCHS 163
under the constitution as adopted in Calcutta, the Presi-
dent was only nominated by the Reception Committee
and it was the delegates assembled in Congress who
finally and effectively elected the President. He was
therefore entitled to move an amendment or even an ad-
journment of the House at that stage. He was not
allowed to do so and he wanted to exercise his right of
addressing the delegates on this unjust deprivation of -his
right. It is impossible to say that technically he was not
correct. At the same time one cannot help saying that
feelings had become exacerbated on account of pure mis-
understanding which arose from a suspicion that the
Calcutta resolutions were not included in the draft. Even
if they were not, it was open to the Subjects Committee
to include them, or if they were in a form not satisfactory
to the Nationalists, it was open to the Subjects Com-
mittee to alter or modify them suitably, if they had a
majority there. Their omission, by itself, even if it was
a fact, need not have led to the situation as it developed.
A frank discussion among the leaders of the two parties
ought to have been sufficient to clear the position and
the questions could have been dealt with on their merits.
But this could not take place possibly on account of pique
on the part of some Moderate leaders. It is, however, easy
to be wise after the event, and when feelings run high
even great men may, and do, lose their balance. It would
be imprudent on our part to attempt any apportionment
of blame between two such men as Lokamanya Tilak and
Gokhale, and we pass over the unfortunate incident with-
out allowing our reverence for them to be dimmed in the
least.
Lokamanya Tilak was intensely nationalistic in his
views but he recognised the limitations of the age. In
1904, when there was a demand for an enquiry into the
«tate of India every 20 years and a deputation to urge
164 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
this matter, because of the coining general election,
Lokamanya Tilak seconded the motion and urged that
"an agitation must be made in England, for there the
judges sit who would decide our case and as the Govern-
ment of India is impervious, they must reach the educated
people and there should be a permanent political mission
in England." Later he embarked on a big litigation in
England in 1918 against Sir Valentine Chirol, who called
him a seditionist, for defamation and when he went to
England in this connection, he put so much faith hr the
Labourites and their power to emancipate India that he
paid £3,000 to the Labour Party. The earlier politicians
believed in the Liberals as against the Conservatives.
The Nationalists of a later day believed in Labourites to
the exclusion of Liberals and Conservatives alike. The
result of his suit against Chirol was disappointing and it
was expected that that* at least should have opened his
eyes to the real character of the British Rule in India
and impelled him to change his plan of campaign
against Government. But the moment the Bill of 1919
was passed he declared in favour of Responsive Co-
operation, and when Non-co-operation was being dis-
cussed in the country he did not take active part in
the conversations. He said he would be glad to help
the Muslims in the Khilaphat troubles but passed away
on the 1st August 1920. Non-co-operation itself was ta
begin on that date. Lokamanya Tilak was the one
man in the old era who had suffered from persecution
all along, and when the judge who convicted him in
1908 made bitter remarks against him and asked him
what he would say, he gave a memorable reply which
deserves to be enshrined in letters of gold in every
home: "In spite of the verdict of the Jury I maintain I am
innocent. There are higher powers that rule the destinies
of things and it may be the will of Providence that the
cause which I represent should prosper more by my
OUB INDIAN PATRIARCHS Ml
differing than by my remaining free." Indeed in a like
spirit had he spoken in 1897 when, in the course of his
trial for sedition, he was simply asked to declare the
truth in the Court, namely, that the matter for which
he was being prosecuted was not written by him (that
was true of the articles of indictment in 1908 as well).
He flatly refused and remarked: "There comes a stage
in our lives when we are not the sole master of our*
selres but must act as the representatives of our fellow-
men." He took his sentences coolly and produced his
magnificent works from behind the prison bars. The
Arctic Home of the Vedas and the Gita Rahasya would
not have been possibly left as a legacy to the Nation but
for his incarcerations. Tilak was invited to the War
Conference of Bombay in July 1918 and he attended. He
had hardly spoken for two minutes when he was stopped
from proceeding further. The fact was that he began to
answer Lord Willingdon's remarks against Home Rulers.
The great part that the Lokamanya played in the
Home Rule days and at Amritsar is described in the
chapter dealing with the subject. Tilak is one of our
patriarchs who passed away after much suffering for his
country, but he will be remembered for ever for the rich
and inspiring legacy that he has left to every citizen of
his Nation which is contained in the thought "Swaraj is
my birthright and I will have it."
When in 1896 Gandhi visited Poona and wanted to
organise a meeting on the problem of Indians in South
Africa/ he saw Lokamanya Tilak and, on his advice,
Gokhale as well. Gandhi's estimate of the two is worth
recalling. Tilak appeared to him like the Himalayas —
gp*»t and lofty— but unapproachable, while Gokhale
Appeared like the holy Ganges in which he could con-
fidently take a plunge. Tilak and Gokhale were both
11
166 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Maharasbtrians; they were both Brahmins; they both
belonged to the same Ctyitpavan sect. They were both
patriots of the first order. Both had made heavy sacrifices
in life. But their temperaments were widely different
from each other. Gokhale was a 'Moderate' and Tilak
was an 'Extremist' if we may use the language in vogue at
the time. Gokhale's plan was to improve the existing
constitution; Tilak's was to reconstruct it. Gokhale had
necessarily to wtork with the bureaucracy; Tilak had
necessarily to fight it. Gokhale stood for co-operation
wherever possible and opposition wherever necessary;
Tilak inclined towards a policy of obstruction. Gokhale's
prime concern was with the administration and its im-
provement; Tilak's supreme consideration was the Nation
and its upbuilding. Gokhale's ideal was love and service,
Tilak's was service and suffering. Gokhale's methods
sought to win the foreigner, Tilak's to replace
him. Gokhale depended upon others' help, Tilak
upon self-help. Gokhale looked to the classes and the
intelligentsia, Tilak to the masses and the millions.
Gokhale's arena was the Council Chamber; Tilak's forum
was the village mandap. Gokhale's medium of expression
was English; Tilak's was Marathi. Gokhale's objective
was Self-Government for which the people had to fit
themselves by answering the tests prescribed by the
English; Tilak's objective was Swaraj which is the birth-
right of every Indian and which he shall have without
let or hindrance from the foreigner. Gokhale was on a
level with his age; Tilak was in advance of his times.
PANDIT AYODHYANATH
The names of several other elderly Congressmen
occur to us. Pandit Ayodhyanath was a highly revered
character in the early years, and his association began
with his Chairmanship of the Reception Committee of
OUR INDIAN PATRIARCHS 167
the 4th Congress at Allahabad in 1888 over which
Mr. George Yule presided. It was the melancholy duty
of the eighth Congress that met once again in the sainp
city in 1892 to bemoan the loss of -both these Congress*
men. When a memorial was sought to be raised in
honour of the late Pandit Ayodhyanath, Mr. Hume gave
a piece of advice which is well worth quoting: "For
God's sake, waste no money on memorials or any other
minor enterprise, but give every farthing you can spare
to the general cause." But Pandit Ayodhyanath's best
memorial and gift to the Nation is his son — Pandit
Hridaynath Kunzru.
SURENDRA NATH BANERJEA
In the Valhalla of Indian politicians there lies in a
prominent niche the spirit of Surendra Nath Banerjea
hovering over the destinies of India — Surendra Nath who
had been for over four decades connected with the Congress
and whoso trumpet voice, resounding from the Congress
platform in India, reached the farthest recesses of the
civilized world. For command of language, for elegance
of diction, for a rich imagery, for emotional heights, for
a spirit of manly challenge, his orations are hard to beat;
they remain unapproachable. The spice of his speeches
was his avowal of loyalty. He developed this into a fine
art. He presided over the Congress twice, first at Poona
in 1895 and next at Ahmedabad in 1902. In the kaleidos-
copic display of subjects and resolutions that came up
before the Congress, in successive years, there was hardly
any he was not feeling himself equal to. In the domain
of the Military question, for years together towards the
end of the 19th century, Russia was the bogey before
England, as France had been in the 18th, and Germany
is in the 20th. But Surendra Nath's answer is memora-
ble: "The true scientific frontier against Russian invasion
THB HISTOBT OT TBE OOKGBE8S
does not lie in some remote inaccessible mountain which
has yet to be discovered, but it lies deep in the hearts of
a loyal and contented people." Compare this utterance
with the recent slogans which have become current from
the popular side, namely, that the best safeguards for
England, commercial or financial, lie in the goodwill of
India and that you cannot sell British goods to Indians
at the point of the bayonet. Surendra Nath went the
length of suggesting that matters of Indian politics should
be made party questions in the British Parliament — a
consummation which even to-day is outside the pale of
practical politics. "England/' said he, "is our political
guide and our moral preceptor in the exalted sphere of
political duty." His ideal was to "work with unwavering
loyalty to the British connection, — for, the object was not
the supersession of British Rule in India but the broaden-
ing of its basis, the liberalising of its spirit, the ennobling
of its character and placing it on the unchangeable
foundations of a Nation's affections." "India," he hoped,
"would in the fulness of time find its place in the great
confederacy of free States, English in their origin, English
in their character, and English in their institutions."
What a contrast between this and the modern ideal of
Complete Independence, with our own institutions and
integrity! Protesting (in 1904) against Lord Curzon's
declaration that by our environment, our heritage and our
upbringing, we are unequal to the responsibilities of high
office under British Rule, Surendra Nath said: "Never
was a deeper affront offered to the people of India by a
representative of the Sovereign. It is bad enough to
repudiate the Proclamation but it is adding insult to
injury to cast a slur on the people of this country.9' In
this connection he pointed out how 14 per cent, of the
posts carrying Rs. 1,000 per month and upward, and 17
per oent. of those carrying 500, represented the proportion
«f Indians, "although the country is ours, the money is
OUR INDIAN PATBIABCHS
ours and the bulk of the population is ours." At the 18th
Congress, he pleaded for the permanence of British Rule
in India. On another occasion he described the English
civilization as "the noblest which the world has ever seen,
the emblem of indissoluble union between England and
India, — a civilization fraught with unspeakable blessings
to the people of India and unspeakable renown to the
English name." So early as in 1892, he was proud to
declare that "We are the citizens of a great and free
Empire and we live under the protecting shadow of one
of the noblest constitutions the world has ever seen. The
rights of Englishmen are ours, their privileges are ours,
their constitution is ours. But we are excluded from
them." If the spirit of Surenclra Nath is able to follow
the commercial safeguards to-day, it will see how recipro-
city is established with a vengeance and what a mockery
it is to speak of our rights and privileges and constitution.
Surendra Nath was, in spite of these beliefs and this faith,
lathi charged in Barisal during Lord Minto's Viceroyalty,
but he lived to be a Minister of Bengal.
PANDIT MADAN MOHAX MALAVIYA
The next great public character whom we may justly
describe as yet another patriarch of the Congress is Pandit
Madan Mohan Malaviya who, from the day that he
made his maiden speech at the Calcutta Congress in
1886, continues, with unbroken zeal and unabating passion,
to serve this National institution, now as a humble
worker and now as a leader, now as whole-hogger and
now as a part protestor, now as an opponent of Non-co-
operation and Civil Disobedience, and now as a true
Satyagrahi and civil register in the British jails.
In the year 1918, the Viceroy convened a War Con-
ference of Indian leaders on the 27th, 38th, and 29th ef
170 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
April for the collection of men, material and money for
the Great War. It was attended by Governors, Lieu-
tenant-Governors, Chief Commissioners, Executive
Councillors, European as well as Indian Members of the
Imperial Council and the various Provincial Legislative
Councils, Rulers of Indian States and various other dis-
tinguished European and Indian officials and non-officials.
Sastriar, the Raja of Mahmudabad, Syed Hasan Imamr
Sirdar Bahadur Sunder Singh Majithia, and Gandhi made*
speeches supporting the first resolution, moved by the
Gaekwar of Baroda, declaring India's loyalty to the
King-Emperor, who had sent a message to the effect that
'"the need of the Empire is India's opportunity." Then
Pandit Malaviya rose and asked the Viceroy "to take a
lesson from recent Indian history. During the days of
Aurangzeb, the Sikh Gurus contested his supremacy. Guru
Govind Singh caught hold of the humblest classes of
people who came forward and initiated them, obliterating
all distinctions between the Guru and the disciple, and
thereby won their hearts. Now, my Lord, I want you to
do all that can be done to make the soldiers we enlist feel
equal to any one else fighting alongside of them in the
battle. It is the spirit of Guru Govind Singh that I want
to be introduced at this juncture."
When the Non-co-operation movement was inaugu-
rated, he kept himself aloof from it but never from the
Congress. The Moderates had manned the Congress in
their day and abandoned it; Mrs. Besant captured it and
surrendered it. But through storm and sunshine, through
good report and evil, Panditji has stuck to it; Pandit ji
is the one man who has had the courage to be alone in
what he considered to be the right. At one time he was*
on the crest of a wave of popularity, at another he was
listened to with indifference on the Congress platform.
He never yielded' to the current forces, either by sheer
OUR INDIAN PATBIABCHS 171
inertia or by fear of popular reprobation. When all the
Congressmen resigned their places in the Assembly in
1929, he remained and had a right to remain there as a
member, because he had not gone there as a Congressman.
And when in less than four months the time and occasion
demanded it, he resigned in 1930. In 1921 he had opposed
the Non-co-operation movement, but in 1930 he found
himself a wholehearted civil resister. Altogether he holds
a position that is unique. As a Hindu he is progressive
in his ideas and leads the van; as a Congressman he is
conservative and oftentimes leads the rear. Yet the
Congress feels it a privilege to yield to him an uncontest-
ed place in the Councils of the Government and the
Councils of the country. Of him it may well be said,
what has been said of Gandhi, that he was a devoted
friend of the Empire, but that in the later years of his
public life, he found himself forced to resist its autocracy
with all his strength and spirit. His utterances are
numerous and spread over a full half-century, and on each
occasion that he spoke he must have spoken for any time
between an hour and two. His magnum opus is the
Benares Hindu University, but he is an institution by
himself. He epitomizes India in all her achievements and
reverses, in all her hopes and delusions and dis-
illusionments. The first time he presided over the
Congress was in 1909 at Lahore over the 24th
session^ when he was suddenly called upon to
take the place of Sir Pherozeshah Mehta who was the
duly elected President but who, for certain unknown
reasons, declined the honour six days before the due date.
Ten years later, the Nation called upon the Pandit to
preside over the 33rd session of the Congress at Delhi in
1918.
171 THE H1BTOEY OF TUB CONGBESS
LALA LAJPAT RAI
Another great public character in the older hierarchy
of Congressmen was Lala Lajpat Rai. He was alike a
philanthropist, social reformer and Congressman. He
had appeared at the 4th Congress in Allahabad in 1888,
and in seconding the main resolution of the day relating
to the expansion of Councils, quoted the opinion of Sir
Sycd Ahmed, who was a strong opponent of the Congress,
but who in his book entitled "Causes of the Indian
Revolt", written in 1858, had stated that the people
should have a voice in the Councils, for, that was necessary
to the stability of the Government so as to "warn us of
dangers before they burst upon and destroy us." Lalaji's
sustained interest in the field of politics and social service
easily gave him a foremost place not only in the Punjab
but in the whole of India. The Benares Congress re-
members him as an outstanding speaker and Nationalist.
In 1907 he was deported along with Sirdar Ajit Singh
under an obsolete regulation of which Lai Mohan Ghose,
the President of the Madras Congress in 1903, said —
''Letters de Cachet were abolished in France in 1789, but
were introduced in India in 1818." Lalaji was the central
factor round which the events of 1907 turned. The
Nationalists proposed Lala Lajpat Rai as the President
of the Congress of 1907, which was to have been held at
Nagpur but whose venue was changed to Surat. Gokhale
who was against the proposal plainly said, "if you flout
the Government, Government will throttle you." Lalaji
never cared for the position and magnanimously declined
to have his name considered for the place. During the
negotiations for a settlement at Surat, Tilak wanted a
graceful reference to Lalaji's name in proposing the
President of the Congress and Surendra Nath Banerjea
readily agreed, but nothing materialized in the end that
way.
OT7B INDIAN PATBIABCHB 173
In 1906 Lalaji was sent as a member of the Indian
deputation to England along with Gokhale. In later years
he was so much harassed by the C.I.D. that h'e preferred
to stay abroad, and during the War he was in America, it
was believed, under duress. Lalaji's turn to preside over
Ihe Congress came rather late. At the Special Session of
the Congress in 1920 (September) he was like a fish out
of water. He never saw eye to eye with the progenitors
of the Non-co-operation movement and even in his con-
cluding speech predicted only failure for it. He was a
fighter, but not a Satyagrahi. To him Civil Disobedience
<did not mean more than Passive Resistance. He had a
most arduous time of it all through. In his own Province,
there was a section of younger men arrayed against him.
The Council-entry programme found him back in his
element, but alas, the brutality of a Police officer who laid
his lathi on him ultimately cut short his life and carried
him away from our midst. Lalaji was doubtless a man
of true vision, for he spoke in Urdu at the Congress of 1888
and proposed that a half day be set apart for Educational
and Industrial matters. The resolution was accepted and
the industrial exhibitions since organised are a direct result
of the recommendations of the Committee then appointed
in that behalf.
SIR PHEROZESHAH MEHTA
Sir Pherozeshah Mehta was one of those who had
been associated with the Congress from its very inception
and played a leading part in moulding its policy and pro-
gramme. Mehta presided over the sixth session of the
Congress held in Calcutta in 1890, and in his address he
criticised Lord Salisbury's view that "Government by
representation did not fit Eastern traditions or Eastern
minds" and quoted Mr. Chisholm Anstey's statement that
"the East is the parent of Municipalities. Local Self-
Government, in the widest acceptation of the term! is m
174 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
old as the East itself." Pherozeshah Mehta held that
"the Congress was indeed not the voice of the masses,
but it was the duty of their educated compatriots to inter-
pret their grievances, and offer suggestions for their
redress."
"History teaches us," he pointed out, "that such has
been the law of widening progress in all ages and all
countries, notably in England itself. That function and
that duty, which thus devolve upon us, is best discharged,
not in times of alarm and uneasiness, of anger and excite-
ment, but when the heart is loyal and clear and the reason
unclouded. It is, I repeat, the glory of the Congress that
the educated and enlightened people of the country seek
to repay the debt of gratitude which they owe for the
priceless boon of education by pleading, and pleading
temperately, for timely and provident statesmanship. I
have no fears but that English statesmanship will ulti-
mately respond to the call. I have unbounded faith in
the living and fertilising principles of English culture and
English education."
"All the great forces of English life and society,
moral, social, intellectual, political, are if slowly, yet
steadily and irresistibly, declaring themselves for the
choice which will make the connection of England and
India a blessing to themselves and to the whole world tot
countless generations I appeal to all true English-
men— to candid friends as to generous foes — not to let
this prayer go in vain."
Pherozeshah Mehta was really the power behind the
Congress for a number of years, his work being largely
done on the Committees, deputations and delegations of
which he was elected a member. At the session of 1802
he was appointed a member of a Committee to draw up
OUR INDIAN PATRIARCHS 375
a petition intended to be presented to Parliament, regard*
ing the Public Service Commission and the deep dis-
appointment caused to the country over the orders passed
on its recommendations. When in 1894 the Madras
Congress decided upon sending a deputation to Lord Elgin,
the Viceroy, in order to present certain Congress resolu-
tions, Mehta was appointed a member thereof and a
similar honour was shown to him at the Lahore Congress
in 1900 (16th session). At the 15th session held aft
Lucknow in 1899 he was appointed a mtember of the
Indian Congress Com'mittee.
It was in 1907 that he took an active part on the
Moderate side at Surat. Later he was almost out of
view, and when he was duly elected President of the 24th
session of the Congress held in Lahore (1909), he suddenly
resigned six days before he was due to take his seat, and
the result was that Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was
elected in his place.
ANAXDA MOHAX BOSE
We have already seen how Ananda Mohan Bose was
a famous social and religious reformer who occupied a
foremost place in the progress of the Brahmo Sainaj and
how he led a protestant wing of that movement The
spirit of revolt which would not tolerate a reform move-
ment that tends to run in a rut, would not remain subdued
when in the political field the rights of the people were
being daily encroached upon. That was why Ananda
Mohan Bose, aptly described as "the brilliant star of
East Bengal," became the first secretary of the Indian
Association started in Calcutta in the year 1876 and an
ardent coadjutor of Surendra Natli Banerjea. We do
not hear of his having had any close connection with the
Congress movement as such till the year 1896, when at
|7f THE HISTORY OF THE OONGEEbS
tbe 12th session he protested against the new injustice
perpetrated in the scheme for reorganising the Educational
Service, as being calculated to exclude Indians from the
higher grades of that service. Mr. Bose asked indignant-
ly if "the cause of progress in India was not only not to
advance but to be put back.'7 The details of the down-
ward course are given in the review of resolutions dealing
with the Public Services. Ananda Mohan Bose soon
became the President of the 14th session of the Congress
in 1898 (Madras). His speech on the occasion was a
remarkable oration full of unanswerable arguments, and
his closing message to the Congress embodied the Gospel
<rf Love and Service of the Nation. He suggested the
<iirect representation of India in Parliament. And it was
the country's misfortune that, when it needed his services
most, the Fates should have taken him away in 1906.
MAN MOHAN GHOSE
We first hear of Man Mohan Ghose in connection
with the 5th session of the Congress held in Allahabad in
1888. He moved the resolution on the Public Services.
He was the Chairman of the 6th session of the Congress
held in Calcutta in 1890. In a powerful speech he defend-
ed the Congress from the various attacks made on it and
defined its true position. Mr. Ghose made a special study
•of the question of Judicial Vs. Executive and when, at the
llth session held at Poona in 1895, he moved
the resolution on the subject, he unearthed a
statement by Mr. James, a Commissioner, that the
"union was the mainstay of the British power in India/'
His death was bemoaned at the 12th session (Calcutta,
1806).
OUB INDIAN PATUABCH8 ITT
LAL MOHAN OHOSE
Lai Mohan Ghose appeared on the Congress
platform at first in 1890 at the sixth session (Calcutta)
and moved the resolution relating to Mr. Bradlaugh's
Bill on the Government of India, emphasising the mode-
ration of the proposals embodied therein. He was
elected as the President of the nineteenth session of the
Congress held in Madras in 1903, and his Presidential
Address was one of the ablest addresses ever delivered
from the Congress platform. He had been out of view
from active politics for some years when he was
summoned to this high office. We give below two extracts
from his Presidential Address: —
"Coming to the case of our own country, although
there is not a man amongst ois who is not sincerely
loyal to the British Government, yet, claiming the
undoubted right of British subjects to criticise the
acts of the Government, may we not respectfully ask
our rulers — and in this connection I make no distinc-
tion between the different English political parties —
may we not ask whether we are to believe that the
policy which many years ago killed our indigenous
industries, which, even only the other day and under
a Liberal administration, unblushingly imposed Excise
duties on our cotton manufactures, which steadily
drains our national resources to the extent of some-
thing like 20 millions sterling per annum, and which,
by imposing heavy burdens on our agricultural popu-
lation, increases the frequency and intensity of our
famines to an extent -unknown in former times, are
we to believe that the various administrative acts
which have led to these results were directly inspired
by a beneficent Providence?"
« * *
"We are not a Self-Governing Nation. We are
not able, like the English people, to change one
administration for another by our votes in the polling
booths. We have to depend entirely upon the justice
ttft THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
of the British Parliament; for, unfortunately , it is only
too true that, as time advances, our Indian bureau-
cracy, instead of coming into line with popular
ideas, seems to grow more and more unsympathetic.
Do you think that any administration in England,
or France, or the United States would have ventured
to waste vast sums of money on an empty pageant,
when Famine and Pestilence were stalking over the
land, and the Angel of Death was flapping his wings
almost within hearing of the light-hearted revellers?
"Gentlemen, a year has now rolled by since the
great political pageant was held at Delhi against the
almost unanimous protests of all our public and
representative men both in the Press and on the plat-
form. On what ground did they protest? They
protested, not because they were wanting in loyalty
to the Sovereign, whose coronation it was intended to
celebrate, but because they felt that if His Majesty's
Ministers had done their duty and had laid before
him an unvarnished story of his famine-stricken
subjects in India, His Majesty, with his characteristic
sympathy for suffering humanity, would himself have
been the first to forbid his representatives in this
country to offer a pompous pageant to a starving
people. And the great tamasha was celebrated with
that utter recklessness of expense which you may
always expect when men, no matter how highly
placed, were dealing with other people's money, and
were practically accountable to no one for their acts.
"We are all familiar with the financial jugglery
which, by distributing the expenses under various and
sometimes under the most unexpected headings, makes
it so difficult for ordinary men to find out the total
cost of such pageants. Still, whether you estimate
that cost by a few lacs more or less, it cannot
be denied that if even half of the vast sum spent in
connection with the Delhi Darbar had been made
over for the purposes of famine relief, it might have
been the means of saving millions of men, women and
children from death by starvation/'
OUR INDIAN PATRIARCHS 179
O. VlJIARAGHAVACHARIAR
Mr. C. Vijiaraghavachariar of Salem is one of our
earliest Congressmen, his name being found amongst those
of the members of a Committee formed at the 3rd session
(Madras, 1887) to draw up a constitution for the Congress.
He was appointed next as a member of the Indian Congress
Committee at the fifteenth session held in Lucknow in
the year 1899, and the sixteenth at Lahore next year.
He was at the Lahore Session in 1900 and seconded the
proposition that the Hon'blc N. G. Chandavarkar should
preside over the session. In 1901 and 1902, he shared
the responsibility with three others for the collection of
sums due for the copies of India assigned to the Madras
circle. When in 1905 Gokhale was elected by the
Congress at Benares as a delegate to England to urge the
more pressing proposals of the Congress on Government,
he seconded the resolution in an able speech. At the
22nd session held in Calcutta (1906) he moved the
resolution relating to Permanent Settlement and protested
against the view that the Land Tax was rent. His view
was that "land in India had never belonged to the King;
the sages had said that the world belonged to those who
were born in it; private property was gained by culti-
vation, and the King, who was ordained for protection,
received a share from the cultivators for his services.
The idea that land belonged to the King was Western
and feudal, not Indian."
He had virtually stood aloof from the Congress since
the Surat Split. The Moderate Congress did not appeal
to his judgment He reappeared in the Congress after
the Nationalists were admitted into the Congress by the
Lucknow amendments of 1916, and took an active part
in the Special Session of the Congress held in Bombay
in 1918, and in the session at Amritsar (1919), dwelling
MB THE HI8T09Y OF THB GO2T08XSS
at the latter at length upon the Fundamental Rights of
the people. He was shortly after called on to preside*
over the Nagpur session of the Congress and he perform-
ed his duties there with great tact and ability.
RAJA RAMPAL SINGH
Amongst other Congressmen of eminence Raja
Rampal Singh's was a most outstanding name for a long
time in Congress circles. It is interesting to note that
Raja Rampal Singh was the mover of the resolution on
Volunteering at the 2nd Congress and administered a
solemn warning to India: —
"Despite the glories of Pax Britannica, despite
the noble intentions of Great Britain, despite all the
good she may have done or tried to do us, the balance
will be against her, and India will have to regret
rather than rejoice that she has ever had anything to
do with England. This may be strong language, but
it is the truth. Nothing can ever make amends to a
Nation for the destruction of its National spirit, and
of the capacity to defend itself and the soil from
which it springs. Look where you will around you
in the world and you will see gigantic armies and
armaments. There is trouble in store for the whole
civilized world, and sooner or later, a tremendous
military struggle will commence, in which, assuredly,
before it terminates, Great Britain will be involved.
Great Britain, with all her wealth, cannot put one
hundred men into the field for every thousand that
several Continental Powers can. Then will England
regret that, instead of having millions of brave Indians
trained to fling back invaders, she has only her scanty
legions to oppose to them."
He pointed out how people and crops were entirely
at the mercy of wild beasts. In his grandson, the
young Raja of Kalakankad, who has lately passed away
*t * premature age, Rampal Singh was truly reborn as
* sincere patriot and as a true apostle of the Congress,
INDIAN PATOABCHB Jttl
At whose shrine he himself had offered incense white on
earth in flesh and blood.
KALI CHABAN BANERJEE
In the first half of these fifty years of Congress
Activity it used to be the prevailing practice to group
together important resolutions of more than one year's
standing and call them the omnibus resolution. Men of
versatile talents who could deal with the several subjects
comprised in this resolution used to be selected to move
it year after year, and in 1889 the choice fell upon Kali
Charan Banerjee. He was an Indian Christian who had
taken for years keen interest in Congress affairs, and in
the year 1890 formed a member of the Indian delegation
to England elected "to represent Congress views before
the British Public." At the 9th Congress (Lahore 1893),
he moved the resolution on the separation of the Judicial
and the Executive and cited the "shocking case which
had just occurred in which four men were sentenced to
death and three to transportation for life, after a trial
in which rules of Law were disregarded and the
Magistrate acted as Prosecutor and Judge combined."
Mr. Banerjee handled the subject of simultaneous
examinations in the year 1895 at the eleventh session,
Poona, and pleaded, the next year, in Calcutta for
Teaching Universities in particular and the improvement
of Universities in general. Government said the matter
was not urgent and he prayed the Congress to make it
so. As time advanced and political consciousness grew
in the people, their liberties were notably curtailed, and
when the prohibition was imposed on managers and
teachers in aided institutions forbidding them from
taking part in political movements or attending political
meetings without the consent of the Director of Public
Instruction, Mr. Banerjee entered a spirited
U
THE HISTOBY OF TIfB,
-against this invasion. of .elementary rights of citizens at
the fifteenth session of the Congress (Lucknow, 1899).
Two years later in Calcutta, in 1901, he urged that Indian
lawyers should be added to the Judicial Committee of the
Privy Council for Indian appeals. Babu Kali Charan
Banerjee would undoubtedly have become the President
of the Congress in the fulness of time if he had been
spared long enough, and the Congress which had a Hindu
as its first, a Parsee as its second, and a Muslim an
its third President, would have had an Indian Christian
also as the tribune of the people, but he was cut off
before his time in 1908.
«.
. NAWAB SYED MAHOMED BAHADUR
The practice of coupling a Muslijn Secretary
.with a Hindu Secretary started with the Madras Congress
bf 1914 at which Nawab Syed Mahomed Bahadur and
Mr. N. Subba Rau Pantulu were elected Secretaries. But
ihe Nawab had already become the President of the
Congress, having been called to that high office at
'Karachi in 1913. He was however a Congressman first
and a Muslim next. .So early as in 1901 he was elected
to the Indian Congress Committee, and earlier still in
1898, he had taken part in the deliberations of the
Madras Congress, having seconded a resolution -welcoming
Lord Curzon. When the Congress met in Madras in
1903 (19th session) the Nawab was the Chairman of the
Reception Committee, and at the 20th session (1904,
Bomibay),,he was one of those elected to a Committee to
draw tlj) a constitution for the Congress. In 1906 he
was elected to the Standing Committee of the Congress.
•When thfe 'Convention Congress sat in Madras in 1908,
the honour of proposing Dr. Rash Behaji Ghose to the
Qhair fell .to ths lot of the Nawab/ His greatest, service
! <iwse Pf -the Congress, was' really rendered at
OtTR WPJAN PATRIARCHS
Karachi (1913) where he presided over the 28th session.
Being a patriot not imbued in the least with communal
consciousness, he struck a high note of Nationalism and
urged that the various communities of India should
advance together rather than in separate groups. He
noted the rapprochement of Hindus and Muslims, as
shown by the hope expressed by the All-India Muslim
League that the Leaders on both sides should meet
periodically "to find a modus operandi for joint and con-
certed action on questions of public good." It would be
no exaggeration to say that the Hindu-Muslim concordat
as well as the Congress League Scheme of Lucknow were
the off-spring of the seed sown by the Nawab at Karachi
in a spirit of lofty patriotism and with pure Nationalistic
outlook.
DAJI ABAJI KHARE
Permanent Settlement and fixity of tenure of land
were a favourite subject in the early years of the Congress
and Mr. Khare moved a resolution on the subject at the
9th session at Lahore (1893). He had been earlier selected
in 1890 as a member of the Congress deputation that
was to go to England. He took an intimate part in the
preparation of a constitution for the Congress, which was
passed in the year 1906 on his motion and most of which
was later incorporated in the constitution framed in 1908.
Mr. Khare was the Secretary of the Congress from the
year 1909 to the year 1913 along with Mr. D. E. Wacha,
and in 1911 he moved the abolition
Excise duties on Indian cotton
growth and expansion of the Indian^
in 1913 the Muslim League adc
Government for India, Mr.
resolution welcoming such a de
Government would be won by
Muelim,
$4 THE HTSTOBT OF TttB
MUNBHI OAKOA PBASAD VABMA
Amongst those early patriots who had graced the first
session of the Congress was Ganga Prasad Varma from
Lucknow. At the second session he waa elected to the
Committee appointed to consider the Public Service
question and report to the Congress. So late as in 1906 he
was elected to the Standing Committee of the Congress
and in the interim period he had filled various positions
in the Congress Committees.
R. N. MUDHOLKAB
Amongst the hardworking Congressmen of the earlier
era Mr. R. N. Mudholkar held a position second to that
of none. His first association with the Congress waa in
1888 at its fourth session (Allahabad) when in seconding
the resolution on the Police, he pointed out "how the
Policeman who ought to be loved was detested." Twenty-
four years thereafter, the Nation chose him as the
President of the Congress in 1912 atBankipore, and during
these long years, he was a laborious student of Indian
politics covering a wide range of interests. Agricultural
Indebtedness, Poverty and Economic uplift including
Technical Education were his forte. It was as his co-
adjutor that Mr. C. Y. Chintamani underwent the
necessary probation before he shot up in Indian politics
by dint of his dynamic intellect.
SIB C. SANKABAN NAIB
Sir C. Sankaran Nair was a power in his own day.
|le was a stalwart in intellect as he was in stature and
to his credit stand some big achievements. His labours
in the Congress cause were early rewarded by the National
body calling him to preside over the Amrftoti se«i09 in
OUR INPIAN PATRIARCHS 185
1897. Like Chandavarkar and Tyabji in Bombay,
Sankaran Nair too was drafted to the Bench of the Madras
High Court some time after. From the Bench he was
translated to the Government of India as Member of the
Executive Council in 1915 and his resignation, on the
question of continuance of Martial Law in 1919, of his
high office made him widely popular. But like a boome-
rang which bursts — no one knows where — his attacks
\\ere unexpected always and they sometimes recoiled on
himself. Such was his attack on Gandhi in the book
'Gandhi and Anarchy/ which led to his being sued by
Sir Michael O'Dwyer, Lieut. Governor of the Punjab and he
had to pay 3 lacs of rupees altogether as damages and
costs.
P. KESAVA PILLAI
Dewan Bahadur P. Kesava Pillai's connection began
with the earliest days and continued till the year 1917,
bince when he resigned from the Congress. In the closing
years of his connection, he was a Secretary of the Congress
and an ardent coadjutor of Mrs. Besant.
BEPIN CHANDRA PAL
From Bengal we have many names to recall. Bepin
Chandra Pal, Anibika Charan Mazumdar, Baikunta N*th
Sen, were all men of first rate position and abilities who
\vere popular speakers of the Congress in their day. Bepin
Babu's connection began fairly early. He was an orator of
renown and he swept the country from end to end by his
eloquence in preaching his new cult of Boycott, Swadeshi
and National Education. His extended mewing of
Boycott at the Calcutta session (1906) was dissented from
by speaker after speaker. His speeches in Madras in
1907 were considered by Sir V* Bhashyarn
THE HISTORY OF TtJB
Advocate-General, as inflammatory but not seditious, and
he was forced to quit the Presidency. He was once
deported during Lord Minto's time and on another
occasion when Aurobindo Ghose was being prosecuted as
Editor of Bandemataram, Bepin Babu knowing that his
evidence would be material against Aurobindo, declined to
speak from the box and cheerfully took his six months'
R. I. for it. Later when he returned from England he
was prosecuted for his articles on 'Aetiology of the Bomb/
but he apologized. He was since feeling out of joint
with the growing changes in the evolution of Indian
Politics, and being an individualist of a marked type,
naturally ceased to be the popular and prominent figure
that he had been for years in the Congress arena. His last
public appearance was at the All-Parties' Conference held
at Lucknow iu 1928. It must be admitted that Bepin
Babu was one of the few men that exercised a magical
influence, through his speeches and writings in New India
and Bandemataram, on the young men of his time.
AMBIKA CHARAN MAZUMDAB
Babu Ambika Charan Mazumdar was a lawyer who
steadily worked his way up to the Presidentship of the
Congress at Lucknow in 1916. His flights of eloquence
were of a rare order. We have already quoted from his
speech in 1911, at the Calcutta Congress. He was the
author of a fine and famous book on the Congress entitled
/Indian National Evolution.'
BHUPENDRA NATH BASU
Not less eloquent was Babu Bhupendra Nath Basu
who was called upon to preside over the Congress in 1014
in Madfas. Dealing with the raison d'etre of Indians'
demand for Self-Govemment, Mr. feasu said:
IKDIAN PATRIARCHS
"The days of the lotus-eaters are gone. The world
is swinging onward on the uplifting ropes of time, and
in Europe, the War of Nations, now in progress, will
knock off the last weighty of medieval domination of .
one man over many, of one race over another. It is
not possible to roll back the tide of wider life which
is flowing like the warm gulf-stream through the
gateways of the West into the still waters of the
East. You may bend the Indian Universities to your
will, if you like, fetter their feet with obstructive
statutes, but you cannot bar the imponderable
influences of an expanding world. If English rule in
India meant the canonization of a bureaucracy, if it
meant perpetual domination and perpetual tutelage,
an increasing deadweight on the soul of India, it
would be a curse to civilization and a blot on
humanity."
Bhupen Babu \vas a successful solicitor in Calcutta
with a large practice who gave his time to politics gladly
und his oratory was undoubtedly of a highly culture!
type. He was able almost to act his part and display con-
siderable emotion, so much so that one big leader
humorously described him as the man with a melo-
dramatic countenance and chemical tears in his eyes. We
would, say the tears were physiological as well as psycho-
logical. He took up the position that the Congress should
act as His Majesty's Opposition.
MAULVI MAZAR-UL-HAQ
Maulvi Mazar-ul-Haq is one of those stalwarts in
intellect as well as in physique who gave the warmest
support to the Indian National Congress from Bihar and
tvho" was a Nationalist every inch. Communalism was
abhorrent to him and when at the 25th Congress in 1910
which met at Allahabad, Mr. Jinnah moved a resolution
condemning communal representation, Maulvi Mazar-ul-
Haq seconded it in an able speech in which he exhorted
Hindus and Muslims to join hands. It will be remembered
THE ittSfOBV OF Ufa
that the Minto-Morley Reforms had just come into
operation and had embodied for the first time a
scheme of communal representation in the Legis-
lative Councils. It required the utmost sincerity
of purpose and courage of conviction to be able
to say, as Mazar-ul-Haq did, to the Muslims who
were just then elated with their achievements, that
their success was really injurious to the common interests
of the two great communities, and that what the country
wanted was that they should join hands and not remain
apart in watertight compartments.
When in 1914, a deputation was sent to England by the
Congress, Maulvi Mazar-ul-Haq was elected to serve on it
along with Messrs. Bhupendra Nath Basu, M. A. Jinnah,
N. M. Samarth, 8. Sinha, B. N. Sarma and Lala Lajpat
Rai. Thereafter he did not take active interest in
Congress affairs but remained a staunch Nationalist to
the end. The purity of his Nationalism was only excel-
led by the saintliness of his character which attracted
public attention and endeared him to the people of India
in general and to the people of Bihar in particular, and
the latter days of his life he spent not only in retirement
but in renunciation as a true Faquir.
MAHADEV GOVIND RANADE
Mahadev Govind Ranade, popularly known as
Justice Ranade, was a towering personality in the Con-
gress. Within the strict meaning of the term, he could
not be termed a Congressman, for he was a high officer
in the Judicial Department of the Bombay Government,
but he was for years together the power behind the
throne. He furnished the inspiration for the Congress
movement. Hia tall stature, the statuesque cut of his
face and his , Maharashtra turban, with hi» flowing
INDIAN PATRIARCHS
robes of ancient Hindu style, marked him out at the
various sessions of the Congress from the rest. His
attainments as a scholar and savant, which have made
him memorable both as an economist and a historian,
have left the Nation a rich legacy in the Rise of the
Mar at ha Power and in his Essays in Indian Economics.
Social Reform was his forte, and for years the Social
Conference, which had formed an adjunct of the Congress,
was his pet child. When differences arose in the year 1895
at the Poona Session as to whether the Congress
could concern itself with questions of Social Reform
and with the Social Conferences, it was the "tolerant
and wise action of Mr. Justice Ranade, " as pointed out
by Babu Surendra Nath Banerjea, that put an end to
them and smoothed matters. Justice Ranade's services
to the Nation during the outbreak of plague were in-
estimable and it is not time yet to describe them all to
posterity. After fifteen years of indefatigable labours
in the field of Social Reform and in the cause of the
Congress, Ranade passed away in the year 1901 leaving
memories which serve to help us hold his name in high
veneration.
PANDIT BISHAX NARAYAN DHAR
Pandit Bishan Narayan Dhar is another of the
earlier day politicians who made a mark on Congress
history by his devotion to the National Congress.
In 1903 he moved the resolution on the Official Secrete
Bill and said: "Lord Ourzon is astonished that this should
be described as Russianizing the administration. I am
astonished that any one should be so imperfectly informed
regarding the Russian Government as to think that it has
got anything in its purely civil laws so arbitrary and so
disastrous to the Civil Liberties of the people as Lord
Gurfton's Bill, if passed, would be in this country,"
THE HISTORY OF THE CONCHES^
1 He was called upon to preside over the Calcutta
Congress in 1911 over which it was hoped Mr. Ramsay
MacDonald would preside, but the death of Mrs. Mac
Donald had called him ' away from India and Bishan
Narayan Dhar was unexpectedly asked to take his place.
He presided over the Congress just at a moment when
the worst blow was dealt to the bureaucracy by the
annulment of the Partition of Bengal. But long anterior
to his attainment of the highest National honour, he gave
proofs of his capacity and .eloquence which really he
shared with most of the earlier day stalwarts. Pandit
Bishan Narayan Dhar had indeed figured prominently
from the earliest Congress. He made a noble appeal at
the 3rd Congress (Madras, 1887) saying: "England has
moved us from our ancient anchorage. She has cast us
adrift, against our will, upon the wide waters of a seething
proletariat; and we turn back to England and ask her to
grant us that compass of representative institutions by
which, amidst a thousand storms, she has steered her
prosperous course to the safe haven of regulated political
freedom."
•i
Bishan Narayan Dhar's description of the bureau-
cracy is alike picturesque and pungent and we make no
apology for quoting it at length here:
"The root-cause of most of our misfortunes
which, if not corrected, forebodes serious disasters in
the future, is the growth of an unsympathetic and
illiberal spirit in the bureaucracy towards the new-
born hopes and ideals, of the Indian people. While a
New India has gradually been rising up, that spirit .
too has been growing, and so a critical situation has
arisen. On the one hand, the educated classes filled
with new knowledge and conscious of new political
rights, but hampered by the bars and fetters of a
system perhaps gpod enough for other days but now .
obsolete; OIL 'the other, the bureaucracy with its
OUR INDIAN PATRIARCHS
vested interests, its domineering habits, its old tradi-
tions of absolute and unquestioned authority, suspi-
cious of knowledge and adverse to innovation, like
every close corporation, cut off from the people by its
racial exclusiveness and wedded to a paternal system
'of Government under which it has M> long enjoyed
power and pelf but which is discordant with the
moral, liberal ideals of the present day."
KAMESU CHANDRA DUTT
Another outstanding character in the Congress politics
towards the end of the last century was Ranxcsh Chandra
Dutt. He was not a mere political agitator even in the
sense of the London Times which derisively described
Congressmen (1886) as men with little or no stake in the
country, men of straw who were place-seekers. He had
closed a career, having risen to the position of Commis-
fcdoncrship. He cast in his lot with the Congress and
brought to bear his rich experience and knowledge acquired
over a long course of years spent as an I.C.S. officer, on
the public questions of the day. He held that the causes
of famine were the heavy assessments on land and the
destruction of the village industries by free competition
with English machinery. He regretted that a country
which had organised Village Self-Government 3,000 years
ago was being virtually ruled through the Police, "the
hated link between the district officers and the people." He
was a great authority on Land Revenue affairs, Economic
questions and Famines. He presided over the Congress at
Lucknow, 1890. He has made himself memorable by the
statement that "there is no better way of creating sedi-
tion than by suppressing free discussion in newspapers
and meetings."
THE HISTORY OF TtiE CONGRESS
N. SUBBA RAU PANTULU
Another of these venerable patriarchs of the
Congress is Mr. N. Subba Rau Pantuki who is an active
public man to-day at the age of four score and who,
though he has not been quite a whole-hogger in respect of
recent Congress programmes, continues to be an ardent
Nationalist. His connection with the Congress began
almost from its birth, for he was present and spoke at
the 4th Congress (Allahabad, 1888) and ever since figured
on the Congress platform moving, seconding or supporting
resolutions relating to Salt Tax, the JudiciaB and the
Executive, the admission of Indians into the Executive
Councils, Trial by Jury and the position of Legal practi-
tioners. As a member of the Imperial Legislative Council,
he moved a resolution urging the appointment of a Public
Services Commission which was accepted, and in the
Congress of 1912 at Bankipore he moved the resolution
of thanks for the appointment of a Royal Commission on
Public Services.
He has not cared to accept a title or seek a job at the
hands of Government, when his contemporaries were being
rewarded with the one or the other. On the other hand,
his Province chose him as the Chairman of the Reception
Committee in 1898 and the Congress itself elected him
as the General Secretary in 1914, 15, '16 and '17. But in
1917 he declined the honour with thanks when he
isaw that Mrs. Besant took a third Secretary in
Mr.O.P. Ramaswami Aiyar as the real Working Secretary.
He set the example, during his term, of touring India at his
own expense and enthusing the people on Congress matters
throughout the country.
OtTB INDIAN PATEURCHS 19$
LALA MUBLIDHAB
We may not forget to record the name of Lala
Murlidhar of Punjab who went to the second session of
the Congress in Calcutta (1886) straight from prison
released on bail, convicted without evidence "because I
am considered a political agitator, because I have my own
opinions and speak what I think without fear." Lala
Malik Bhagwan Das from Dera Ismail Khan was the
first to speak in Urdu at this very session. The first
lady speaker of the Congress was Mrs. Kadimbini Ganguli
who moved the customary vote of thanks to the President
of the sixteenth Congress in 1900 (Calcutta).
MR. S. SINHA
Mr. Sachchidananda Sinha first made his appearance
at the 15th session of the Congress, at Lucknow (1899),
and spoke on the separation of the Executive and the
Judicial functions, "a subject worn threadbare but neces-
sarily brought up for the 15th time," as Mrs. Besant says.
He reverted to the same subject at the next session,
(Lahore, 1900) and gave a foretaste of his abilities and
concluded by saying that "the Government must rest upon
the affection of the people, and that could only be secured
by conferring upon them the boon of justice, not the
justice which we enjoy to-day, half milk and half water,
adulterated justice, but real and righteous British justice."
At the seventeenth session, an allied subject, namely,
Police Reform, was handled by him. The next year too,
Mr. Sinha was chosen to speak on the same subject and
then he referred to the inadequacy of the representation
of experienced Indians on the Police Commission which
was appointed during Lord Curzon's time. There was a
peculiar appropriateness in his remark that, of the two
non-officials on the Commission, "One was a C. 1. J},
THE HISTORY OF THE COtfG&tt*
always speaking to please Englishmen and the other a
Maharaja, as yet untried." The appropriateness lies in
the fact that though Mr. Sinha became later a Member
of the Executive Council of Bihar he remains without a
title. At the twentieth session he supported a resolution
that a deputation should be sent to England on the eve
of the General Election of 1905. At the same session he
had the honour of moving the resolution urging the election
to Parliament of Mr. Dadabhai Naoroji, Sir Henry Cotton
and Mr. John Jardine. At the twenty-first Congress
(Kashi, 1905) "Police Reforms were entrusted to the old
champion," Mr. Sinha, and he pointed out hew bitterly
the Police Commission had disappointed them, constitu-
ting a special Police Service from which Indians were to
be excluded. Mr. Sinha was present as an active member
at the 1st Moderate Congress of 1908. By the year 1910,
in which the Congress met at Allahabad, the outlook
of the Indian politicians was widened by the appoint-
ment of an Indian to the Law Membership of the Viceroy's
Executive Councirbut the range of choice was limited to
the iqembers of the English Bar, and the Hon. S. Sinha
pointed out the unwisdom of the restriction 'and urged
that the advocates and vakils should also be eligible. Next
year when the Congress met in Calcutta Mr. Sinha pleaded
for an Executive Council and a Governor for the U. P.
He was again present in Madras in 1914 and received
the thanks of the Congress for the good work that he had
done as a 'member of the deputation to London composed
of, besides himself, Messrs. Bhupendranath Basu,
M. A. Jinnah, Sanmrth, Mazar-ul-Haq, the Hon.
B. N. Sarma and Lala Lajpat Rai.
There are scores of public workers — many of them
dead and a few still alive— who have made notable
contributions to the National cause by their sincerity of
purpose, services and sacrifices, to whom posterity ow«
OTTR INDIAN PATRIARCHS 195
a deep debt. To enumerate 'them would only lead to
invidious distinctions, however unmeant they be, and we
shall be content to recall their memory with a feeling
of sincere gratitude.
Surendra Xath Banerjea
1895; Poona
1902: Ahmedabad
Md. Rahiraatullah Sayani
1896: Calcutta
Sir C. Sankaran Nair
1897 : Amraoti
Ananda Mohan Bose
1898 : Madras
Part II
(1915 TO 1919)
SYNOPSIS
CHAPTER I
TOWARDS RE-UNION (1915)
Mrs. Besant advocates India's claim for Justice —
Position in 1915 — Tilak reappears— Proposal* to re-unite
the two uings of Congress fail — Gokhale passes away —
Tilak's constructive work — The Bombay Congress.
CHAPTER II
A UNITED CONGRESS (1916)
Tilak's Home Rule League — Tilak's triumphs and
reverses — Hindu-Muslim Concordat — The Nineteen Memo-
randum— Mrs. Bezant's All-India Home Ride League —
Tilak at the Lucknow Session — The Congress Resolutions.
CHAPTER III
TOWARDS RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (1917)
Agitation and Repression — Internment of Mrs. Bezant?
Arundale and Wadia — Siva who cut his wife into 53 pieces
— Imperial War Conference — Passive Resistance — AJ.C.CS*
*ttifamnt—P. C. C.'s on Passive Resistance— Montagu'?
Announcement of August 20th — Congress-League Memo-
rotfc&m */ India's equality with Dominions— Mr*. Besant's
*/ Mtitude— Gandhi's achievement* by
13
196 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
— Champaran. Kaira, and Ahmedabad Mill labourers —
Signatures to the Congress-League Scheme— a Permanent
fund for the Congress— Mrs. Besant elected President — Her
Presidential address — Congress resolutions — Appointment
of Rowlatt Committee — Andhra Congress Circle — National
Flag.
CHAPTER IV
MONTAGU-CHELMSFORD PROPOSALS (1918)
AJ.C.C. meetings — Airs. Besant's strenuous w:orfc—
Prohibitory orders against Pal and Tilak—War Conference
at Delhi — Tilak's Wager — Monta(iu-( -hclmsjord Iteport
published — Differences amongst Indians on it — The Curtis
Episode — The Special Congress at Bombay — The Function*
and Franchise Committees — The operation of the Defence
of India Act — The Rowlatt Committee's Report —
The Delhi Congress.
CHAPTER V
NON-VIOLENCE, A REALITY (1919)
The Rowlatt Bills — Gandhi appears on the scene —
The Satyagrahic pledge — New values — Hindu-Muslim
Unity — Happenings in the Punjab — Gandhi's arrest —
Amritsar — General Dyer and the Hunter Committee —
Lahore and Colonel Johnson — Gujaranwala and Colonel
O'Brien — Doveton and Bosworth Smith, and Kasur —
Withdrawal of Satyagraha — Law and Order— Indemnity
Bill — AJ.C.C. meets, appoints a Committee of Enquiry —
Gandhi's statement withdrawing Satyagraha — Deputation*
to • England — Differences with the British Congress
.Committee, a double fight— The « Albert Hatt Meeting-
Mr. Lansbury's good offices— A Comparative Study of the
SYNOPSIS 199
four schemes on hand — The Punjab Enquiry — The Hunter
Committee — A grave situation — The Reform Bill — Ttiak
•offers Responsive Co-operation — The Amritsar Congress —
The main resolution — The compromise — Condemnation of
mob violence — Gandhi's speech thereon — Other resolutions
— Recall of Chelmsford — Sarma opposes — Royal amnesty
— Mr. Neville attacked.
Part II
CHAPTER I
TOWARDS RE-VSIOX (1915)
The year 1915 really is a landmark in the political
history of India. Mr?. BesautV publication entitled 'How
India Wrought For Freedom' has covered the period
intervening between 1885, the year of the birth of the
Congress, and 1914. the year of the outbreak of the Great
War. It may be remembered that the Japanese victory
in the Russo-Japanese War had filled the Asiatic Nations
with a pen<e of renewed confidence in their own capacities
and prowes* at the beginning of this century. Likewise
did the marvellous feats of endurance and bravery
displayed by the Indian troop* in the winter of 1914 in
France and Flanders, and their successful stand against
the onshiughN of German invasion in the Great European
War create a new atmosphere alike in Europe and Asia
and raise the Indians miles higher in the estimation of the
Western Nations than ever before. Such an appreciation
of the services of the Indian troops in the War who were
taken abroad in anticipation of Parliamentary sanction,
naturally h«d its repercussion on the minds of Indians.
It kindled a sense of reward in the minds of some, such as
Surendra Nath Bauer j en, and a sense of rights in the
minds of others, such as Mrs. Besant. Mrs. Besant had
been working in the cause of the poor, the whole of her
lifetime, and of India ever since the days of Mr. Bradlaugh.
But it was in 1914 that she joined the Congress and
speaking on the question of 'Reciprocity* said, "there had
been talk of a reward due to India's loyalty; but India
does not chaffer with the blood of her sons and the proud
tears of her daughters in exchange for so much
JOS THE HISTORY OF TH1 CONGMSS
liberty, so much right. India claims the rigbt, as
a Nation, to justice among the peoples of the
Empire. India asked for this before the War.
India asks for it during the War. India will ask.
for it after the War; but not as a reward, but as a right
does she ask for it. On that there must be no mistake."
When Mrs. Besant jumped from Theosophy and the Highr
Court where she had to face a litigation relating ta Jiddu
Krishnamurti and his brother, to the Congress and the
spacious atmosphere of the Beach, she brought new ideas,,
new talents, new resources, and altogether a new method
of organisation and a new outlook into the field of the
Congress. She was already a great world character and
had millions of followers in the East- and the West, in the
New Hemisphere as well as the Old. No wonder then that*
"with this mighty following and with her inexhaustible
energy, 'she gave a new life to Indian politics.
^j . i
What was the position of affairs in 1915? Gokiiale had
passed away on the 19th February 1915. Sir Phcrozeshah
Mehta had already gone out of view, having
declined the Presidentship of the Congress in 1909, six
days before lie was due to take the chair, and followed
Gokhalc to the grave in November 1915. Infirmities of
advancing years were creeping upon Mr. Wacha who stated
at the Bombay Congress of 1915 that old age had its ow»
penalties, for his vision was fast failing. Moreover he
was all along only a great scholar and a good Secret ary,
never a General leading his forces from victory to victory.
Sir Narayan Chandavarkar had retired as a judge and
was a spent force in politics. Heramba Chandra Maitra,
Mudholkar and Subba Rau Pantulu were excellent
lieutenants, Captains or Colonels in the army of the
Congress, and nothing more. Surendra Nath Banerjea,
eminent 40 he was, was not quite in tune with the
thought
'.m.ht M)tilal Nehru
1919: Amntsar
1923 : Calcutta j
C. Yijiaraghavachariar
1920 : Nagpur
Lala La j pat Rai
1920: Calcutta (Special;
Hakim Ajmal Khan
1921: Ahmedabad
TOWARDS RB-UNlOiHKHfi) JM&
. There was no Field-Marshal, no GenenOteimo to
tehd the army. Lokamanya Tilak was released in June
1914 from Mandalay after nearly completing hi* full
term. Mr. Srinivasa Sastri no doubt stepped into the
shoes of Gokhale as the President of that great and BoWe
order— the Servants of India Society, but by his inherent
temperament as well as by the eternal conflict raging in:
his breast between his Extremist inclinations and Moderate
'conviction/ between principle and expediency, between
the ultimate and the immediate, he was always content
to remain a back-bencher, though he loved to praise the
cross-bench mind. M any rate he never occupied the
Front Bench nor cared for the limelight. Pandit Madan
Mohan Malaviya was not in a position to lead the
Congress on the Moderate lines, nor had he the grit to
force his way forward. Gandhi himself had just arrived
in India and, if we may say so, did not as yet start his
public life on defined lines. He was under the advice of
his political Guru — Gokhale, silently studying the condi-
tions of the country which he had long ago left and to
which he had paid two or three short visits at intervals.
Lala La j pat Rai was disgusted with the state of affairs
in this country and notably in his Province, and during
the War was virtually an exile in America. Satyendra
Prasanna (later Lord) Sinha, who presided over the
Congress of 1915 in Bombay, was altogether out of tune
with the new spirit and ceased to interest himself in
Congress politics after the Bombay Session. Leadership
was almost passing from the Nation to the bureaucracy.
Power had gone out of the Moderates. The Nationalists
had not as yet come into their own. Attempts made by
Mrs. Besant to bring the two wings of the Congress
together failed in 1914 and 1915, and the story of the
failure may briefly be studied.
THE HISTORY OP THE CONGUESS
In 1915 Lokamanya Tilak should have been the
uncrowned king not only of Maharashtra, but of the whole
of India, except for an unfortunate combination of forces
to keep him out of what should legitimately have been
liis. He was released in June 1914 and ever since strenuous
efforts were made by him to start a big Home Rule
agitation, and by well-meaning friends to bring the two
wings of the Congress together. Lokamanya Tilak himself
wanted sedulously to avoid offending the susceptibilities
of the Moderates but they did not respond to his
approaches. Tilak's threefold programme was, (1) the
Congress Compromise, (2) the re-organisation of the
Nationalist Party, and (3) the setting on foot of a strong
agitation for Home Rule. On the first of these items,
Lokamanya Tilak and the Nationalists wanted the
avenues to the election of Congress delegates to be
widened. As things stood, the Articles of the Constitution
restricted the right of election to certain organizations
— -"provided that no such political association
or public body shall be recognized unless the
said Association or Body, by a resolution of a
general meeting of its members, expressed its acceptance
of the principle embodied in Article I of this
Constitution and makes the acceptance of the same
condition precedent to new membership." The Article
contemplated a Moderate creed with Colonial Self-
Govermnent as the goal. The election of Congress
delegates was thus placed exclusively in the hands of the
Moderate Associations and it was not to be expected that
the Nationalists should seek admission, through the good-
will of their opponents, to the Congress. Article XX had
therefore to be widened and to this end Mrs. Besant and
Mr. N. Subba Rau Panfculu, the General Secretary of the
Congress, went to Poona in the first week of December,
1914 and conferred with Messrs. Tilak, Gokhale and others.
An amendment was agreed upon. Then Mr. Subba Rau
TOWARDS RE-UNION (191ft) 29S
went to consult Sir Pherozeshah in Bombay and returned
disappointed. Then he met Mr. Til'ak and Mr. Gokhale.
Mr. Gokhale was convinced that Mr. Tilak's re-entry
into the Congress camp would only In: a signal for a
renewal of the old struggle. He therefor*' withdrew his
support to the amendment proposed, in an oral message
1o Mrs. Besant. In reply to a letter from the President-elect
•of the 19th Congress* of 1914. ho wrote a confidential
letter explaining the reasons of his change of view.
The letter became public in no time. It was stated in it
that Mr. Tilak had openly avowed his intention of
adopting the 'Boycott, of Government' and the .obstruc-
tionist methods of the Irish if he entered the Congress.
When Lokamanya Tiluk repudiated it. on an enquiry by
Mrs. Besant, an apology was no doubt offered to him, but
the reconciliation wa< postponed. Mr. Subba Ran Pantuhi
published in \cw India (8-2-19151 a statement in which
he said that the Bombay Conventionalist leaders were
•dead opposed to Mr*. Besant V amendment.
The story of Mrs. Bezant's unsuccessful attempts to
bring the Moderates and the Nationalists together in the
Congress has just been told. Early in the year, India
sustained a great loss in the premature death of Gokhale
•who passed away on the 19th February. Tilak had a great
regard for his political opponent, and when Gokhale passed
away, delivered the funeral oration which was intensely
passionate: —
"This is not a time for cheer?. This is a time
for ^hedding tears. This diamond of India, this
jewel of Maharashtra, this prince of workers is laid to
cttrnal rest on the funeral ground. Look at him and
<rv to emulate him. Every one of you should place
his life as a model to be imitated and should try to
fill up the gap caused by his death, and if you will
«io your level best to emulate him in this way, he
feel glad even in the next world."
£•6 THE HISTOBY OF TUB CONGRESS
In the Provincial Conference (May 4, 1915), in
moving the resolution of condolence to Mr. Gokhale's
family, Tilak described how he was partially responsible
for introducing Gokhale into the field of public life.
During the year 1915, and the year 1916 too, Tiluk
worked assiduously to organize his party. He held that
"a strong party needs < 1 ) a magnetic leadership, (2) a
rallying point, and (3) a war-cry. In Mr. Joseph
Baptista, Tilak found an able co-adjutor and under
Mr. Baptista's Presidentship a thousand Nationalists met at
Poona, and this Conference stood in marked contrast with
the Moderate Conference which met shortly after with a
poor attendance, but was praced by the presence of Lord
Willingdon at it. The Poona Conference supplied the
war-cry of Home Rule and Tilak's sole pro-occupation
was how to advance India's cause to this goal. It was his
intention to get a Bill introduced in Parliament through
the good offices of Labour leaders and then concentrate
his activities on a vast propaganda. (Account taken from
Mr. Athalye's 'Life of Lokamanya Tilak/)
The Congress of 1915 was to meet in Bombay, and ad
all proposals for a compromise had failed, it was to be
essentially a Moderate Congress. On the eve of the
Congress, Sir Pherozeshah Mohia passed way in the
month of November. The President chosen for the year
was Sir Satycndra Prasanna Sinha, — whose position and
learning were of an unchallengeable character. His touch
with the Congress movement was indeed little, but he
brought to the Bombay Session all the prestige that clings
round the name of an ex-Law Member of the Government
of India, who had not cared to stick to his high office even
for half his term. But he was new to his new duties and
was largely influenced by the elderly Congressmen by
whom be was surrounded.
TOWABD6 RE-UNION (1915)
Sir S. P. Binha made, from the Nationalist point of
view, a most reactionary speech, in which he described
India as a patient whose fractured limbs were in splints*
According to his conception the need was "a reasoned
ideal of India's future such as will satisfy the aspirations
and ambitions of the rising generation of India and at
the same time will meet with the approval of those to
whom India's destinies are committed." In this view
he demanded an announcement of policy. He was
essentially an ultra-Conservative.
At the Bombay Congress of 1915, however, the first*
signs of that great revival in public interest in the Congress
after the Surat imbroglio became visible, which made its
influence felt from, and after, the next following Congress
at Lucknow. No less than 2.259 delegates attended the
Bombay Session and the resolutions that were passed
covered a large variety of subjects. The first four
recorded the Nation's grief at the passing away of three
ex-Presidents of the Congress, viz., Gopal Krishna Gokhale,
Pherozoshah Mchta. Sir Henry Cotton, and of a friend,
Keir Hardie. who ''in and outside the House of Commons
rendered valuable services to this country which will be
gratefully cherished by the people of India." The fifth
recorded the loyalty of the people. The sixth resolution
recorded the abiding sense of the Congress in the righteous-
ness of the cause espoused by Great Britain and her Allies
and expressed gratification at the splendid achievements
of the British Navy. The seventh resolution asked for an
extension of term of office for Lord Hardinge as Viceroy.
The eighth resolution re-affirmed tho numerous previous
resolution* of tho Congress regarding the justice and
expediency of admitting Indians to commissions in the
Army and Navy, their training in existing Military and
Naval schools and colleges and opening fresh ones in
India. It also emphasised the necessity of re-organizing
Jit THE HISTOEY OT THK CONGRESS
the 'system of volunteering with due regard to the rights
of the people of this country to enlist themselves as Citizen
goldiers without distinction of race, class or creed. The
ninth resented the unmerited slur cast upon the people by
the Arms Act (XI of 1878) and the tenth regretted the
existing laws affecting Indians in South Africa and
Canada. The eleventh resolution thanked the Viceroy for
lending his statesmanlike support to the resolution of the
Imperial Legislative Council demanding; representation for
India on the Imperial Conference and requested the
Government to allow at least two members deputed to
take part in the Conference to be elected by the elected
members of the Imperial Council. The twelfth resolution
reiterated the demand for an Executive Council for the
United Provinces. The thirteenth asked for the abolition
of indentured labour and the fourteenth repeated the
oft-repeated demand for the separation of Executive and
Judicial functions. The fifteenth asked for the establishment
of High Courts in the Punjab, Burma and the Central
Provinces with the status and power** of Chartered High
Courts. The sixteenth supported the Swadeshi movement
and the seventeenth protested against the continuation
of the Press Act. The eighteenth resolution opined that
in the .best interests of the people of India it was necessary
that complete fiscal freedom with special reference to
import, export and excise duties should be conceded to the
Government of India. The nineteenth resolution was
important and demanded substantial measures of reform
towards Self-Government so as to secure to the people an
effective control over the Government by introduction of
Provincial Autonomy, expansion and reform of Legislative
Councils where they existed and their establishment in
Provinces where they did not exist, the reconstruction of
various existing Executive Councils and their establishment
in Provinces ivhere they .did not exist, the reform or abolition
of the. India Council, and a liberal measure of Local
TOWARDS REUNION (1915)
SelMSovernroent, The resolution further asked the All-
India Congress Committee to frame a scheme of reform
and a programme of continuous work, educative ftftd.
propagandist, and it authorised the Committee to confer
with the Committee of the All-India Muslim League for
the same purpose and to take such further measures as*
may be necessary.
The twentieth resolution opined that a reasonable and
definite limit should be put to the demand of the State on
land and that the Permanent Settlement should be intro-
duced in all areas, Ryotwari or Zamindari, creating fixity
of tenure for occupant**, and failing Permanent Settlement,
a settlement for a period of not less than sixty years. The
twenty-first resolution insisted on steps for industrial
development of the country by making greater provision:
for industrial and technical education, grant of fiscal
autonomy to India in regard to import and export duties,
by the removal of unjust and artificial barriers like excise
duties on cotton goods and differential rates for Railway
consignment which favoured the foreign manufacturer at
the expense of the indigenous manufacturer. The twenty-
second resolution disapproved of the Indian Students*
Department in England and expressed the growing dis^
content caused by the increasing tendency on the part of
educational institutions in the United Kingdom to restrict
the admission of Indian students and to accord differential
und unfair treatment to them after admission. The other
four resolutions were of a formal character, appointing tlie-
General Secretaries, appreciating the services of Sir William
Wedderburn and other members of the British Committee
and desiring the maintenance of India, amending the
Constitution of the Congress and fixing the next Congress
to be held at Lucknow.
HISTOBY OF TH» OOXGB8SS
We thus see that the Congress resolutions of 1915 are
loi*' epitome of the resolutions which had been passed from
time to time by all the Congresses held ever since its birth
in 1885.
In regard to the question of Self-Government, how-
ever, as we have seen, the Congress session held in Bombay
in 1915 gave the lead by its resolution XIX instructing the
All-India Congress Committee to confer with the Executive
of the Muslim League and frame a scheme of Self-
Government, That was the culmination indeed of the
goodwill that had its origin at the Karachi Session in 1913.
An interesting feature of the Congress of 1915 was
that Gandhi could not be elected to the Subjects
Committee, and therefore he was nominated to the
Committee by the President under the powers vested in
him under the Constitution.
One achievement of the Bombay Session was that
the Constitution of the Congress was suitably altered so
as to throw the doors of entry practically open to the
ingress of Nationalist delegates who were allowed to be
elected by "public meetings convened under the auspices
of any association which is of not less than two yeans'
standing on 31st December, 1915, and which has for one
of its objects the attainment of Self-Government
within the British Empire by constitutional means" and
this was followed by a hearty response from Tilak who
forthwith publicly announced the willingness of his party
Ao re-enter the Congress through the partially opened
door.
CHAPTER II
A UNITED CONGRESS (1916)
The year opened -under more auspicious circumstances
for the healthy development of Congress activities than
the previous year. But the country was the poorer for
the loss of two great men — Gokhale and Mehta — both of
whom had passed away in 1915. Tilak had as yet no
place in the Congress, for under the compromise reached
at the Bombay Session he had to wait a full year before
he could influence the National organ to work on his
lines. He, therefore, fell back upon his idea of a Home
Rule League, and well wa< he qualified to take up leader-
ship at this juncture by his culture and talents, by his
h^rvices and sacrifices. He tried his best to induce the
< 'ongress to send a deputation to England, but that was
not to be. He then started his Home Rule League first
in India on 23rd April, 1916, some six months before
Mrs. Besant started hers.
But the bureaucracy was his sworn enemy. While
Tilak was pleading for students joining the Defence
Force, he was served with an order from the Punjab
Government prohibiting him from entering Delhi or the
Punjab.
He accepted the Creed of the Congress for his Home
Rule League and this, it seems, pleased Sastriar much.
In 1916 he completed his Shashtipurti or 60 years of age,
And a purse of one lac of rupees was presented to him
.which he dedicated to National work. The more Govern-
ment repressed him, the more he was bounding up, and
as a last resort "in order to silence him rather than
imprison him" he was asked to be bound over for good
THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
behaviour for ene year in a sum of Rs. 20,000 in his own
recognizance and in two securities of Rs. 10,000 each.
'The Magistrate directed him after trial to enter into a
bond accordingly, but the High Court reversed it, on the
9th November, 1916. This only served to increase his
popularity. Tilak met with honours, received ovations and
purses wherever he went, but physifcally he was frail — a
circumstance which stood in the way of his undertaking
energetic propaganda throughout India, moving on the
wings of time and electrifying the people by an appeal to
their emotions. This was left to be clone by one older
than himself in ago, frail in sex, but enjoying a better
start in life, not being under a cloud in the scene of hor
operations, better known (o the world, and endowed with
that dynamic energy which know? no fatigue and sooks
no rest.
Here was India then in 1916, a Nation whose cause
went unheeded, and whoso loader remained yet to be
found.
It was at such a juncture that Mrs. Bcsant stepped
into the trench. She jumped from religion to politics,.
from Theosophy to Home Rule. She started a daily,
New India, and later a weekly, The Commonweal. She
was the first to popularise the cry of 'Home Rule* and she
carried on a raging, toaring propaganda. The formation
of a 'Home Rule for India League' was discussed in 1915
but was put off to see if the Congress of the year would
take up work directly for Self-Government.
The Conference between the representatives of
Congress and the Muslim League enjoined by the
Bombay Congress was duly held and thfe outcome was a
Complete agreement between the leaders of the two {freftt
fommtimties. A Jfcitrt Committee was appointed to framfr
A UNITED CONGRESS (1916]
a scheme and make all the arrangements necessary to
promote the cause of Indian Self-Government within thcf
Empire. The draft prepared by the Joint Committee waa
to be approved at Lucknow in 1916 by both the Congress
and the Muslim League. Discussions were held at the All-
India Congress Committee meeting at Allahabad on the
22nd, 23rd and 24th April, 1916 at the residence of Pandit
Motilal Nehru, a member of the Committee, who at Surat
had seconded the resolution proposing Dr. Rash Behari
Ghose to the chair, but had not been heard of again till
1915. The proposals tentatively arrived at by
the A.I.C.C. were considered at a joint meeting of
the A.I.C.C. and the Council of the Muslim League in
Oct. 1916 in Calcutta and the Hindu-Muslim Concordat
was almost fully hammered out, the quotas of Punjab and
Bengal alone being left to be finally agreed upon
at Lucknow during the sittings of the year's Congress.
The scheme, as finally agreed to by the Joint Committee
in Calcutta, was approved by the Congress. The inner
circle of politicians were also aware by the time of the
Congress that what later came to be widely known as the
'Nineteen Memorandum' (see Appendix I) had been sent
up to the Viceroy in Nov. 1916 and that it embodied the
principles of a scheme of Self-Government for India, the
nineteen signatories being all members of the Supreme
Council. All the elected members of the Supreme Legis-
lative Council except the two Anglo-Indians, the three
who were away from headquarters and two Muslims and
one Sikh, signed the Memorandum. It is believed that
it was the result of information which the signatories
had that the Government of India had sent up certain
proposals on the subject which were reactionary. , i
Apparently Mrs. Besant was not satisfied with the
tardy way in which Congress affairs were progressing.
The British Committee of the Indian National Congress
n
Hi THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
was no doubt attending to Congress work in England,
but it was only holding 'a watching brief to use its own
phraseology. Mrs. Besant wanted a more dynamic body
and organised an Auxiliary Home Rule League in London
on 13th June, 1916, under the Self-Government Resolution
of the Madras Congress of 1914. In India her Home Rule
League was definitely founded in Madras in the Gokhale
Hall on 1st September, 1916 and worked well without a
hitch throughout 1917 on the simple lines suggested by
Mrs. Besant, who was its President elected for three years
by the founding branches. The first Home Rule League
in India had really been formed, as already pointed out,
by Lokamanya Tilak in Maharashtra with headquarters
at Poona on the 23rd April, 1916, and to distinguish hers
from it, Mrs. Besant christened the former the All-India
Home Rule League in 1917.
Tilak joined, in accordance with his announcement
in Jan. of the year, the Congress of 1916 at Lucknow.
He succeeded in securing a vast majority of his party,
the Nationalists, as the delegates from the Bombay Presi-
dency to the Lucknow session. The Constitution of the
time provided that the Subjects Committee should include
the members of the A.I.C.C. from each Province, and an
equal number, Province by Province, elected by the
delegates of the Province assembled at the session. An
interesting story is told of Gandhi's being found a place
in the Subjects Committee of the Congress in 1916. It
will be remembered that it was in that year that Tilak
rejoined the Congress after the Surat Split. A proposal
that Tilak had made to the Moderates in regard to the
personnel of the elected members of the Subjects Com-
mittee having failed, Tilak decided to get the delegates
of Bombay who were all Nationalists to elect only those
of ttaiv own party. The names were put to the House
in pairs, one ft Nationalist and the other a Moderate. In
A UNITED CONGRESS (1916) 215
every case it was the former that was elected. Likewise
when a Nationalist name was pitted against Gandhi, the
latter was voted down, but Tilak declared that Gandhi
was elected.
The Lucknow session was presided over by Babu
Ambika Charan Mazumdar, a tried servant of the Nation
whose services to the National cause were
fittingly rewarded by the honour conferred
upon him at Lucknow. His Presidential Address
was of a piece with the eloquent outpourings which the
Congress had been accustomed to hear with real gusto
for many years, and examples of which have been quoted
in these pages. The great achievement of Lucknow was
the completion of the Congress-League Scheme of Reforms
(see Appendix II) with a full formation of the Hindu*
Muslim Concordat.
It will be remembered that the preliminaries of this
concordat were gone through at Joint Conferences of the
League and the Congress Executives at Allahabad in April
1916, and in Calcutta in the following November. In
working out the details of this agreement, the quotas of
the Punjab and Bengal in respect of Muslim representa-
tion in the Legislatures remained to be settled, and settled
they were at Lucknow. A full account of this concordat
is given in the section dealing with Communal Representa-
tion in Part I, Chapter II. The essentials of the
Congress-League Scheme itself were the subordination of
the Executive to the Legislature, but it must be noted
that the Legislature itself was still to consist of a 1/5
nominated element. The Secretary of State's Council was
to be abolished. Altogether it was, judging from the rapid
strides since taken by the Congress, a poor show. Yet;
the Government fought shy of it and pitted against it a
216 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
scheme of their own, as we shall see from the develop-
ments of the year 1917.
The Lucknow session of the Congress was altogether
a unique one, for the fraternization of the Hindus and
Muslims as well as for the formulation of a scheme of
Self-Government. Not less important was the re-union of
the two wings of the Congress which had been separated
since 1907. It was truly an enlivening spectacle to see
Tilak and Khaparde sitting side by side with Dr. Rash
Behari Ghose and Surendra Nath Banerjea. Mrs. Besanjb
was there with her two eo-adjutors — Arundale and
Wadia — and the banner of Home Rule in their hands.
Amongst the Muslims were men like the Rajah of
Muhammadabad, Mazar-ul-Haq, A. Rasul and Jinn ah.
Gandhi and Polak were there too. The Congress-League
Scheme which was passed by the Congress was, imme-
diately after, approved by the Muslim League.
The Lucknow Congress, like the Congress at Bombay,
was largely attended. There were no less than 2,301
delegates, besides a large number of visitors who filled
the spacious Pandal to its utmost capacity. The Congress
sat for four days and the resolutions dealt with the same
variety of subjects, namely, India's loyalty, the Arms Actf
Volunteering and Commissions in the Army, the Press
Act, Indentured Labour, Indians in the Colonies, Execu-
tive Council for U.P., India and the Imperial Conference,
High Courts for the Punjab and other Provinces, the
Swadeshi movement, and Trial by Jury — subjects which
had been dealt with year after year at successive sessions
of the Congress. The Congress recorded its sense of loss at
the deaths of Pandit Bishan Narayan Dhar who had pre-
sided at the Calcutta Session in 1911, Mr. G. Subrahmania
Aiyar, and Mr. D, A. Khare who had .worked as
its General Secretary for several years. The Congress
A UNITED CONGRESS (1916) 217
passed two resolutions about Bihar — one dealing with the
relation between the Indian ryot and the European
planters in North Bihar, and urging the desirability of a
mixed Committee of officials and non-officials to enquire
into the causes of the agrarian troubles; and the other
with the up-to-date Patna University Bill which was then
pending before the Imperial Council.
The resolution regarding the ryots and planters in
North Bihar was of great importance. Mahatma Gandhi
in the following year visited Bihar for investigation into
the causes of discontent among the ryots, which will be
referred to later.
The resolution dealing with Self-t5overnment for
India declared that "(a^ having regard to the ancient
civilization of India, the progress made in education and
the public spirit shown, His Majesty the King-Emperor
should be pleased to issue a Proclamation announcing
that it is the aim and intention of British policy to confer
Self-Government on India at an early date; fb) that as
a definite stop in that direction the Congress-League
Scheme should be granted; and (c) that in the recon-
struction of the Empire, India should be lifted from the
position of a dependency to that of an equal partner in
the Empire with the Self-( Governing Dominions."
It should also be noticed that the Lucknow Congress,
in a resolution, viewed with alarm the extensive use made
of the Defence of India Act and the Bengal Regulation III
of 1818, and urged that in the application of the Defence
of India Act, which was an emergency measure, the same
principle should be followed as under the Defence of the
Realm Act of the United Kingdom and the same
procedure adopted in dealing with persons sought to be
proceeded against under the Act, namely, that a statement
818 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
in writing of the charge should be handed over to an
arrested person, and an explanation obtained from him
placed «before a lawyer-Judge of the High Court, a non-
official practising lawyer, and a judge belonging to the
Indian Civil Service, and no internment ordered before the
same had been considered and the arrested persons afforded
proper facilities for legal assistance. The same procedure
was to be followed as far as practicable in regard to
persons detained under Bengal Regulation III of 1818
and similar Regulations in other Provinces. The movers
and supporters of this resolution pointed out how
extensive use had been made of tTie drastic provisions of
the emergency measures and how the belief was honestly
held that many innocent young men with bright prospects
in life had been ruined by the application of the Act. It
was said that in Bengal above 479 persons had been
interned and more than sixty persons detained under
Regulation III of 1818. The rigorous enforcement of the
Defence of India Act and the old Regulations had thus
begun to be deeply resented by the people.
The practice of holding the sessions of the Congress
and the League in the same city had been inaugurated!
the previous year in Bombay and was continued at
Lucknow. When the scheme of Self-Govornment was
passed at Lucknow, the Congress followed it up by a resolu-
tion calling upon the various Congress Committees and
other organized bodies and associations to start a propa-
gandist and educative campaign throughout the country.
The response to this call was marvellous. One Province
vied with another in carrying on propaganda, and Madras,
under the immediate guidance of Mrs. Besant, created a
record for itself. The Lucknow session of the Congress
had no easy time. Untold difficulties had been created in
Lucknow when the 15th session of the Congress was to
meet at the place in 1899. But these were put an end to
A TNITED CONGRESS (1916) 219
by the wisdom of the Lieut. Governor, Sir Antony
MacDonncll, at the time. A similar incident repeated
itself in 1916. The Secretariat of the U. P. Government
issued a warning to the Reception Committee against
any spirit of sedition in the Congress speeches, and a
copy of the letter was served upon the President-elect
as well, through the Government of Bengal. The Recep-
tion Committee gave a fitting reply to this gratuitous
insult while the President treated it with the contempt it
deserved. Mrs. Besant just then was under orders of
externment from Bcrar and Bombay, and not unnaturally
some developments were apprehended at the Lucknow
session. But once again the wisdom of Sir James Meeton,
the Lieut. Governor, averted all complications. Sir James
and Lady Meston, with staff, attended the Coagresa
session and to the welcome extended to them by the
President, Sir James gave a suitable reply.
CHAPTER III
TOWARDS RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (1917)
One great obstacle to the development of Indian
polity has all along been the communal differences in
India. These were inaugurated virtually during the time
of Lord Minto, and when a scheme of Self-Government
was about to be formulated in 1917, it was fortunate that
the adjustments between the two great communities of
India — Hindus and Muslims — weiv made not by force of
authority from above, but by voluntary agreement
between the two parties. This augured well for the coming
political struggle, and political agitation was set on foot
in 1917 with clear minds and clear hearts. The year 1917
witnessed a quickening of National consciousness through-
out India and a widely popular agitation in favour of
Home Rule, and this was followed by an ever increasing
severity of Police repression.
The cry of Home Rule spread to the remotest corners
of the land and Home Rule Leagues were established all
over the country. In Mrs. Besant's hands, the Press
became powerful in spite of repression under the Press
Law, and Lord Pentland's Government promulgated G. 0.
No. 559 restraining students from taking part in political
agitation. He had sent for Mr. Kasturi Ranga lyengar,
Editor of The Hindu, who had half an hour's plain talk
with the Government on the situation, and told them
frankly what he thought of the political situation.
But Mrs. Besant who had a daily, New India, and
A weekly, The Commonweal, was called upon to furnish
security for her press and papers, and altogether she
deposited and forfeited a sum of Rs. 20,000.
TOWARDS RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (1917) 221
In the meantime the Home Rule idea was spreading
like wild fire. "The strength of the Home Rule movement
was rendered ten-fold greater," as Mrs. Besant herself
pointed out in her Presidential Address in Calcutta (1917),
"by the adhesion to it of a large number of women who
brought to its helping the uncalculating heroism, the
endurance, the self-sacrifice, of the feminine nature. Our
League's best recruits and recruiters are amongst the
women of India; and the women of Madras boast that
they marched in procession when the men were stopped
and that their prayers in the temples set the interned
captive free. Home Rule has become so intertwined with
Religion, by the prayers offered up in the great Southern
Temples, — sacred places of pilgrimage — and spreading from
them to village temples, and also by its being preached
up and down the country by Sadhus and Sanyasins."
Another factor that largely contributed to the great success
of the movement was that from its inception it recog-
nised the integrity of language areas, and in organising
the country, adopted the linguistic principle as
determining the provincial delimitations. In this respect
it went ahead of the Congress and was its forerunner in
reality.
On June 15th, 1917, Mrs. Bezant, Mr. G. S. Arundale
and Mr. B. P. Wadia were served with a notice to choose
one of six places mentioned where they should live in
internment. Coimbatore and Ootacamund were the places
chosen. With the internment of the three leaders, the
Home Rule Leagues became more popular, Mr. Jinnah
having joined the League immediately after. It is an
open secret that Mrs. Besant, despite governmental orders
and surveillance, was freely writing to her paper New
India. A new weekly called The Commonweal was also
started. Mr. P. K. Telang went over to Madras to take
up the Editorship of New India. Mr. A. Rangaswami
222 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
lyengar, who later became the Editor of The Hindu, was
assisting in the conduct of the daily. Mr. C.P. Ramaswami
Aiyar was devoting his time and talents to the
work of Home Rule organisation as well as to journalism.
Every month that the internees were kept under detention,,
agitation was growing in the country in geometrical pro-
gression. The situation in India became tense, but the
authorities in England would not relent. Mr. Montagu
in '.his Diary narrates a story and draws a lesson. "I
particularly liked that Shiva who cut his wife into 52
pieces," says Montagu, "only to discover that he had 52
wives," and Montagu adds: 'This is really what happened
to the Government of India when it interned Mrs. Besant.""
While a political storm was thus developing in India,
an Imperial War Conference met in London in co-operation
with delegates from the Dominions, and the Maharaja of
Bikaner and Sir S. P. Sinha were sent over there as India's
representatives. They made such a profound impression
everywhere by the dignity of their bearing and the polish
of their pronouncements that they were given public
receptions, civic honours, and excellent Press, so much so
that the British Committee which had earlier suggested a
deputation from India, to deal with the. question of Indian
Reforms, revised their ideas and countermanded a fighting
campaign in England just at that juncture. As a matter
of fact, a meeting of the A.I.C.C. had been convened on
7-4-1917 to arrange a deputation to England and a session-
of the Congress in London. The following were asked to
form the deputation: Surendra Nath Banerjea,' Dr. Rash
Behari Ghose, Bhupendra Nath Basil, Madan Mohan
Malaviya, Sir K. G. Gupta, Raja of Muhammadabad, Tej
Bahadur Sapru, V.S. Sastri, and C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar.
The British Committee tried hard to get Mr. Austen
Chamberlain, the Secretary of State, to make a pronounce-
ment of policy and grant commissions to Indians in the
TOWARDS RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (1917) 223*
Army, but he would not do either. A small Conference wa*
held in London on 8-5-1917, when Sir S.P. Sinha was
present, and it was the deliberations of this body that led
to the countermanding of an accredited deputation from
India.
India was however planning a campaign of Passive
Resistance in order to secure the release of the Home Rule
internees. A joint meeting of the All-India Congress
Committee and of the Council of the Muslim League was
convened in July 1917, and when it met on the 28th, the
very first resolution it had to pass was one bemoaning the
death of India's Grand Old Man— Dadabhai Naoroji. A
small deputation consisting of Messrs. Jinn ah, Saetri
(alternatively C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar), Sapru and Warir
Hassan was appointed to proceed to England, contingent
on Sir W. Wedderburn's advice, in the middle of September
to explain the general political situation in India and to
promote the Scheme of Reforms adopted. On the question
of adopting Passive Resistance, both as regards its
principle and working, in carrying on political work, it
was resolved to request the Provincial Congress Committee*
and the Council of the Muslim League to consider its
advisability and to send their opinion to the General
Secretaries within six weeks. The joint sitting also
recorded ite strong protest against the high-handed action
of the Government of Bengal in prohibiting the public
meeting which was to be held in Calcutta under the
Presidentship of Dr. Rash Behari Ghose, to protest against
the internments of Mrs. Besant and Messrs. Arundale and
Wadia and trusted "that the people of Bengal will use
every lawful means to vindicate their rights." A reasoned
statement regarding the situtation was prepared and it
makes interesting reading to-day. It pointed out how
here in India Lord Chelmsford, referring to the recom-
mendations of the 'Nineteen Memorandum' deprecated
224 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
them as 'catastrophic changes/ and how there in England
Lord Sydenham was speaking of 'the Danger in India'
And condemned the 'Nineteen Memorandum' as embodying
'revolutionary proposals' and recommended repressive
measures on the ground that "German intrigue was at
work." Soon afterwards, the Government of India sent
round a circular regarding the policy to be adopted
vis a vis the popular agitation for Self-Government. The
master's voice was echoed in the pronouncements of distant
satraps like Sir Michael O'Dwyer of the Punjab and
Lord Pentland of Madras, which warned the people
against extravagant expectations and threatened repressive
measures. The former declared that the changes proposed
by the party of Reform would be as revolutionary and
subversive as those of the Ghadr emissaries. What
irritated Government was that while Delhi and Simla
were sending secret despatches regarding Reforms, the
Congress and the League and certain members of the
Supreme Legislative Council should have over-reached
them, the last sending up a Memorandum publicly and the
first two formulating a whole scheme of Self -Government.
These Provincial Governors did not see the impolicy of
openly telling the public that the Reforms would be of
a minor character, but if they were impolitic, they were
at least honest. Then the statement protested
against the internments and asked, as remedial measures,
for (1) an authoritative pronouncement pledging the
Imperial Government in unequivocal terms to the policy
of making India a Self-Governing member of the British
Empire, (2) for immediate steps to sanction the Scheme
of Reforms conjointly framed, (3) for the publication of
official proposals, and (4) for the reversal of the repressive
policy.
The main portions of the lengthy statement were
cabled to the Secretary of State, the Prime-Minister and
TOWARDS BESPONBIBLB GOVEBNMBNT (1917) 225
Sir William Wedderburn on the 30th July, and Sir William
in reply cabled: "Had interview with Secretary of State;
I feel justified in urging you earnestly to exercise
patience. Will telegraph further when situation becomes
clearer."
Let us turn our eyes once again towards India. The
proposal for adopting Passive Resistance was seriously
considered by the various Provincial Congress Committees
in the months of August and September, 1917, and while
Berar considered it advisable, and Bombay, Burma and
the Punjab advised postponement in view of
Mr. Montagu's expected visit to India, U. P. considered
it inadvisable "in the existing situation." Bihar thought
that "a date must be fixed within which the release of
the Home Rule Internees as well as of the Ali Brothers
and Moulana Abul Kalam Azad should be demanded;
Bihar would herself intensify the demand by repeating it
from different platforms, and redress failing, the public
men of the Province shall betake themselves to actively
preaching Passive Resistance to the people and be pre-
pared to suffer all sacrifices and privations that it may
involve." The Madras Provincial Congress Committee
approved of the idea on the 14th August, 1917 in a
resolution which we quote below: —
"Resolved that, in the opinion of the Madras
Provincial Congress Committee, it is advisable to
adopt the policy of Passive Resistance in so far as
it involves opposition to all unjust and unconsti-
tutional orders against the carrying on of
constitutional agitation, and also against the prohibi-
tion of public meetings peacefully and constitutionally
conducted to protest against the unjust and unconstitu-
tional orders of internment and against the Repressive
. Policy of Government/1
226 TOT HI8TOBY OP THE CONGHESS
It was further resolved that "a sub-committee be
-appointed to formulate and report within a fortnight on
the practical steps by which effect may be given to the
resolution of Passive Resistance adopted this day." In
rthe City of Madras a pledge was drafted and
Sir S. Subrahmania Aiyar, retired Judge of the Madras
High Court, and Honorary President of the All-India Home
Rule League and an old Congressman, was the first
to sign the pledge. He had renounced his knighthood
as a protest against the internment of Mrs. Besant
and her co-workers, and addressed a letter to President
Wilson, which he sent by Mr. and Mrs. Hotchner. The
next to sign the pledge was Mr. 8. Kasturi Ranga lyengar,
Editor of The Hindu, a most unostentatious worker in
public life, who had been devoting his talents, energies
and resources to the great daily he had taken up, only to
make it the greater by his assiduous work and undiluted
'Nationalism. A few young men then signed the pledge.
Mr. C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar had not made up his mind
in Madras, but signed the pledge in Bombay. While
matters were thus progressing, the situation in India
changed by the announcement of Mr. Montagu, and the
Madras Provincial Congress Committee passed on the
28th September, 1917, a resolution running as follows: —
"That having regard to the altered circum-
stances in the political situation, the consideration of
the question of Passive Resistance be deferred and
that the All-India Congress Committee be
communicated with accordingly, and the report of the
sub-committee be recorded."
What was this altered situation to which repeated
references are being made? In the conduct of the Great
War, the Mesopotaxnian Campaign was mismanaged and
a debate of first class importance took place in the House
of Commons in which Mr. Austen Chamberlain, the
TOWARDS MSPON8IBLE GOVERNMENT (1917)
Secretary of State, was mercilessly criticised by
Mr. Montagu for the Mesopotamia!! muddle which had
resulted from an inadequate supply of men and materials
from, India. It was in the course of this debate that
Mr. Montagu characterized the Indian Government as
"far too wooden, far too iron, far too inelastic and far
too antediluvian to subserve its purposes in modern
times." The result was Mr. Chamberlain's resignation
and Mr. Montagu's appointment as the Secretary
of State. Mr. Montagu was quite a young man then, not
being older than 36, yet he had been Under-Secretary for
India for four budgets in succession already, and toured
India extensively in 1912. His famous Guildhall speech
:»t Cambridge on 'Prestige' on the 28th February was a
remarkable utterance. Here is an extract from it: —
"And as for prestige. Oh! India, how much
happier would have been your history if tbat word had
been left out of the English vocabulpry. But there
you have Conservative Imperialism at its worst; we
are not there, mark you, to repair evil, to amend
injustice, to profit by experience. We must abide by
our mistakes, continue to outrage popular opinion for
the sake of being able to say 'I have said what I
have said*. I have in other places and at other times
expressed freely my opinion on Prestige (The
reference was to his budget speech of 1911 in the
House of Commons). We do not hold India by
invoking this well-mouthed word, we must hold it by
just institutions, and more and more as time goes on,
by the consent of the governed."
This speech was delivered in reply to Mr. Bonar
Law's criticism of the transfer of Capital to Delhi and
the annulment of the Partition of Bengal, on the ground
of expense and loss of prestige. This was considered a
first class victory for India, for Mr. Montagu was believed
to be a statesman possessing goodwill, ability, courage
228 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
and first-hand knowledge. True to public expectations,
shortly after assuming office, Mr. Montagu on behalf of the
Cabinet made the following authoritative pronouncement
cm the 20th August regarding Responsible Government as
the goal of British Policy: —
"The policy of His Majesty's Government, with
which the Government of India are in complete
accord, is that of the increasing association of Indian?
in every branch of administration, and" the gradual
development of self-governing institutions with a view
to the progressive realisation of Responsible Govern-
ment in India as an integral part of the British
Empire. They have decided that substantial step?
should be taken in this direction as soon as possible."
"I would add," proceeded Mr. Montagu's announce*
ment, "that progress in this policy can only be achieved
by successive stages. The British Government and the
Government of India on whom the responsibility lies for
the welfare and the advancement of the Indian peoples,
must be the judges of the time and the measure of each
advance and they must be guided by the co-operation
received from those on whom new opportunities of service
will thus be conferred, and by the extent to which it is
found that confidence can be reposed in their sense of
responsibility. Ample opportunity will be afforded for
public discussion of the proposals which will be submitted
in due course to Parliament." And as a practical token
of trust in the people, he removed the racial bar which
excluded Indians from the King's Commissions in the
Army. Further he announced his intention to proceed to
India in order to consult with the Viceroy and to give a
hearing to all the interests concerned in India's advance
towards Self-Government.
TOWABDS RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (1917) 22*
We have here recounted how agitation in, India was
growing apace and special Provincial Conferences were
asked to be held throughout the country giving expres-
sion to the feeling in the country, how the various
Congress Committees and the Council of the Muslin*
League were asked to canvass the question of Passive
Resistance and send their opinions within six weeks from,
the 29th July, on which day the A. I. C. C. and League
Council had met in Bombay. We have also noted the
opinions of the Provincial Congress Committees. During
the six weeks, however, much water flowed under the
bridge in the Thames as well as the Jumna, the announce-
ment of the 20th August was made, and in pursuance of
the new policy, Mrs. Besant and her associates were
released on the 16th of September.
There was again a joint session of the All-India
Congress Committee and the Council of {he Muslim League
on the 6th October at Allahabad, at which there was a
general consensus of opinion that the question of Passive
Resistance should be dropped. Mrs. Besant herself was-
against the idea of Passive Resistance and the younger men
were greatly disappointed at this unexpected termination
of an effective programme. The joint meeting instead of
pursuing Passive Resistance decided upon sending an
All-India Deputation to the Viceroy and the Secretary of
State with a reasoned representation in support of the
Congress-League Scheme. To this end a Committee of
twelve was appointed with Mr. C. Y. Chintaxnani as
Secretary to prepare an address and the Memorandum.
The deputation waited on Lord Chelmsford and
Mr. Montagu in November 1917 with the Memorandum!,,
extracts from which may be quoted here: —
"Grateful as the people of India are for the
authoritative announcement that has been made in the
15
836 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
name of His Majesty's Government and with the accord
of the Government of India, they feel that it would be
more satisfactory to them if action is taken such as is
suggested here.
"At all times and in all circumstances the position
of a mere Dependency is wounding to the self-respect
of a people who, in the language of the Congress
resolution, are the inheritors of ancient civilisations
arid have shown great capacity for government and
administration. While this is so, there has arisen
>during the last two years a consideration of urgency
which necessitates their insistence upon the elevation
•of their country to a status of equality with the
Dominions in all inter-Imperial matters. It has
become clear that the 'latter will in future have a potent
voice in the settlement of Imperial problems. They
are no longer to be in the position of daughter-States ;
they are referred to as sister-States, forming with
Britain the five free Nations of the Commonwealth.
If, as some writers suggest, a Parliament and for) a
Council of the Empire should be established with
representation therein of the United Kingdom and
the Dominions, and if all affairs of the Empire are to
T)e disposed of by them (it), the present House of
Commons and House of Lords concerning themselves
•exclusively with the affairs of Britain, it is obvious
that there will result the Governance of India by the
Dominions in conjunction with Britain. To any such
development of Imperial polity, Indians cannot but
•offer a most resolute resistance. For even if the
attitude of the Dominions towards India and Indians
•were unexceptionable, no assent can be given to the
widening of the area of subjection which the change
will involve. The indispensable condition, from the
Indian standpoint, of such a 're-fashioning of Ihe
fabric of the Empire1 is that India should be represented
in an Imperial Council and (or) an Imperial Parlia-
ment by elected members, the extent of such
Tepresentation being determined by the sarnie criteria
as will be applied to the Dominions.
"If no such Council or Parliament should be
-created, if all that will be done be to hold annual
•meetings of the Imperial Conference and to invite its
TOWABDfi RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (1917) 231
members to special sittings of the British Cabinet,
again it will be necessary to secure India's representa-
tion therein by means of elected members. Indians
gladly acknowledge the step in advance that was taken
•early this year when His Highness the Maharaja of
Bikaner, His Honour Sir James Meston and the
Hon. Sir Satycndra Prasanna Sinha were deputed to *
the Imperial War Conference and the Imperial War
Cabinet to represent the Government of India, nor
are they insensible of the value of the resolution that
was passed by the former in favour of India's represen-
tation at future Conferences. Their submission,
however, is that for as long as the Government of
India is a subordinate Government, not representative
of, nor responsible to the people of India, the analogy
with the Governments of the Dominions does not hold
and Indians will derive what at best must be a very
•qualified satisfaction from the recognition that is
accorded to their Government, as distinguished from
themselves. There need be no doubt that whoever
may be chosen by Government to attend the Imperial
Conference on their behalf, will do their very best to
do their duty honestly by this country, but they will
labour under the initial disadvantage of owing no
responsibility to the people, which will be a great
drawback indeed.
"By common consent, the Maharaja of Bikaner,
'Sir James Meston and Sir S. P. Sinha acquitted
themselves very creditably at the last Conference, but
the Memorandum on Emigration which they laid
"before it did very partial justice to the claim and the
view-point of Indians. An elected representative who
made himself responsible for that document would
have found it difficult to justify himself before his
constituents.
"It is not demanded that the election should be
made directly by the people or even by any very large
•electorate. It will suffice if the elected members of the
Indian and Provincial Legislative Councils are given
the right to elect the representative or representatives.
This, it is hoped, will find acceptance."
2S2 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
In the meantime the rank and file of the Congress'
were not idle. They were obtaining signatures to the-
Congress-League Scheme, as has already been stated.
Mrs. Besant sought interviews several times with the
Viceroy soon after her release, but she was turned away.
On the other hand Mr. Montagu's Diary shows that Lord
Chelmsford wanted to book Mrs. Besant once again, for he
complained that she had 'a sharp tongue*. Mr. Montagu
wrote in reply to Lord Chelmsford that he would not
tender any advice in the matter, but that he would support
him in whatever steps he might feel impelled to take to-
curb Mrs. Besant and her activities. A mystery surround-
ed the attitude and activities of Mrs. Besant soon after
her release.
Mrs. Besant was shunned by Lord Chelmsford while
Mr. Montagu showed no great regard for her leadership.
Soon after her release she repudiated Passive Resistance.
Was there anything behind, which justified such an attitude
on the part of the Viceroy? Mr. Montagu has an interest-
ing note in his Diary on page 137 which runs as follows: —
"Chelmsford tells me that he thinks he will have
to take action about Mrs. Bcsant's speeches and '
promised to tell me what he is going to do. Perhaps
it is well that I should not know. I had thought of
writing, regretting the strength of her language, but I
fear it will be no good. There will of course be an
outburst of anger at her release, and jeers that my
visit has not produced a calm atmosphere, and that
she has violated her pledges."
What these pledges may be, when they were given, and
to whom, we do' not know!
In the closing months of the year 1917, the political "
atmosphere was charged with the Montford current of "
TOWARDS RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (1917) 233
* electricity. Mr. Montagu and Lord Chelmsford had been
touring the whole country receiving deputations and
.granting interviews everywhere. Mrs. Besant said to
certain friends towards the end of 1917, after her
.interview with Mr. Montagu, "We must support
Mr. Montagu." The Moderates everywhere repeated the
statement and added that Mr. Montagu could do nothing
if he was disowned by the Extremists in India as well
as the die-hards in England. Apparently Montagu's
mission was to consult the conflicting interests in India
and to formulate draft schemes for the consideration of
Parliament in England. But the former was done by
fhe Hindu-Muslim Concordat of Lucknow (1916) which
he bodily accepted. In regard to the latter, it may be
news to many that the whole of the Montagu-Chelmsford
: Scheme, so-called, was worked out in every detail by
March, 1916. The fact was that Lord Chelmsford was a
Major in the Army in the Territorial Force in India,
when the order reached him of his appointment as Viceroy.
When he went to England in March, 1916, he was shown
the full-blown scheme ready made, — a fact which we
learnt only in 1934, — which was to be associated with his
name. No doubt Mr. Montagu gave a hearing even to
persons like Mrs. Besant, Tilak and Gandhi. He must
doubtless have heard of the classical statement made by
Mrs. Besant on the publication of the Montford Report,
"that the Reform Scheme was unworthy of Britain to offer
*and of India to accept.
But what Mr. Montagu did in his Indian tour was
-to pitch upon his future Ministers, Executive Councillors
•.and Advocates-General. He wanted to be sure of the
men that would work his scheme. This was behind the
* chorus of remarks we met with everywhere in the early
part of 1918,— namely, "we must support Mr Montagu."
'The saddest event, however, associated with
tS4 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Mr. Montagu's visit to India was the somewhat
unceremonious treatment he gave to Mrs. Besant, in
spite of her readiness to co-operate soon after her
release.
During this period, in 1917, when Mrs. Besant's
Home Rule movement was at its height, Gandhi, with a
band of select workers — including Rajendra Babu, Brij
Kishore Babu, Gorak Babu, Anugraha Babu, from Bihar,
Prof.' Kripalani, and Dr. H. S. Dev of the Servants of
India Society — was engaged in investigating the grievances-
of the tenants of Champaran against the indigo planters.
He kept himself and his co-workers strictly aloof from»
the movement for a whole period of six months, till he-
had finished the enquiry and given proof of the
remarkable potency of Satyagraha which was destined to
inaugurate a new epoch in the later history of India.
Champaran is a district in the north-western corner
of Bihar. Early in the nineteenth century, indigo began
to be grown in the district by European planters who in
course of time secured, on temporary and permanent
leases, large tracts of land from the Zamindars of the*
districts, particularly the Maharajah of Bettiah who
became involved in heavy debts. The planters, with the
influence and status thus acquired, coupled with the
influence which they possessed as being members of
the ruling race, were soon able to get indigo grown,
by the tenants of the villages oh portions of their
holdings varying between 3/20th and 5/20th and later on
they regarded this compulsory cultivation as a
matter of right which they got recognised in the-
Bengal' Tenancy Act. This system of growing indigo-
came to be known as tinkathia or the system of
three cattahs i.e., 3/20th of a bigha. It Was the
grievance of the tenants that growing of indigo 'was not
TOWARDS BB8PONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (1917) 2*5
at all profitable for them and that they were forced to
do it to the detriment of other cultivation and
that the wages that they got for labour were nominal.
Their grievances came to a head several times and their
risings were suppressed with a heavy hand, but resulted
now and then in some increase in the price paid for the
indigo by the planter to the cultivator. Early in the
twentieth century, on account of the introduction of
Synthetic dyes, growing of indigo even under conditions
which prevailed in Champaran became unprofitable to
planters, and they began to close their factories. But
instead of taking the losses on themselves, as they ought
to have fallen in due course, they devised means to
transfer them to the shoulders of the poor tenants. They
adopted two methods. In the villages which they held
under permanent lease and in which any increase in the
rent paid by the tenants would accrue to their benefit as
permanent lessees as against the superior landlord,
the lessor, they took agreements from the tenants agreeing
to enhancement of rent, agreeing on their (planter's) part
to release the tenants from the so-called obligation of
growing indipro for the benefit of the planters.
Thousands upon thousands of such agreements were
taken, as was alleged by the tenants, forcibly, from them.
The enhancements would be ordinarily illegal but were
saved by a provision in the Tenancy Act which had been
inserted at the instance of the planters. The Government,
in spite of popular protests inside and outside the Legis-
lature, helped the planters in completing such agreements
by appointing special registrars for registering them. In
villages where the planters had only temporary leases,
and where consequently an increase in the rent roll
would accrue to the benefit of the superior landlord after
the terra of the lease was over, the planters adopted th$,
device of taking, or, as the tenants alleged, extorting cash
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGBESS
payment or its equivalent from the tenants, and agreeing
•to release them from the so-called obligation of growing
Indigo which, even under the special provisions of the
Tenancy Act, did not exist in such villages. In this way
«they realised something like 12 lacs from the tenants. As
the whole district had come under the planters, they had
•divided it into various portions or spheres of action, each
indigo concern holding sway over a particular portion of
•the district. Their influence with the Government and
•officials was so great that tenants dared not approach
•either the Judicial or the Executive officials without
serious risks to their person and property. Beating and
shutting up of Hindus of high caste in murgikhanas,
impounding cattle, and harassments in a thousand and
one ways, including looting of their houses, stoppage of
services by barbers, washermen, chamars, and even the
ingress into and egress from their houses, and collecting
•untouchables to sit at their doors, were an ordinary
•everyday affair. The planters used also to extort a large
number of unauthorised and illegal perquisites in the form
of taxes which were counted during the inquiry to be more
ihan fifty in number. A few illustrations may be given.
There was a tax on marriage, a tax on every hearth, a
•tax for kolhu or oil-mill. If the Sahib was ill and
needed a visit to the hills, the tenants had to pay a special
tax called paparhi. If he needed a horse or an elephant
or a motor car, the tenants must bear the cost and pay
special taxes known as 'ghorahi' 'hathiahi' or 'hawahi.'
"Besides those taxes heavy fines used to be imposed and
realised for anything which offended the planter or for
offences against others, thus replacing civil authority and
Courts in the district.
All efforts on the part of the public men of the
Province to secure redress had failed. The Local Govern-
ment were^ aware of these grievances, admitted them
TOWARDS RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (1917) 237
.-and sympathised with the tenants, but found themselves
.helpless or unwilling to do anything substantial.
It was in this condition of things that Mahatma
•Gandhi was approached by some representative tenants
. and Bihar delegates at the time of the Lucknow Congress.
He promised to visit Charnparan and study the situation.
In April 1917 he reached Motihari, the headquarters
of the district, and was going to see a village when he
was served with a notice under Sec. 144, Cr. P. C., calling
upon him to leave the district forthwith. He disobeyed
this order, returned the Kaisar-i-Hind gold medal \vhich
had been granted to him by Government for humanitarian
work and stood for his trial before the Magistrate. He
pleaded guilty in one of those remarkable statements in
Court with which the country has since become familiar,
but which at the time struck an altogether new and
'unfamiliar note. The Government ultimately withdrew
the prosecution and allowed him to continue his enquiry
in the course of which, with the aid of friends, he got the
statements of some 20,000 tenants and formulated their
• demand on the ba$is of those statements. The Govern-
ment ultimately appointed a Commission consisting of
representatives of landlords, planters, and ,the Govern-
ment, and Mahatma Gandhi himself as representing the
tenants. The Commission after an inquiry submitted a
unanimous report practically accepting the complaints of
the tenants as valid, and embodying a compromise
reducing the enhancements of rent and refunding part of
the money which the planters had taken from the
tenants. The recommendations of the Committee were
• embodied in an act by which, among other things, growing
•of indigo or tinkathia was abolished. Within aj.few years
after this, most of the planters sold their factories and
'lands and left the district. To-day one can see only the
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGBESS
remains of what were once the palaces of the planters,,
and those that are still continuing are not subsisting on.
indigo at all but on other crops like other cultivators,
shorn qf all their illegal gains and most of the prestige
which made them possible.
The grievances which had failed to secure redress at
the hands of both the popular leaders of the day and the
Government for a hundred years were thus in a few
months removed; and no wonder Chainparan is ever so.
faithful to whatever Gandhi says or does.
Equal in importance to the Champaran Satyagraha,.
from the point of view of the principles involved, though
not of the results achieved, was the Satyagraha in Kaira
in 1918. The Indian peasants had never known, before
the entry of Gandhi in the public life of India, to
question the Government's right to demand assessment
from them, even in years of acute famine. Their represen-
tatives made petitions and memorials and moved'
resolutions in the local Council, but there their protests
ended. In 1918 Gandhi inaugurated a new era. A
condition approaching famine had risen in the Kaira
district in the Bombay Presidency, owing to a widespread'
failure of crops, and the peasants felt that the situation
entitled them to a suspension of the assessment. The usual1
remedies had been tried, and had failed. The peasants
claimed that the crops did not exceed four annas in the
rupee but were less; the Government officials said they
exceeded four annas and that the peasants had no right
to suspension under the Land Revenue Code. Air
petitioning and prayer had failed and Gandhi ji had no
alternative but to advise the peasants to resort,
to Satyagraha. He also appealed to the public for help-
by contributing volunteer workers for educating the^
peasants.' The response .was prompt and spontaneous ;-
and prominent among those who offered their voluntary
TOWARDS RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (1917) 23%
services was Sirdar Vallabhbhai Patel who suspended a*
splendid and growing practice at the Bar and cast in his-
lot with Gandhi. The Kaira Satyagraha was ;the occasion,
which brought the two great men together. It was the
beginning of Sirdar Vallabhbhai's public life. He burnt hfe
boats and gave Gandhi a co-operation and allegiance-
which have grown with the years. The peasants signed &
pledge to the effect that they would rather let their lands-
be forfeited than allow their case to be considered false-
or their self-respect to be compromised by being coerced
into paying the assessment; also that the well-to-do
amongst them would pay if the poor were granted,
suspension.
Now began a unique education of the peasants, — ani
education into principles that they had never before
heard of. They were to understand that it was their right
to question Government's authority to tax them,
that the officials were not their masters but their
servants, that therefore they should shed all fear of
officials and stand erect in defiance of coercion, intimida-
tion and worse. They had also to learn the primary
lesson of civility without which even the highest courage-
would be vitiated. From day to day Gandhi and
Vallabhbhai Patel and other co-workers went about from,
village to village inculcating these principles, and asking,
them to stand firm in spite of attachment of cattle and',
other moveables and penalty notices and threats of confis-
cation of land. No money was needed for the campaign, but
the Bombay merchants lavished more contributions than,
the organisers of the campaign could make use of.
The Satyagraha also afforded an occasion for the*
first instance of Civil Disobedience in Gujarat. With a
-view to steeling the hearts of the peasants Gandhi advised
the people, under the leadership of the late Sjt. Mohanlal
:240 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGftESS
: Pandya, to remove the crops from a field which had been
-wrongly attached. This was a good opportunity for the
;people to learn the lesson of courting fines or imprisonment
which was the necessary consequence of Civil
Disobedience. Sjt. Mohanlal Pandya removed the crop
of onion from the field and a few peasants also joined
him. They werft arrested and convicted and sentenced to
brief terms of imprisonment. This was a unique experience
.for the people who hailed it with delight and lionised their
leaders and took them in procession after their release.
The campaign came to an unexpected end. The
authorities accepted the people's contention by the grant
of suspensions to poor peasants, but they did this without
making a public announcement or letting the people feel
that they had done anything by way of a settlement.
Very feV got the benefit of the belated, unacknowledged
and grudging settlement, and the triumph of Satyagraha,
though it was one in principle, lacked the essentials of a
complete triumph. But the indirect results were great.
The campaign laid the foundation of an awakening among
the peasants of Gujarat and of a true political education.
"The lesson," says Gandhi in his Autobiography, "was
indelibly imprinted on the public mind that the salvation
of the people depends upon themselves, upon their
capacity for suffering and sacrifice. Through the Kaira
campaign Satyagraha took firm root in the soil of
Gujarat."
We may next usefully add a note of the part played
by Congressmen in the organisation of Labour in
Ahmedabad, and the great lesson in Satyagraha taught us
"by Gandhi and his fellow-workers.
The story of the organisation of the textile workmen
in Ahmedabad by Gandhi, who had not then assumed
TOWARDS RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (1917)
the leadership of the Congress, is a romance which would
adorn the history of freedom of any Nation. For the
very first time in history methods based on truth and
non-violence were employed for the solution of industrial
disputes, and with such sound and far-reaching results that
the labour organisation in Ahmedabad has successfully
stood the test of many an industrial storm and has been .
the wonder and admiration of Western visitors. Even a
brief resume of the story would occupy a number of pages
in this history. One should content oneself with indicating
the part played by Gandhi and 'with mentioning the
salient features of the organisation which distinguish it
from similar organisations in India and the world.
Shrimati Anasuyaben Sarabhai had been since 1916 ;
conducting educational work in labour areas, which brought
her into contact with the workers' difficulties in the mills.
The first section to benefit by her guidance were the
warpers, but she soon saw that if all the workmen were
to be organised and given effective help, she must seek
the guidance of some one who commanded her confidence.
A dispute between the weavers and the millowners in 1918
led her to seek Gandhi's advice, who instead of trying
to force the hands of the millowners got them to accept
the principle of arbitration, — an event of the greatest
importance to the labour movement. He and Sirdar
Vallabhbhai Patel consented to be two of the arbitrators
on behalf of labour, but the arbitration fell through, as
some of the workmen in a few mills went on strike.
Gandhi expressed his regret and got the workmen to make
amends. The breaches of understanding were on both
sides, but the millowners refused to listen. Before advising
the workmen to take any definite step, Gandhi went into
the matter of dispute at very great length, examined the
state of trade, the profits made by the mills, the rise m
the cost of living on the one hand and the extent to which
$42 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
/the cost of production of the industry had increased on
•the other. A careful examination of these factors led him
•to arrive at the conclusion that the minimum the work-
men had a right to claim was a 35 per cent, increase in
their wages. The labourers who were pitching their
demands much higher were persuaded to accept this, and
were educated into the healthy tradition, which has since
Jbeen faithfully followed, of always limiting the demands
.to the barest minimum which can be legitimately claimed.
The demand thus formulated was communicated to
'the millowners who in their turn said that they were not
prepared to go beyond 20 per cent, and declared a lock-out
on 22nd February 1918. Thereupon Gandhi called a
.meeting of all the workmen and administered to them a
pledge — under a tree, which is still held sacred, — not to
resume work until they had secured their demand and not
io do anything in breach of the peace during the lock-out.
This was followed by an intensive educative propaganda
And house to house visits by Shrimati Anasuyaben, and
Sri juts Shankerlal Banker and Chaganlal Gandhi and
leaflets issued and huge mass meetings addressed every
day. These leaflets were drafted by Gandhi who explained
to the workmen in a simple homely style that the struggle
in which they were engaged was not a mere industrial
dispute but a moral and spiritual struggle calculated to
educate and uplift and ennoble them,, besides enabling
them to win an increase in their wage. The struggle went
on for a fortnight, but the workman unaccustomed to a
loss of wage for any length of time showed signs of
exhaustion, and the unreasoning element among them
4ven began to grumble that it may be all right for
Gandhi to exhort them to keep the pledge but no easy
thing for them to do so, whilst they and their children were
pn the brink of starvation. That, to Gandhi, was the warn-
ing voice of God and he declared at the next evening's
TOWABD8 KE6PONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (1917) 245
^meeting that be would have no food and would use no
^conveyance until the workmen had been enabled to carry
out their pledge. The news spread like wildfire throughout
'the length and breadth of India. It was a fast unto
-death, though the language used was different, but he
-staked his life for the great moral purpose of helping a
.mass of covenanters to adhere to their pledge. Critics and
cavillers said that it was wrongful coercion of the mill-
owners. Gandhi confessed that the fast was tainted to the
extent that the millowners might be compelled to yield
against their will, but that, he said, would be the indirect
4md not the direct result of the fast, which was aimed at
helping a community of men to adhere to a pledge solemnly
taken. Nothing moves Gandhi so deeply as the sanctity
and faithful observance of a pledge, however small, and
^nothing pains him more than the violation of a pledge.
The workmen pleaded with him in vain; his decision was
irrevocable. But he now appealed to them not to while
away their time, butj to earn an honest penny by taking up
any work that could be found for them. Gandhi could
^easily have made a successful appeal for funds in order
to sustain the workmen with doles, but he would not brook
the suggestion. The workmen's suffering would lose all its
value if it was backed up by doles. Work was found far
-hundreds of workmen on the grounds of the Satyagraha
Ashram, Sabarmati, where buildings were under construc-
tion, and they worked merrily with the members of the
Ashram, who joined them with Anasuyaben at their head,
in carrying loads of earth and bricks and mortar. The
moral effect of this was tremendous. It strengthened the
-workmen in their resolve, and it also moved the hearts of
the millowners. Appeals were made to them by leaders
'from various parts of the country, the most prominent
•among them being the late Dr. Besant who sent them an
urgent wire to "yield for India's sake and save Gandliiji's
Bife." Shrimati Saraladevi, the cultured wife of Setk
$44 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Ambalal Sarabhai, was moved as much by the suffering of i*
the workmen as by the impending danger to one whom she
revered, and she played no little part in persuading the
millowners to find out a solution. On the fourth day of
the fast, a solution was found enabling the workmen to-
keep the pledge and the millowners to concede to them
justice consistently with honour. Both agreed to submit to<
arbitration for the ultimate settlement of the wage
increase, and the arbitrator's Award gave the workmen,
a 35 per cent, increase as originally demanded.
This peaceful settlement of the dispute laid the-
foundation of an indissoluble union between Congress-
leaders and workmen, and of a permanent organisation
called the Textile Labour Association, which has grown
during these fifteen years under the fostering care of
Shrimati Anasuyaben and Shankerlal Banker, both,
prominent members of the Congress. It has helped the
workmen to tide over several crises and saved the city of
Ahmedabad from industrial troubles of a serious nature.
The workmen are so well organised, and the education
imparted to them by the permanent staff of the Union,
with Sjt. Gulzarilal Nanda at their head, is of such a solid
character that the workmen have frequently rendered
public service of a far-reaching character. Under Gandhi's
advice the Labour Association engaged itself in the relief
of distress caused by heavy rain and floods in 1927;.
During the Civil Disobedience campaign of 1930 the
workmen conducted an intensive temperance campaign*,
and nearly 200 volunteers from amongst them responded
to the call of the Congress by working as pickets and 162*
of them were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment.
There have since been disputes between them and the-
millowners of a rather serious character, but thanks to*
their wonderful discipline, they kept peace during arbitra-
tion proceedings extending over a period of Iff months and!
TOWABD6 USPONttURLB CtOVBBWlttNT {1917) £4$
earned cm by Gandhi who worked throughout the period
as their permanent arbitrator. The Labour Association,
Ahmedabad, is perhaps the only one in the world with, a
constitution which pledges it to the observance of truth
and non-violence and which has as its ultimate goal the
nationalization of the textile industry. The Association
has at present nearly 30,000 paying members, it handled
nearly 4,000 complaints in 1934 of which nearly 80 per
cent, were successful, and dealt with 39 strikes of which
23 ended in favour of the workers. The Association
secured maternity benefit for 1185 women, amounting to
Rs. 29,000 and Rs. 18,074 as accident compensation, and
Bs. 9,856 as victimization benefit to 164 operatives. Its
special uplift work includes medical aid, education,
physical culture and recreation, municipal facilities,
temperance and social reform.
Gandhi, who had given proofs of his magical powers
in Champaran, liberated the simple but effective proposal
that the Congress-League Scheme should be translated
into the Indian languages, explained to the people and
their signatures taken in support of the Reforms outlined
therein, and it was welcomed throughout the country and
up to the end of 1917 over a million persons subscribed
to the scheme. This was almost the first Nation-wide
organization that had been attempted by the Congress,
but reference may here be made to an earlier attempt to
organize the country for Self-Government and, to that
end, gather funds for continuous work in England and
India. At the Bombay Session of the Congress in 1915
presided over by Sir S. P. Sinha, the A.I.C.C. had
resolved to raise a permanent fund for the Congress on
the 30th December, 1915, and appointed a sub-committee
consisting of Surendra Nath Banerjea, Bhupendra Nath
Basu, S. Srinivasa lyengar, Samarth, Wacha and
Malaviya to devise the beet means of raising *
16
34* THE msroftY or
Permanent Fund for the rapport of the British Congress .
Committee in England and its organ India, and for
Congress work in India. It was widely talked about
that Sinha himself offered to give a lac of rupees to the
Fund. The Committee met in Calcutta on the 17th
November, 1916, and recommended that a sum of three
lacs and a half be raised and the same be invested as a
Permanent Fund. A Board of Trustees with Dr. Rash
Behari Ghose as Chairman was appointed at Lucknow on
the 30th December, 1916 to receive and administer the
same. The Board met subsequently in Calcutta in April,
1917 and appointed the Hon. V. 8. Srinivasa Sastri as
the Secretary and postponed the question of allocating the
Tund to the Provinces. Nothing was however done in the
direction.
In this connection we may recall a similar attempt
made in the early years of the Congress. So early as 1889
it was proposed to establish a permanent Congress Fund
And a sum of Rs. 50,000 was voted to form the nucleus of
such a fund. Out of /this a small sum of Rs. 5,000 only
was realised and deposited with the Oriental Bank which
was then considered as the strongest Exchange Bank in
India. In the Bombay crisis of 1890, the Bank, however,
wen,t into liquidation and the small sum thus credited to
the Fund was lost.
Before dealing with the Congress session of the year
1917, we have to make reference to one important matter.
The Congress of the year was to take place in Calcutta,
And in that city opinions were keenly divided between the
old Moderates for whom it was a gftronghold, and the
new Home Rulers and Nationalists who made Calcutta
their 'stronger hold/ Tflie old guard was represented by
Hai Baifcunta Nafti Ben, Ambika Charan Mazumdar,
fhirendra Nath Banerjea and Bhupendra Nath Basu.
IMjr. €. ft. Das began to interest himself in Congress work
TOWAKDS RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (1917) 247
and cast in his lot with the younger folks — B. K. Lahiri,
I. B. Sen and Jitendralal Banerjee.
Although the majority of the Provincial Congress
Committees had recommended Mrs. Besant as the
President of the ensuing Congress, there was a keen
division in the Reception Committee which, in those days,
had to accept the majority recommendation. But the
meeting of the Reception Committee held on the 30th of
August, 1917 became the scene of acute controversy. The
Joint Honorary Secretaries — Fazl-ul-Haq, Lahiri and
Jitendralal Banerjee, claimed that the majority
recommendation was accepted by an overwhelming
majority of the members of the Reception Committee at
the meeting. Rai Bahadur Baikunta Nath Sen and 30
others left the meeting at an early stage owing to some
unpleasantness. A statement was submitted to the A.I.C.C.
by the Secretaries in which it was claimed that
Mrs. Besant was elected. On the contrary the Rai
Bahadur sent a telegram that the Reception Committee
"failed to elect President within month of August. As
Chairman of Reception Committee refer the matter to the
A.I.C.C." To make a long story short, Mrs. Besant was
elected by the A.I.C.C. easily, by circulation, while yet
she was under the heavy ban of Government displeasure.
The record of the Congress of 1917 may shortly be stated.
Mrs. Besant's Presidential Address is an elaborate
thesis of India's Self-Government. Her summary of the
Military and Mercantile problems is comprehensive as well
as detailed, and constitutes a splendid source of
reference to students in quest of knowledge. In effect she
demanded, "A Bill during 1918 establishing Self-
<5overnment- in India on lines resembling those of the
'Commonwealth on a date to be .laid down therein,
preferably 1923, the latest 1928, the intermediate five
or ten years being occupied with the transference of the
THE HISTORY OF THB CONGRESS
Government from British to Indian hands, maintaining;
the British tie as in the Dominions." At the end of the
address, she gave copious extracts from Bernard Houghton's
'Bureaucratic Government' and a detailed Bill regarding
Village Government. With Mrs. Besant, the Presidentship
of "the Congress was not a passing show or a three-day
festivity. It was a day-to-day responsibility, and in that
view Mrs. Besant was the first to claim Presidentship of
the Congress throughout the succeeding year. The claim
was not new hut its enforcement was not known in the
previous history of the Congress. The Calcutta Session was
attended by 4,967 delegates and about 5,000 visitors.
The resolutions of the Calcutta Session of the Congress
of 1917 were, with some exceptions, again of the same
stereotyped sort and after recording the grief of the
Congress at the deaths of the Grand Old Man Dadabhai
Naoroji and Mr. A. Rasul of Calcutta, and India's loyalty
to the Throne* and welcome to Mr. Montagu, proceeded to
ask for the release of Messrs. Mahomed Ali and Shaukat
Ali who had remained incarcerated since October, 1914.
Thn Congress again urged as usual the necessity and
justice of adequate provision for giving Military training
to Indians and while expressing satisfaction at tlw removal
of the racial bar against admission of Indians to the Com-
missioned ranks of the Army and the appointment of nine
Indians to such ranks, expressed the hope for a larger
proportion of Commissioned posts to Indians and urged
improvement in the pay, prospects and equipment of Indian
soldiers. The Congress reiterated its protest against (a)*
the wide and arbitrary powers conferred by the Press Act
of 1910 itpon -the Executive, (b) the Arms Act, (c) the.
treatment and disabilities of Indians in the Colonies. The
Congress asked for complete abolition of the system of
indentured labour and a - Parliamentary Commission to
inquire into the working of the special coercive legislation*.
TOWARDS RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (1917) 249
restricting freedom of speech, writing, association and
meetings and the use of the Defence of India Act for
similar purposes. The Government had, on the 10th
December, announced the appointment of the Rowlatt
Committee and the Congress condemned it "inasmuch as
the avowed object of the appointment is not io give relief
but to introduce fresh legislation arming 'he Executive with
additional powers to deal with alleged revolutionary
conspiracy in Bengal. By the same lesolution the
Congress expressed alarm at the extensive use made of the
Defence of India Act and Regulation III of 1818, and in
view of the widespread discontent on account of the
indiscriminate operations of the Act asked for a general
amnesty to all political prisoners.
The Congress by a resolution asked for intervention
of the Government of India to save the life of Lala
Arj-unlal Sethi who was in danger of dea4h by starvation
in Vellore Jail on account of his religion? principles, and,
by another, recommended the formation of Boy Scouts'
Associations in every Province, under Indian control. The
main resolution was that dealing with the ''iiiestion of Self-
Government and ran as follows: —
"This Congress expresses ite grateful satisfaction
over the pronouncement made by His Majesty's
Secretary of State for India on behalf of the Imperial
Government that its object is the establishment of
responsible Government in India.
"This Congress strongly urges the necessity for
the immediate enactment of a Parliamentary Statute,
providing for the establishment of responsible Govern-
ment in India, the full measure to be attained within
A time-limit to be fixed in the statute itself at an
•early date.
"This Congress is emphatically of opinion that
the Congress-League Scheme of Reforms ought to be *
.immediately introduced by the Statute as the first
step in the progress."
250 THE HISTOBY OF THS CONGBESS
A new resolution accepted by the Calcutta Congress
was the one relating to Andhra being recognized as a
separate Congress circle, and in this connection we may
make a reference to a National or sub-national movement
which was inaugurated in the Andhradesa in 1913 and
which travelled on to the Congress of 1915. The
movement related to the question of redistributing the
Indian Provinces on linguistic lines. It had its origin
really in the efforts made by Mahesh Narayan of Bihar
in 1894 to get his Province separated from Bengal. The
Congress created Bihar into a separate Province in 1908,
and the principle was approved in the scheme of
Provincial Autonomy set forth in the Government of
India's Despatch of August 25th, 1911, and Bihar
separated from Bengal as the result of that despatch.
Wide and strong was the belief that for Provincial
Autonomy to be successful, the medium of instruction as
well as administration must be the provincial languages,,
and that the failure of the British administration, notably
in the domain of Local Self-Government, is undoubtedly
due to the pell-mell admixture of populations in British.
Provinces which are carved out on no logical or ethno-
logical, but on a chronological basis. In 1915 the Congress-
was not prepared to deal with the question but it wa&
pressed to the fore in 1916 by the Andhra Conferencer
and to anticipate events, we may say that on the 8th
of April, 1917, the All-India Congress Committee to*
which it was referred by the Lucknow Congress, 19l6r
accepted the principle after duly consulting the
Provincial Congress Committees of Madras and Bombay,
and resolved that the "Telugu speaking districts of the
Madras Presidency be constituted ' into a separate
Congress Province." Sindh followed suit and Karnataka
came later. The subject was hotly contested in the
Subjects Committee of the Calcutta Congress (1917).
Even Gandhi thought that the question might await the*
TOWARDS RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (1917) 251
implementing of the Reforms, but Lokamanya Tilak
saw the point, namely, that Linguistic Provinces were an
essential condition pre-requisite to real Provincial
Autonomy. Mrs. Besant presided over the Calcutta
Congress (1917), and the idea was opposed vehemently by
her as well as by some Tamil friends from the South.
The subject held the field for over two hours in Calcutta,
and was ultimately accepted late at night at 10-15 p.m.
Sindh was recognised as a separate Congress circle by the
A.I.C.C. on 6th October, 1917. The principle which was
then accepted became the guiding principle for a
redistribution immediately after the Nagpur Congress, and
we have now twenty-one Congress circles as against the
nine British Provinces.
In Calcutta Mrs. Besant was anxious to appoint
Mr. C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar as Secretary and therefore
asked for three Secretaries at the point of having to
amend the constitution. It was agreed to, and
Mr. Subba Rau Pantulu, though re-elected, forthwith
resigned his secretaryship. The Presidentship of
Mrs. Besant over the Calcutta Session brought nearer
together the Congress and the Home Rule League and the
constitution of the League was made so rigid in Calcutta
that it brought about a complete paralysis of the
organization. The Calcutta session was memorable for
the question of the National flag being formally raised.
Indeed the Home Rule League had already adopted and
popularized the Tricolour flag, and a committee was
appointed to recommend a design including on its
personnel Abanindra Nath Tagore. But the committee
never met and the old Home Rule flag virtually became
the Congress flag, with the Charkha added on it later on,
until the Flag Committee of 1931 substituted the saffron
oolour for the red. '
CHAPTER IV
THE MONTAGU-CHELMSFORD PROPOSALS (1918)
Mrs. Besant, it has already been noted, took the
view that the President of the year's session of the
.Congress was President for the whole year. This was not
a new idea by any means, but she was the first to act
upon it.
At the very first meeting of the All-India Congress
Committee held immediately after the Congress on 30th
December, 1917, the question of raising a permanent fund
for the Congress was considered, and further, Provincial
Committees were called upon to appoint a Working
Committee for carrying on educative and propagandist
work in India and in England. The months that
followed were months of incessant activity, especially in
Madras where lacs of leaflets explaining the Congress-
League Scheme were circulated, and more than 9 lacs
•signatures obtained in its support and presented to
Mr. Montagu when he visited Madras.
The All-India Congress Committee. met again on
23rd February, 1918 at Delhi, and after recording its sense
Xrf sorrow at the death of Sir William Wedderburn,
appointed a Deputation to urge on the Viceroy the
-cancellation of the order excluding Lokamanya Tilak and
$abu Bepin Chandra Pal from the Punjab and Delhi
Provinces.
The Deputatipn waited on the Viceroy but without
any result. Lord Chelmsford and Mr. Montagu were
expected to issue their Report on Constitutional Refonna,
and the A.I.C.C. resolved to have a special session of the
THE MONTAGU-CHELMSFORD PHOPOSALS (1918) 253
Congress at Allahabad or Lucknow soon after the publica-
tion of the Report and to send a Deputation to England
after the special session.
A third meeting of the A.I.C.C. held on 3rd May
1918, protested against the action of the Government in
turning back the deputations of the two Home Rule
Leagues on their way to England, from Gibralter and
Ceylon. The Committee insisted that nothing short of
an authoritative pronouncement that India should have
Responsible Government as the issue of the War would
inspire the youth of the country to flock to the colours in
sufficient numbers to ensure success.
The first five months of 1918 were a period of restless
activity for Mrs. Besant. An idea of her continuous tours
is given in the pamphlet on 'Home Rule Leagues' (See
Appendix III) . Mrs. Margaret E. Cousins and
Mrs. Dorothy Jinarajadasa addressed letters to her
respecting the grant of franchise to women under the
'Congress-League Scheme. Mr. John Scur wrote to her
from England suggesting that the Congress should invite
the Labour Conference in June 1918 to send a fraternal
delegate to the Indian National Congress of 1918, and
the A.I.C.C. did so. This idea and this language were
fast becoming familiar and were peculiarly befitting the
democratic organisations of the day. "The Home Rule
Leagues had just then appointed Mr. Baptista as their
fraternal delegate to the annual Labour Conference ne*t
month," said Mrs. Besant in her Presidential Address,
"and Major Graham Pole comes to us from them." She
•was a great believer in the Indo-British connection.
'Indeed her vision had not travelled beyond the concep-
~tion of Home Rule, as understood in those days; even a
'Dominion of those times was, in status, far behind the
"Dominions of 1926, and certainly could not be compared
254 TOT HI&TOBY OT THE CONOWBSS
to the Dominions of the present day with the Statute of"
Westminster behind them. In any case, Mrs. Besant was
soon feeling out of tune both with Government and with
the people. The former deprecated her forwardness, the
latter, her backwardness. While she had a good following .
and abundant influence at the Special Congress of
Bombay (Sep. 1918) , it was seen that she became a back
number at the Delhi Congress (December 1918) . Between .
the two she was rapidly losing ground.
The Defence of India Act was vigorously at work
everywhere. Even in 1917, orders of externment had
been passed against Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bepin
Chandra Pal from the Punjab and Delhi. But popular
agitation was not cowed down by these repressive
measures. When the Governor of Bombay held a War
meeting of leaders, Tilak raised the question of Self-
Government, but was not allowed to speak for more than
two minutes. When the Viceroy held a meeting in Delhi,
Gandhi was present though he had at first declined the
invitation, not merely on the ground that Tilak and
Mrs. Besant were not invited but on the higher ground
that there were secret treaties which Britain had entered '
into regarding the Cession of Constantinople to Russia
and other matters. He had an interview with Lord
Chelmsford who bore it in upon him that the news
emanated from interested quarters (Russia) which had
by that time emerged out of the War, a fact which, by
the way, made the question no longer a live issue, that
he himself could not believe that the Cabinet would enter
into such a treaty, and finally, that, in any case, such a
question could not possibly be raised or discussed in the
midst of the War. Therefore Gandhi agreed to join the -
War Conference and he wired to the Lokamanya to go to <
Delhi, fcftkough there was no invitation to the latter; but ;
Ztelli* being an «r& from which he had been exteroed, be*
THE MONTAGU-CHELMSFOBD PBOP06ALS (1918)
declined to go unless the orders against him were
expressly cancelled. Government were too proud to do»
that.
In August 1918, Tilak was served with an order
prohibiting him from lecturing without the previous*
permission of the District Magistrate. Only a week
before, we are told he was engaged in a recruiting
campaign and "as guarantee of good faith he had sent to*
Mahatma Gandhi a cheque for Rs. 50,000, the amount to*
be forfeited as penalty if certain conditions were not
fulfilled by him. This was in the nature of a wager. The
wager was that Tilak undertook to recruit 5,000 persons
from Maharashtra if Gandhi could secure a promise from
Government beforehand that Indians wooild get Commis-
sioned ranks in the Army. Gandhi's position was that
the help should not be in the nature of a bargain and
therefore returned the cheque to Tilak. In 1917-1918r
the Congress was suspicious of Tilak. The Bureaucracy
was positively persecuting him. Mrs. Besant alone was
in alliance with him.
The Montagu-Chelmsford Report was published in
June 1918. It was a masterpiece of literature and, like
other political documents produced by British Statesmen,
it contained a dispassionate statement of India's case for
Self-Government. Only, the obstacles to Reform are
described with equal lucidity, and in the end the latter
triumph. In the case of the Report in question, there
was an additional circumstance. The Congress Schema
prepared by the two great bodies representing India had
provided for fixed Executives responsible to the-
Legislature. Here was a more fascinating scheme of
Responsible Government with replaceable Cabinets,,
possessing corporate responsibility and subject to the vote
of the Legislatures, the very reproduction of the British
type of Self-Government. What else should the people
THE HISTOHY OF THE CONGRESS
of India want? Their Legislatures would no longer be
-{the arena for the training of Indian politicians, but the
forum in which ministers should justify their conduct to
their constituencies and stand or fall upon the vote of
their colleagues in Parliament. Many in India were
taken in by such a scheme and a chorus of praise was to
T>e heard from them. The cenlre of gravity shifted from
the Congress-League Scheme to the Montford Scheme.
"We have it on the authority of Mr. Montagu's Diary
that Mrs. Besant promised to accept anything that
Sir Sankaran Nair accepted, and Sir Sankarn Nair
accepted this scheme. "Extremists who do not mean well to
•Government must be separated from those who do."
About Mr. C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar, Montagu says, "I
asked him point-blank what he would accept. He
accepted Sastri's four criteria, and I am afraid he would
never accept periodic inquiries. What he wants is a
time-limit, and there is much more in this time-limit than
people really believe. He pathetically said that their
-confidence in me was everything and he begged me not
to be persuaded to desert them." (P. 129). Then comes
Mr. S. Srinivasa lyengar: "After I had finished with
Lord Pentland the Advocate-General of the Presidency,
Srinivasa lyengar, came to see me. He assured me
that nobody really expected the whole of the Congress-
League Scheme and if they are certain that it will
develop they will not much mind. He thinks the Curtis
•scheme is the best. He tells me that there is great
bitterness against the Government but he had nothing
very much to say." In justice to Mr. S. S. lyengar, it
must be said that he was not a Congressman at the time.
After these statements we need hardly be told by
Mr. Montagu that "Setalvad, Chandavarkar and
Bahimtoola approved of the Reservation scheme."
Monijagu's strategy has already been described. Govern-
ment was to form a Department to help the Moderates
THE MONTAGU-CHELMSFORD PROPOSALS (1918) 25T
to organise themselves. 'There was a proposal, — 27th*
proposal," says Montagu, "in favour of a new organisa-
tion of Indians, assisted in every way by Government, for
propaganda on behalf of our proposals and to send a.
Delegation to England and to assist us.11 "Proposals-
Ko. 30 and 31 contemplated," adds Mr. Montagu, "that
Sir S. P. Sinha should succeed Mr. Montagu, — Montagu
to be Under-Secretary." Mr. Montagu's observations on
Ibis are interesting: "It will teach the I.C.S. that a British
statesman who, however undeservedly, has reached Cabinet
rank, finds nothing derogatory in assisting, rather than-
controlling India. It will fire the imagination of
India." On the other hand, the Nationalists left no doubt
whatever in Mr. Montagu's mind as to what they wanted.
"Motilal Nehru would be satisfied if he could get
Responsible Government in 20 years." (P. 62). "C.R. Das
anticipated the failure of Dyarchy and wanted real,
Responsible Government in 5 years hence, and promise of
it now." (Page 91) Mr. Montagu had secured the support
of Surendra Nath Banerjea. "Then Basu (Bhupendra
Nath Basu) said that he thought the Congress would
pass a resolution accepting it, leaving all my amendments
to subsequent negotiation so as not to provide their
enemies with a handle for saying that they had been
captious."
The general belief about the Report was that it
largely drafted by Sir James (later Lord) Meston and1.
Mr. (later Sir Wm.) Marris, while Mr. Lionel Curtis
greatly assisted in the tusk. Mr. Curtis belonged to a
group of Round Tablers who had a scholarly bent of
mind and who were touring various countries in order to*
"serve the Empire." A letter that he had drafted on
Indian Reforms . miscarried afcd fell into the hands of*
Indian publicists and The Bombay Chronicle and Thr
•Leader published it. This act of audacity exposed thfr-
£58 THE HISTOEY OF THE CONGRESS
bureaucratic intrigues and roused the ire of officialdom
.against Nationalist India.
The fact was that, in a private letter to Mr. Philip
Kerr, then Secretary of the Round Table, Mr. Lionel
•Curtis discussed the possibility of India being made
.subordinate, in her external and internal affairs, to an
Imperial Council on which the Self-Governing Dominions
-would bo represented, but she would not be represented.
He added that this would perhaps lead to bloodshed, but
if it were the right thing to do, that would have to be
faced. The writer stated in his letter that his views
•expressed in it were generally approved by "Meston,
Marris and Chirol." Copies of this letter, for circulation
among the Round Table Confederates, were actually
printed in the Government Press at Allahabad, and
when one fell into Indian hands it was promptly published
-on the eve of the Lucknow Session of the Congress in
1916. Mr. Curtis later addressed "A letter to the People
•of India" explaining his position. He was originally an
official in South Africa, and, soon after the Boer War,
-when the British Government borrowed the services of
.Sir James Meston and Mr. Marris to organise the Civil
/Service in South Africa, he made their acquaintance for
the first time. Ever since they studied the problems of
the Commonwealth of British Nations in South Africa,
•Canada, and India, and Sir James Meston invited
Mr. Curtis to go to India in 1916 to study the Indian
problems of the Empire and publish in a quarterly,
The Round Table, their studies from time to time. The
letter in question was one such study, meant for publica-
tion and for being sent to England, which unfortunately
miscarried. It was alleged that Mr. Curtis was engaged
in ^ conspiracy with Indian officialdom to place India,
is i scheme of poet-War reconstruction, not only under
:Eagiand but tmder the Dominions as well 'The root
THE MONTAGU-CHKLMSFOBD PBOPOSA&6 (IMS) 2S9
•of the present trouble is," says Mr. Curtis in his "Letter
to the People of India," "that this insistence of mine on
the doctrine that you cannot at present divide the
•control of India, and the control of foreign affairs, has
led to a false impression here that the Dominions want
to control Indian affairs: There is nothing they less
<iesire." He finally explained from documents of earlier
origin how he held "that it is the duty of those who
govern the whole British Commonwealth to do everything
in their power to enable Indians to govern themselves as
soon as possible, and that Indians must also come to share
in the Government of the British Commonwealth as a
whole." The fact was that Mr. Montagu gathered around
Trim the pick of the I.C.S. men in India besides the six
•colleagues that accompanied him from England. Amongst
the former were Sir Malcolm Hailey, Sir James Meston
and Mr. Marris, the last of whom was Inspector-General
•of Police in U. P. at the time.
It is therefore not surprising that soon after the
publication of the Report, markedly different opinions
regarding the attitude to be adopted towards it began to
be expressed all over the country by various leaders, and
it became apparent that the Special Session of the
•Congress, which the A.I.C.C. had already decided to
convene, should be held. It was found that Lucknow
and Allahabad would not be suitable places and the
Tenue was changed to Bombay which made elaborate
arrangements for the Congress in a short timie. The
differences among Congressmen had become acute. While no
party was fully satisfied with the scheme as it stood, there
were naturally differences in the tone of the criticism,
.•and it seemed as if one party which was more radical in
its views would press at the Special Congress: for its total
rejection, and the other only for amendments to improve
it. Jfast a few days before the Congress, an attempt was
200 THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
made to reconcile all the differences at a Conference, but
the attempt failed and the Congress met on the 29th
August 1918 under the Presidentship of Mr. Hasan Imam.
It was very largely attended and there were no less than
3,845 delegates present, Mr. Vittalbhai Patel acting as
the Chairman of the Reception Committee. Veteran
leaders like Dinshaw Wacha, Surendra Nath Banerjea,
Bhupendra Nath Basu, Ambika Charan Mazumdar were
absent from the Congress. After four days' discussion
the Congress re-affirmed the principles of Reform
contained in the Congress-League Scheme and declared
that nothing less than Self-Government within the Empire
would satisfy the legitimate aspirations of the Indian
people. It dealt with the Montagu proposals at great
length. It declared that the people of India were fit for
Responsible Government and repudiated the assumption
to the contrary contained in the Report. It asked for
simultaneous advance in the Provinces and the Govern-
ment of India and disagreed with the formula that the
Provinces are the domain in which the earlier steps
should be taken towards the progressive realisation of
Responsible Government, leaving the authority of the
Government of India in essential matters indisputable,
pending experience in the Provinces. It conceded,
however, that subject to a Declaration of Rights of the
people of India, — (a) guaranteeing to them liberty of
person, property, association, free speech and writing,
except under sentence of an ordinary court of justice as a
result of lawful and open trial, (b) entitling Indians to
bear arms, subject to the purchase of a licence as in Great
Britain, (c) guaranteeing 'freedom of Press, dispensing
with licence and security, on the registration of a Press
or newspaper, and (d) guaranteeing equality to Indiana
before! the law,— the Government of India should have
undivided administrative authority on matters directly
concerning peace, tranquillity and defence of the country.
THE MONTAGU-CHELMSFORD PEOPOSALS (1018)
Another resolution was strongly of opinion that the
Indian Legislature should have the same measure of
fiscal autonomy as the Self-Governing Dominions of the
Empire possessed. The resolution dealing directly with
the Reform Scheme appreciated the earnest attempt on
the part of the Secretary of State and the Viceroy to
inaugurate a system of Responsible Government, and
while it recognised that some of the proposals constituted
an advance in some directions, it was of opinion that the
proposals were 'disappointing and unsatisfactory* and
went on to suggest modifications which were considered
absolutely necessary to constitute a substantial step
towards Responsible Government. Dealing with the
proposals relating to the Government of India, the
Congress desired the same system of reserved and trans-
ferred subjects for the Central Government as had been
proposed for the Provinces, the subjects reserved being
Foreign Affairs, excepting relations with the Colonies and
Dominions, Army, Navy and relations with Indian ruling
Princes, all the other subjects being transferred subjects.
After the first term of the reformed Assembly, the position
of the Viceroy in the Legislative Assembly in regard to
transferred subjects should be the same as that obtaining
in the Self-Governing Dominions. All legislation should
be by bills introduced in the Legislative Assembly,
provided that, in case the Legislature refused to pass any
measures regarding reserved subjects which the Govern-
ment deemed necessary, the Governor-General might
provide for the same by regulations which would remain
in force for one year but could not be renewed unless
40 per cent, of the members of the Assembly present
voted for them. There should be no Council of State,
but if one was constituted at least half of the total
strength should be elected. The procedure by certifica-
tion should be confined to reserved subjects. At least
half the members of the Executive Committee (if more
17
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
than one) in charge of reserved subjects should be
Indians. The Legislative Assembly was to consist of 150
members, four-fifths of whom were to be elected and it
should have the right to elect its own President and V ice-
President and make its own rules of business. A statutory
guarantee was demanded that full Responsible Govern-
ment should be established in the whole of British India
within a period not exceeding 15 years.
As regards the Provinces, the Congress resolved that
(a) there should be no additional members of the
Executive without portfolios, (b) that after the first
term of the reformed Councils the Governor should have
the same relation with the Ministers in regard to trans-
ferred subjects as in ^he Self-Governing Dominions,
(c) that the status and the salary of Ministers should be
the same as that of Executive Councillors, (d) that half
tfee Executive Committee should be Indians, and (e) that
the budget should be under the control of the Legislature
•subject to the allocation of a fixed sum for the reserved
-subjects; if fresh taxation became necessary it should be
imposed by the Provincial Government as a whole. The
Congress while holding that the country was ripe for full
Provincial Autonomy was yet prepared, with a view to
-facilitating the passage of the Reforms, to leave the
departments of Law, Police and Justice (prisons
-excepted) in the hands of the Executive Government in
all Provinces for a period of six years. Executive and
Judicial departments must be separated at once. As in the
-case of the Central Legislature, the Provincial Councils
would elect their Presidents andl Vice-Presidents. The
proposal to institute a Grand Committee should be
dropped. But if it was to be instituted, no less than
one-half of the strength should be elected. The proportion
of elected members in the Provincial Councils should be
frar-flftha.
THE MONTAOU-CHBLMSPOBD PBOPOSAL8 (1918) 2*3
The Provincial Council should legislate in respect of
all matters including Law, Justice and Police, but if the
Government was not satisfied with its decisions in respect
of Law, Justice and Police, the Provincial Government
could refer the matter to the Government of India, which
in its turn would place it before the Indian Legislature
where the ordinary procedure should be followed.
The control of Parliament and the Secretary of State
must only be modified and the responsibility of the
Indian and Provincial Governments to the electorates
increased. The India Council should be abolished. There
should be two Under-Secretaries to assist the Secretary
of State for India, one of whom should be an Indian.
As regards communal representation, the Congress
resolved that the proportion of Muslims in the Indian and
Provincial Legislatures should be as laid down in the
'Congress-League Scheme. Women should not be dis-
qualified on account of sex. The Government of India
.should have complete freedom in all fiscal matters.
As regards the place of Indians in the Army, the
•Congress recorded its deep disappointment at the
altogether inadequate response of the Government to the
-demand for the grant of commissions to Indians in the
Army and opined that steps should be immediately taken
so as to enable the grant of at least 25 per cent, of the
commissions to Indians, to be increased to 50 per cent,
•within fifteen years.
The Congress decided to send a Deputation to England,
appointed a Committee of selection for the purpose.
It will thus be noticed that the Special
which had ^threatened tit one time to create a achinn
THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
on the question of Reforms in the Congress, passed
off successfully and after considerable discussions came
to conclusions which reconciled various conflicting views
and commanded the unqualified support of the large
majority of Congressmen all over the country. A session
of the Muslim League had been held at the same time
under the Presidentship of the Rajah of Mahmudabad and
had adopted a resolution on practically the same lines as
the Congress with whose committee there had been
complete collaboration.
One thing more, however, remained to be done to
complete the Reform proposals, namely the division of
functions between Provincial and Central Governments
and the determination of Franchises and Constituencies.
Accordingly two commissions came out from England, —
the Southborough Commission to deal with Franchises, and
the Featham Commission to deal with Functions.
Deputations were profusely received. In the South of India
the Non-Brahman movement which had been brought
into existence in February 1917, became quite vocal and
irresistible by November 1918, and suspecting that
Mr. Sastri who was a member of the Southborough
Committee was influencing Lord Southborough against
separate representation- to their community, the
Non-Brahman leaders boycotted the Committee to mark
their protest against Mr. Sastri's inclusion on the
Commission and threatened to carry their case to
England. Carry they did, and succeed too. But India's
woes did not end. The Defence of India Act, the
counterpart of the British Defence of the Realm Act
(D.Q.R.A.) which could call upon any one in the country
to do anything or to refrain from doing anything,
was vigorously at work. We have already
referred to the internment of the Ali Brothers, and
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. The Ali Brothers were
THE MONTAGU-CHELMSFOfiD PROPOSALS (1918) 2(SS
never Congressmen until they appeared at the Amritsar
Congress on their release in 1919. Mahomed All was
editing a powerful and spicy weekly — The Comrade — and
Shaukat Ali, his elder brother, was editing the Hamdard,
an Urdu daily. Soon after the outbreak of the War and
the pompous announcement of its cause as being the
protection of the weaker Nationalities, Mahomed Ali
published an article headed 'Evacuate Egypt.' The
brothers and the Maulana were all presently interned and
they remained in their confinement till, under the
apmesty granted by the Royal Proclamation, they were
released on the 25th December, 1919.
The methods employed for recruiting soldiers into the .
Army as well as collecting money for War Loans were
highly objectionable. The methods of 'pressure and persua-
sion'— a phrase used by Lord Willingdon's Government in
description of the methods employed for these purposes —
was only a euphemism for the excesses which were destined
to lead later to serious developments in the Punjab and
elsewhere. In the country districts what was called the
'Indent system' prevailed, under which local officials had
to make a return of the lending capacity of the areas in
their charge, and it was left to the subordinates to maintain
their reputation and obtain as much money as possible for
War Loans by methods of 'pressure and persuasion.' These
methods ultimately led to an angry crowd surrounding the
bungalow of a Mamlatdar and after allowing his family
to escape, burn it to the ground with him in it.
In the domain of pure politics, the repressive policy
adopted during the days of Lord Chelmsford chiefly centred
round the Press Act which was used often and with
severity. Mrs. Besant was prohibited from entering the
Bombay Presidency by Lord Willingdon tinder the Defence *
of India Act. In Bengal; the number of youngmen interned:
2M TBS HISTORY OF THE CONGBESS
ran up to nearly three thousands. Then followed the
internment of Besant, and the next year witnessed the
Rowlatt Bills and the agitation centering round them.
It would be recalled that in the previous year the
Government had appointed a Committee of which Sir Sidney
Rowlatt was President and Mr. Kumaraswami Sastri and
Provash Chandra Mitter were members, "to investigate and
report on the nature and extent of the criminal conspiracies
connected with the revolutionary movement, to examine
and consider the difficulties that have arisen in dealing
with such conspiracies and to advise as to the legislation,
if any, necessary to enable Government to deal effectively
with them/' The Committee had enquired and submitted
a Report. The Report suggested legislation which was
subsequently introduced into the Imperial Council and led
to a widespread protest all over the country. At the time
of the Special Congress, only the Report had been
published and the Congress "condemned the recommenda-
tions of the Rowlatt Committee which, if given effect to,
would interfere with the fundamental rights of the Indian
people and impede the healthy growth of public opinion."
The Special Session concluded at the end of August.
The ordinary session of the Congress was to be held at
Delhi in the following December. The Provincial Congress
Committee and the Reception Committee elected
Lokamanya Tilak as the President of the Delhi Session.
But as He had fo proceed to England in connection with
the litigation between himself and Sir Valentine Chirol, he
expressed his inability to preside, and Pandit Madan
Mohan Malaviya was elected instead.
The thirty-third session of the Congress was held at
Delhi on 20th December with Hakim Ajmal Khan as the
Chairman of the Reception Committee and Pandit Madan
Mohan Malaviya as the President. The War ha& come
THE MONTAGU-CHELM8FOBD PROPOSALS (191&) 247
to an end with the Armistice on November 11, 1918. The
Allies had been completely successful and the principle of
self-determination had been declared by President Wilson,
Mr. Lloyd George and other allied - statesmen. It was
therefore but natural that the Congress should consider
the Reform Scheme once again in the light of these
declarations and the criticism of the Montford Report
which had been made since the Special Session of the
Congress. At the Delhi Congress also the attendance was
very large and there were no less than 4,865 delegates
present.
The Congress conveyed its loyalty to the King and
congratulations on "the successful termination of the War19
which was waged for the liberty and freedom of all the
peoples of the world. Another resolution recorded (the
appreciation of the Congress of the gallantry of the allied
forces and "particularly of the heroic achievement of the
Indian troops in the cause of freedom, justice and self-
determination." Another resolution asked for the recogni-
tion of India by the British Parliament and by the Peace
Conference as "one of the progressive nations to whom the
principle of self-determination should be applied," and as
a first step the "immediate repeal of all laws, regulations
and ordinances restricting the free discussion of political
questions, and conferring on the Executive the power to
arrest, detain, intern, extern or imprison any British
subject in India outside the processes of ordinary civil or
criminal Law, and the assimilation of the law of sedition
to that of England." The Congress further demanded an
Act of Parliament establishing at an early date complete
Responsible Government in India and a place for India
similar to that of the Self-Governing Dominions in the
reconstruction of Imperial policy. The Congress also
wanted to be represented by elected representatives at the
Conference and nominated Lokamanya Tilak,
268 THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
Mahatma Gandhi and Mr. Hasan Imam as its represen-
tatives.
Dealing with the Reforms, the Congress reaffirmed the
resolution passed at the Special Session at Bombay
regarding the Congress-League Scheme, the fitness of
India for Responsible Government, and the resolution of
undivided authority to the Government of India concerning
the peace, tranquillity and the defence of the country,
subject to the Declaration of Rights. By another resolu-
tion, the Bombay resolution regarding other points was
affirmed, except that in the Provinces full Responsible
Government should be granted at once and that no part
of British India should be excluded from the benefit of the
proposed constitutional reforms. The Rowlatt Committee's
Report came up again for review, and after reiterating
the Bombay resolution, the Congress also expressed the view
that it -would prejudicially affect the successful working
of the constitutional Reforms. The Congress urged on the
Government the immediate repeal of the Defence of India
Act, the Press Act, the Seditious Meetings Act, the
Criminal Law Amendment Act, the old Regulations and
other similar repressive measures and the release of all
detenus and all political prisoners.
The Report of the Industrial Commission, of which
Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya had been a member, also
came in for consideration and the Congress passed a
resolution welcoming its recommendations and iJie policy
that the Government must play an active port in promo-
ting the industrial development of the country, and hoping
that encouragement would be given to Indian Capital and
enterprise, and protection against foreign exploitation. The
Congress regretted that the question of tariffs had been
•'excluded from the scope of the Commission's enquiries.
The Congress supported the recommendation of the
THE MONTAGU-CHELMSFOBD PROPOSALS (1918) 269
Committee that industries should have separate represen-
tation in the Executive Council of the Government of
India and that there should be Provincial Departments of
Industries. The Congress also suggested the constitution
of Imperial and Provincial Advisory Boards consisting of
Indians elected by Indian industrial and trade associations
and" Chambers of Commerce. It further was of opinion that
the proposed Imperial Industrial and Chemical Services
•should be constituted with adequate salaries and that
Universities should establish Commercial Colleges with
help from Government. The Congress regretted the absence
in the Report of recommendations for adequate organisa-
tion for financing industries, and urged the starting of
industrial banks.
Another resolution of the Congress requested the
Government to release the Ali Brothers. The Congress
also asked, in view of the unprecedented economic strain
and the cessation of hostilities, that India should be
relieved from the burden of contributing 45 millions for
-war purposes. An interesting resolution related to
Ayurvedic and Unani systems of medicine and recommend-
ed to the Government of India the desirability of securing
to them the advantages vouchsafed to the Western system.
While the Congress thus practically reiterated the
Special Session resolutions, it carried them further, and it
was found that the harmony that had prevailed at Bombay
,(in September, 1918) disappeared. A split ensued on the
'narrow* issue, as Mrs. Besant said later, as to whether
Provincial Autonomy must be whole and immediate, or
whether the Bombay deductions should still stand. While
"Madras and other Moderates" stood for the Bombay
resolution, the majority favoured the rejection of the
Bombay compromise. And when it came to a question
of a Deputation to England, it was resolved that the
270 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
members of the Deputation must advocate and press the
Delhi demand, thus excluding those who held to the
Bombay compromise. Mr. Sastri moved an amendment
objecting to the words 'disappointing and unsatisfactory'
and asking that the 15 years' limit should be' deleted. But
the original resolution held the field. Finally, a
resolution offering welcome to the Prince of Wales was
dropped.
CHAPTER V
NON-VIOLENCE, A REALITY (1919)
The Delhi Congress brought no peace to the country.
The Rowlatt Bills made their appearance early in 1919'
(February). They were two in number, — one of them,
being meant to be introduced in the Spring session. One
was a temporary measure, intended to deal with the
situation arising from the expiry of the Defence of India
Act, six months after the formal conclusion of peace. It
was framed to enable anarchical offences to be tried,
expeditiously by a strong Court of ttiree High Court
Judges with no right of appeal, in areas where offences
of a revolutionary character were prevalent It also^
provided for powers to order persons suspected to be
concerned in movements likely to lead to the commission
of offences against the State, to furnish security, to reside
in a particular place, or to abstain from any specified
act. And as a safeguard, an investigating authority
composed of one Judge and one non-official was to examine
the material upon which orders against any person were
framed. Thirdly, Local Governments were given powers
to arrest persons reasonably believed to be connected with
certain offences, the commission of which threatened public
safefty, and to confine them in such places and under such
conditions as were prescribed. Further, dangerous
characters already under control or in confinement could
be continuously detained under the Bill. The second Bill
was meant to cause a permanent change in the ordinary
Criminal Law of the land. The possession of a seditious
document with the intention to publish or circulate it, was
to be made punishable with imprisonment.
Promise of official protection against violence was to-
be allowable in the case of an accused willing to turn*
272 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
^King's evidence.' District Magistrates were to be
authorized to direct a preliminary enquiry by the Police
in the case of certain offences for which a prosecution
could not then be launched without the sanction of a
Local Government. Finally, persons convicted of an
offence against the State might be ordered by the Court
to execute a bond of good behaviour for a term not
exceeding two years after the expiration of their sentence.
Following the Rowla,tt Report which had been
, published on 19-1-1919, the Rowlatt Bills were introduced
into the Supreme Legislative Council by Sir William
Vincent on the 6th of February, 1919, and while the
second was dropped, only the first was passed in the 3rd
week of March, 1919. Gandhi notified his intention of
meeting the situation with a campaign of Satyagraha, if
the Rowlatt recommendations should be embodied into
Bills. To this end he had toured the country extensively
and was received with great respect everywhere. What
was it that had endeared this comparative stranger in the
country to all Provinces and commended his equally
strange programme of Satyagraha to the people all" over?
Let the Government answer. (Vide 'India, 1919'): —
"Mr. Gandhi is generally considered a Tolstoyan
of high ideals and complete .selflessness. Since his
stand on behalf of the Indians in South Africa, he has
commanded among his countrymen, all the traditional
reverence with which the East envelops a religious
leader of acknowledged asceticism. In his case he
possesses the added strength that his admirers are not
confined to any religious sect. Since he took oip his
residence in Ahmedabad, he has been actively
concerned in social work of varied kinds.
"His readiness to take up the cudgels on behalf
of any individual or class whom; he regards as being
oppressed has endeared him to the masses of his
countrymen. In the case of the urban and rural
NON-VIOLENCE, A REALITY (1919) 273
population of many parts of the Bombay Presidency
his influence is unquestioned, and he is regarded with
a reverence for which 'adoration* is scarcely too
strong a word. Believing as he does in the superiority
of 'Soul Force' over material might, Mr. Gandhi was
led to believe that it was his duty to employ against
the Rowlatt Act that weapon of Passive Resistance
which he had used effectively in South Africa. It
was announced on the 24th February that he would
lead a Passive Resistance or Satyagraha movement
if the Bills were passed. This announcement was
regarded as being of the utmost gravity both by
Government and by many of the Indian politicians.
Some Moderate members of the Indian Legislative
Council publicly affirmed their apprehension as to the
consequences of such a step. Mrs. Besant, with her
remarkable knowledge of the psychology of the
Indian temperament, warned Mr. Gandhi in the most
solemn manner thajb any such movement as he
contemplated would result in the release of forces
whose potentialities for evil were quite incalculable.
It must be clearly seated that there was nothing in
Mr. Gandhi's attitude or pronouncements which could
have justified Government taking any steps against
him before the inception of the movement. Passive
Resistance is a negative and not a positive process.
Mr. Gandhi expressly condemned any resort to
material force. He was confident that he would be
able by a process of passive disobedience to civil
Laws to coerce the Government into abandoning the
Rowlatt Act. On the 18th March he published a
pledge regarding the Rowlatt Bills which ran as
follows: 'Being conscientiously of opinion that the
Bill known as the Indian Criminal Law Amendment
Bill, No. 1 of 1919, and the Criminal Law Emergency
Powers Bill, No. 2 of 1919, are unjust, subversive of
the principles of liberty and justice and destructive
of the elementary rights of an individual on which the
safety of India as a whole and the State itself is
based, we solemnly affirm that in the event of these
Bills becoming Law and until they are withdrawn, we
shall refuse civilly .to obey these laws and such other
laws as the Committee, hereafter to be appointed,
274 THE HISTORY DF THE CONGRESS
iaay think fit, and we further affirm that in the
struggle we will faithfully follow truth and refrain
from violence to life, person or property."
Most people did not understand why he should have
chosen the petty and collateral issue of Rowlatt Bills for
the inauguration of Satyagraha, although there was before
India the mammoth issue of Self-Government. The same
doubt was expressed in 1920 when the Punjab tragedy
and the Khilaphat wrong were made by him the issue on
which to inaugurate the Non-co-operation movement, —
not Swaraj. But to this point we shall revert later.
Nevertheless there was a good response from all parts
<of India except, at first, Bengal. The South responded
unexpectedly well. There was some doubt whether
fiatyagrahis could alienate their property so as to avoid
attachment and sale by Government. It was reported
that Gandhi did not object to the idea, as it was up to
people to fix the limit to which they could surrender
their person and property. Gandhi inaugurated the
movement with a fast — an idea cavilled at by the neo-
social Reformers but one quite in consonance with the
traditional beliefs in the country.
The idea of self -purification itself jarred on the ears
of politicians, for, "what had purity to do with politics?"
they asked in derision. The 30th of March, 1919, was
fixed to be a day of hartal, a day of fasting and prayer
and penance and meetings all over. The date was chang-
ed to 6th April, but the change not being notified in
Delhi in time, processions and hartals were held in Delhi,
and as the Fates would have it, shooting took place there.
The procession of the day was being led by Swami
Shraddhananda whom some European soldiers threatened
to shoot, and he bared his chest for the promised bullets
and thus paralysed the threats. But at the Delhi Railway
NON-VIOLENCE, A BBALITY (1919) 275
Station, a scuffle arose ending in shooting, causing five
deaths and a score or so of casualties. The demonstrations
on the 6th April were held on a country-wide scale.
"One noticeable feature of the general excitement," says
'India, 1919,' "was the unprecedented fraternization
between the Hindus and the Muslims. Their union,
between the leaders, had now for long been a fixed plan
of the nationalist platform. In this time of public
excitement, even the lower classes agreed for once to
forget their differences. Extraordinary scenes of frater-
nization occurred. Hindus publicly accepted water from
the hands of Muslims and vice versa. Hindu-Muslim
unity was the watchward of processions indicated both by
cries and by banners. Hindu leaders had actually been
Allowed to preach from the pulpit of a (Cathedral)
Mosque." The one immediate cause for such a unity was
the disgust that Muslims felt at the position of Turkey
being unsettled after the War and the danger to the
Khilaphat, and the Hindus fully sympathised with those
feelings, y
The country took to the new idea readily and whole-
heartedly. Gandhi was already a persona grata both with
the country and the Congress. The omission of his name
from the list of Indian delegates to the Peace Conference
to be chosen at the Delhi Congress, 1918, was repaired
then and there on the suggestion of Mr. B. Chakravarti
and the amendment was accepted reverently and apolo-
getically by Mr. C. R. Das, the mover of the Resolution.
He had also been elected as a member of the Deputation
to England. The month of April, 1919 began a new
•chapter in Indian History.
The scene of India's struggles and sufferings shifts
now to the Punjab, the gateway of India for foreign
industrial and commercial invasions. The Punjab is the
176 THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
home of the Sikhs and other martial races of India. Is
the Punjab to be exploited by the educated classes and
their Congress movement, and all their high falutin of
Self-Government? It is sufficiently hard that these
educated classes should be seeking Military careers and
pleading for Military Colleges as well. What should
happen if the military races should seek political education
and entertain political ambitions? That would be the
end of the British Government in India! Had not the
Indian troops just returned from the various war-fronts
where, by their superior prowess and self-sacrifice, they
had helped to defeat the highly disciplined troops of
Germany, Austria, Russia and Turkey? The Russo-
Japanese war itself had sufficiently disillusioned the
Asiatics of ideas of European superiority on the battlefield.
The Great War obliterated any lingering fragments of
that erstwhile faith. So, the Iron Man of the Punjab,
Sir Michael O'Dwyer, was determined to prevent the con-
tamination of the Punjab by the spread of the Congress
movement, and it was a tussle between him and the
Congress as to whether the Congress which was invited to
Amritsar in 1919 should be held in the Punjab.
Dr. Kitchlew, an advocate, and Dr. Satyapal, a medical
practitioner, who were organising the Congress, were sent
for by the District Magistrate of Amritsar to his house
one fine morning (10-4-1919) and were spirited away to
some unknown place. The report soon spread far and
wide, and crowds of people gathered together and wanted
to meet the District Magistrate to ask for their where-
aboiite. They were prevented by military pickets posted
at the level crossing, between the city and the Civil Lines,
from marching to the Civil Lines, and of course the story
of the never failing brick-bat now comes in. The crowd
was fired upon, and there were several casualties with one
or two deaths. The crowd turned back into the city
carrying their victims in procession, and on their way set
NON-VIOLENCE, A BBALITY (1910) 277
fire to the National Bank buildings and killed its European
manager. Altogether the mob violence was responsible
for the deaths of five Englishmen and for the destruction
by fire of a Bank, a Railway goods-shed and some other
public buildings. Naturally, the officers of the place took
umbrage at the events and vowed red-vengeance. The
town was made over by the Civil to the Military authorities
on the 10th April on the initiative of local officials and in
anticipation of sanction from the higher authorities. The
behaviour of the masses was not less reprehensible at
Gujaranwala and Kasur.
At Gujaranwala and Kasur there was serious violence.
At the latter place, on April 12th, crowds did considerable
damage to the railway station, burnt a small oil shed,
damaged signal and telegraph wires, attacked a train in
which were some Europeans and beat two soldiers to death,
a branch post-office was looted, the main post-office burnt,
the Munsiff's Court set on fire, and other damage done.
That is the official version summarised. The popular
version alleges previous provocation of the crowd.
At Gujaranwala, on April 14th, crowds surrounded
and stoned a train, burnt a small railway bridge and fired
another railway bridge where a calf had been killed by
the police, as alleged, and hung up on the bridge as an
insult to Hindus, to whom the cow is sacred. The
telegraph-office, post-office and railway station were
subsequently set on fire, as well as the Dak Bungalow,
Kutcheri (Collector's office) a church, a school, and a
railway shed.
These were the chief incidents. There were minor
outbreaks elsewhere in smaller places, such as stoning of
trains, cutting of wires, and setting fire to railway stations.
18
OTB HISTORY OF THB <X>NGSE88
. In the meantime there were sporadic outbreaks of
violence in different parts of the country. In Lahore
shootings and reprisals took place. Bad news came from
far-off Calcutta. Hearing of the trouble in the Punjab,
and oo. the invitation of Dr. Batyapal and Swami
Shraddhananda, Gandhi started for Delhi on the 8th April.
On his way however he was served with an order not to
enter the Punjab or Delhi, and on his refusal to obey the
order he was arrested and turned back from a way-side
railway station, Palvel, by a special train to Bombay on
the 10th April.
The news of the arrest created disturbances in
Ahmedabad where some English and Indian officers were
killed. Viramgam and Nadiad were also the scenes of
eorno trouble OB the 12th April. In Calcutta, likewise,
the result of the disturbances was that five or six men
were killed and twelve others were wounded due to firing.
Gandhi after reaching Bombay helped in calming the
populace and proceeded to Ahmedabad where his presence
was helpful in restoring quiet. On account of these
disturbances, he issued a statement suspending Satyagraha.
While matters stood thus, tragic events were fast
developing in Amritear. It may be noted that Martial
Law waa not declared as yet on the 13th April, though
ae the Government Report admits, de facto Martial Law
was in force since the 10th April. As a matter of fact,
Martial Law was formally proclaimed in Lahore and
Amrittsar on the 15th April, and shortly after in two or
three other districts. On the 13th April, which was the
Hindu New Year's Day, a large public meeting was
advertised and held in the JalUanwala Bagh, which is an
open ground ia the midst of the city enclosed with walte
whidrfotm the boundaries of houses overlooking it. ft
has a bottle-neck that forms the only entrance to it, and
NON-VIOLENCE, A EEAL1TY (KW9)
89 narrow that a carriage cannot pass along it. Whan
toenty thousand people, — men, women and childseB; —
gathered at the Bagh, General Dyer entered the place at
the head of a force composed of 100 Indian troops aod
50 British, while one Hansraj was lecturing to the
audience, and gave orders forthwith to fire. His own
version as given later before the Hunter Commission was
that he ordered the people to disperse and then fired, but
he admitted that he fired within two or three minutes of
the order. In any case, it was obvious that 20,000 people
could not disperse in 2 or 3 minutes especially through
that narrow outlet, and when 1,600 rounds were fired, —
and the firing stopped only when the ammunition had run
out, — the casualties were, even according to Government's
version, about 400 dead, while the wounded were
estimated at between a thousand and two. The firing was
done by the Indian troops, behind whom were placed the
British troops, — all on an elevated platform in the Bagh.
The greater tragedy really was that the dead and dying
were left to suffer the whole night without water to drink,
or medical attendance, or aid of any character. Dyer's
contention — as it came out later — was that "the city
having passed under the Military, he had tomtomed in the
morning that no gatherings would be permitted and as the
people openly defied him, he wanted to teach them a
lesson so that they might not laugh at him. He would
have fired, and fired longer, he said, if he had had the
required ammunition. He had only fired 1,600 rounds
because his ammunition had run out." "As a matter of
fact," he said, "he had taken an armoured car but found
that the passage to the Bagh would not admit it, and so
he left it behind."
- General Dyer's regime witnessed some unthinkable
punishments. The water 'supply and the electric supply
of Amritsar were cut off. Public flogging was common.
380 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
But the 'crawling order' surpassed the rest of his
achievements. A missionary lady doctor named
Miss Sherwood had been attacked while she was cycling
in a lane by the people, and every one passing through the
lane was ordered to crawl with belly to the ground. And
all who lived in the street had to obey this order, despite
the fact that Miss Sherwood was protected in that very
lane by decent citizens. The incident became an object
of merriment and joking at the hands of Quarter-Master-
General Hudson in the Imperial Legislative Council.
The issue of third-class tickets on the railway was
prohibited, which involved a general suspension of
travelling by the Indian public. More than two persons
were prohibited from marching on side-walks or pavements.
Bicycles, "other than those owned by Europeans/' were
commandeered. People who had closed their shops were
forced to open them, under severe penalties. Prices of
commodities were fixed by military officers, carts were
commandeered. A public platform for whippings was
erected near the fort, and a number of triangles for
floggings were erected in various part*? of the city.
Let us now give/ some figures of the cases dealt with
by the Tribunal at Amritsar. On major charges 298
people were put before the Martial Law Commissioners,
who tried cases unfettered by the ordinary recognised
rules of procedure or laws of evidence. Of these, 218 were
convicted, 51 were sentenced to death, 46 to transportation
for life, 2 to imprisonment for ten years, 79 for seven
years, 10 for five years, 13 for three years and 11 for
lesser periods. This does not take account of the cases
dealt with summarily by military officers, numbering 60
persons, of whom 50 were convicted, and 105 persons
convicted under Martial Law by Civil Magistrates.
NON-VIOLENCE, A BEAUTY (1919) 281
In answer to a question by Justice Rankin, a Member
of the Hunter Committee who asked, "Excuge me putting
it in this way, General, but was it not a form of
frightfulness?", General Dyer replied :
"No, it was not. It was a horrible duty I had to
perform. I think it was a merciful thing. I thought
that I should shoot well and shoot strong, so that I
or anybody else, should not have to shoot again. I
think it is quite possible I could have dispersed the
crowd without firing, but they would have come back
again and laughed, and I should have made what I
consider to be a fool of myself."
And General Dyer's action was immediately approved
by Sir Michael O'Dwyer in a .telegram sent to him with
Sir Michael's approval: "Your action correct. Lieutenant
Governor approves"
All these facts are admissions made by General Dyer
before the Hunter Commission in the early part of 1920.
The full facts however were quite unknown for a year
after the event, even the bare news being unknown at the
time, and for months together later. The censoring of
news was so strict and the ingress and egress of people
to and from the Punjab was so rigidly regulated, that the
All-India Congress Committee learnt, in any detail, the
news of the Ainritsar tragedy only when it was broken to
it in July 1919 in Calcutta (at one of its meetings held
at the Law Association chamber), not only with bated
breath and in whispering tones but with the charge that
it should be kept strictly confidential. The tragedy of the
Punjab was not confined to Amritsar. Lahore, Gujaranwala,
Kasur and other places shared the scenes of confusion
and carnage and the gruesome details of the events and
the atrocities, the barbarities and inhuman acts perpetrated
by Col. Johnson, Bosworth-Smitfa, Col. O'Brien and other
officers, both Civil and Military, are really blood-curdling.
HISftttr OF
^According to the official Report contained in the White
Paper issued to Parliament, the administration of Martial
Law was 'more intensive' in Lahore than elsewhere.1 The
Curfew order, of course, was immediately put in force and
people out after 8 p.m. were liable to be shot, flogged,
fined, or imprisoned or otherwise punished. Those whose
shops were closed were ordered to open them; the
alternatives were either being shot or have the shops
publicly opened and their contents distributed free to the
public.
"Lawyers7 agents and touts" were ordered to be
registered and forbidden to leave the city without permit.
Occupiers of premises on whose walls Martial Law notices
were posted were ordered to protect them and were liable
to punishment if in any way they were defaced or torn,
although they could not stay out at night to watch them.
More than two persons abreast were not allowed on the
side-walks. Students of colleges were ordered to report
themselves four times a day to the military authorities at
varying places of assembly. Langars or public food
kitchens, which had been opened by philanthropic persons
for the feeding of those who could not purchase food Were
ordered to be closed; motor cars and motor bicycles
belonging to Indians were ordered to be delivered up to
the military authorities and were handed over to officials
for their use. Electric punkas and other eleetric fittings
belonging to Indians were commandeered and stripped
from the houses for the use of British soldiers. Public
conveyances were ordered to report themselves daily at
places a considerable distance from the city. There was
one case of an elderly man who was caught tending his
outside his shop door in a side lane after 8 p.ffl. He
1 This and the succeeding accounts are taken from Amritsar, by
B. G. Horniman.
NOW-V10LBN€1J, A BB*LI*g (1919)
was sensed and flogged for the breach of the
order. Drivers of tongas (hackney carriage*) had
participated in the hartal. To teach them a tottM, 909
tongas were commandeered. Of those who were permitted
to ply for hire, orders to report themselves &t eertam
times at places distant from the busy parts of the city, and
their detention at the pleasure of the military officials
concerned, effectually destroyed their chances of a day's*
earnings. Colonel Johnson admitted that many of his
orders were directed against the educated and professional
classes, lawyers etc. He considered they were thd glasses
from which the political agitators were drawn. Profes-
sional men and other residents on whose premises Martial
Law orders were posted had to set servants to watch them
lest < they should be torn or defaced, perhaps by a police
agent: one such case was detected. When they applied for
permits for such guardians of the placards to be out after
8 -p.m., they were told they could have passes for this
purpose for themselves but not for their servants. Students,
boys of 16 to 20, were the objects of special attention.
The students of several colleges in Lahore, which is a large
University town, were ordered to report themselves four
times daily at a place, in one case four miles distant from
their college. In the burning sun of Lahore in April, the
hottest time of the year, when the temperature is often
over 108 in the shade, these youths had to walk 19 mitas
daily. Some of them fainted by the wayside. Colonel
Johnson thought it did them good, it kept them out of
mischief. A Martial Law notice was torn from one of the
walls on one college. The whole professional staff,
including the Principal, were arrested, and marched tinder
military escort to the fort, where they were kept in
military custody for three days. They were given "a
corner in the fort" for their accommodation and altowed
to sleep on the roof. The closing of the langar$ or public
kitchens which had been opened by philanthropic pernm*
THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
was explained by Colonel Johnson on the ground that they
were used for seditious propaganda. Under cross-
examination he could produce no justification for this
assertion. He had no evidence and he could not say who
gave him the information.
The headman (a person of high status in the village)
was tied to a tree and publicly flogged for his own ptuiish-
ment and the edification of the village. There was
apparently no court or pretence of judicial procedure,
summary or otherwise. There was only summary flogging.
Colonel Johnson, however, was quite pleased with
what he did in this respect, and the Europeans of Lahore
entertained him at a farewell dinner and lauded him as
the "protector of the poor" — the poor people who suffered
a six weeks' agony under his rule. Colonel O'Brien who
administered Martial Law in Gujaranwala, Captain
^Doveton who had charge of Kasur, and Mr. Bosworth
Smith, a Civilian officer who was in command at
Sheikhupura, particularly distinguished themselves.
Regarding the bombing at Gujaranwala, the public are
asked to believe that this promiscuous dropping of bombs
and the firing of altogether 255 rounds of a machine-gun,
apparently at close quarters, into crowds of people,
resulted in the killing of nine and wounding of only about
sixteen people.
Colonel O'Brien in his evidence before the Committee
said the crowd was fired on "wherever found," This was
referring to the aeroplanes* Once it was 'found' by an
aeroplane in charge of Lieut. Dodkins R.A.F. in the form
of twenty peasants in a field. Lieut. Dodkins said he
machine-gunned them till they fled. He saw another
party in front of a house being addressed by a man, so
NON-VIOLENCE, A BEAUTY (1919) 285
he dropped a bomlb on them because he "had no doubt in
his mind that they were not a marriage or funeral party."
Major Carbey R.A.F. was the gentleman who bombed a
party of people because he thought they were rioters going
or coming from the city. Major Carbey's state of mind
may be gathered from some further extracts from the
report of his evidence.
"The crowd was running away and he fired to
disperse them. As the crowd dispersed, he fired the
machine gun into the village itself. He supposed
some shots hit the houses. He could make
no discrimination between the innocent and the guilty.
He was at a height of 200 feet and could see perfectly
what he was doing. His object was not accomplished
by the dropping of bombs alone."
"The firing was not intended to do damage alone.
It was in the interests of the villagers themselves.
By killing a few/ he thought he would prevent the
people from collecting again. This had a moral
effect."
"After that he went over the city, dropping bombs,
and fired at the people who were trying to get away."
Gujaranwala, Kasur, and Sheikupura, like Amritear
and Lahore, had their Curfew order, prohibition of
travelling for Indians, floggings, public and private,
wholesale arrests and punishments by Summary Courts
and Special Tribunals.
Colonel O'Brien was responsible for an order that
when Indians met British officers they must salute, alight
from their carriages, or dismount if they were riding or
driving, and lower their umbrellas if they were carrying
any. This order, Colonel O'Brien told the Committee,
"was good by way of bringing home to the people that
they had new masters." People were whipped, fined, and
otherwise punished for disobedience of this monstrous
THE HlBTOfcY OF THE C0NGHES6
order. He was responsible for the arrest of nuztibtin* df
(feopte, who were kept in gaol for ad long as six wBeka
Without being brought to trial. In one case a number o#
leading citizens were summarily arrested, put in a goodfl
tfruck, where they were huddled together after being,
marched several miles in the burning sun, some of them1
hall-clad, and sent by train to Lahore. They weW
refused permission to answer the calls of nature, and
were kept in the truck in these conditions for about
forty-four hours. Their horrible plight hardly needs
description. As they were marched through the streets,
an ever-growing crowd of prisoners, — for Colonel O'Brien
went on making arrests •indiscriminately as he proceeded,
— they were handcuffed and chained together. Hindus
anct Muslims were chained together. This was
regarded by the populace as a jibe at Hindu-Muslim
unity. Colonel O'Brien said it was accidental. As an
example of the spirit of the whole proceeding, it may be
mentioned that one of the victims, an elderly citizen, was-
a noted benefactor of the town, who gave a lakh of
rupees (£10,000) to found the King George School in
commemoration of the King's visit, and had contributed,
largely to War Relief Funds and War Loans.
Another example of Colonel O'Brien's methods is the
arrest of an elderly farmer, as a hostage for his two sons,,
whom he was unable to produce. Colonel O'Brien ordered
this man's property to be confiscated, and issued a
warning that anybody attempting to help him with his*
crops Would be shot. He admitted the man bad
oortmHted no offence' himself, but "he did not say where
his sons were."
Time are only . incidents in Colonel O'Brien'^
lengthy. record; Two hundred persons were convicted kyv
Summary Courts, and received sentences of whipping, OP
, A BEAUTY (1919)
one month up to two years' impriwmatoBt. The
Commission convicted 149 people, of whom 22 were
&e&te&eed' to death, 108 to transportation for life, *ad
others to sentences varying from ten years dowmtardfL
Colonel O'Brien's final achievement was to rugh & largfe
batch of cases through in about twenty-four hours, ivbeft
he heard that Martial Law was to terminate the neifc
day. The people concerned were given little opportunity
of defending themselves, and cases fixed for some days
ahead were rushed into the Court post-haste, so axridettf
was Colonel O'Brien that none should Escape his justice
by reason of the lapse of Martial Law.
Captain Doveton was in a sort of independent
command in the Kasur sub-division, the headquarters of
which is the fairly large town of Kasur. At this place a
public gallows was erected for hangings, though
apparently it was never used, and was taken down by
order of the superior authorities. It was there,
however, for some days to the terror of the inhabitants.
A large public cage was also erected near the railway
station, designed to accommodate 150 persons, and here
suspects were incarcerated before the public gaze. The
whole male population of the town was paraded for
identification.
Floggings took place in public, and photographic
records of these disgusting incidents are in existence,
showing that the victims were stripped naked to the
knees, and tied to telegraph poles or triangles. Publicity
was not casual, or accidental, but designed. A sort of
levee of the 'bad characters' of the town was held for
the purpose by Captain Doveton's order, and on at least
one occasion prostitutes were brought to witness the
floggings. Just as Colonel Johnson had his 'one
regrettable incident,' when a wedding . party was flogged,
2|i THE HI8TOBY OF THE CONGRESS
this flogging ia the presence of prostitutes was the one
thing which seemed to excite Captain Doveton's shame
when he was taxed with it, while giving evidence before
the Hunter Committee. His explanation was that Jie
had ordered the Bub-Inspector of Police to round up the
bad characters, and bring them to witness the floggings,
but was 'horrified1 when he saw these women there. But
he could not send them away, because he was unable to find
an escort for them. So they remained to witness the
Captain Doveton was a prolific inventor of 'minor
punishments.' His sole object ir inventing minor punish-
ments, he, told the Committee, was to make things, "as
mild as circumstances would permit." Offenders against
Martial Law were set to work at loading and unloading
goods waggons in the station yard. He instituted a system
of making people touch the ground with their foreheads,
sort of variation of Colonel DyerV crawling order.
Mr. Bosworth-Smith was a civilian officer who
administered Martial Law in the sub-division of
Sheikupura. He admitted that Martial Law was not
^essential/ but he thought it was 'desirable' and keeping
it on was 'a good thing.' He tried all the cases in his
area, and, as elsewhere, sentences of flogging were
inflicted, which were carried out at the rising of the Court.
He tried 477 persons between May 6 and May 20.
An of3er was issued by the military authorities,
compelling schoolboys to parade three times a day to
Balute the flag. The order applied to the infant classes
and children of five and six years of age were included.
It is actually alleged that there were fatal cases of sun-
stroke resulting from this, and it is admitted that
children fainted from undue exposure to the sun. It is
NON-VIOLENCE, A REALITY (1919) 289
alleged too, that in some instances the boys were made
to repeat: "7 have committed no offence. I will not
commit any offence. I \repent, I repent, I repent."
"Major Smith, Administrator of Martial Law in
Gujaranwala, Gujrat, and Lyallpur, was asked by
Sir Chimanlai Setalvad whether the order was enforced in all
places in his area and whether it applied to all classes,
including infant-classes. The Major replied that it applied
to all places in his area where there were troops, and that
even infant-class boys of the ages of five and six were
required to attend the parade, but the little boys were
exempted from the evening parade.
Colonel O'Brien, in his evidence, said that "one day
when he was at Wazirabad, he saw a boy fainting during
his march to the flag, and wrote to the military
authorities." He did not know if the next day this duty
was increased from two to three times. Questioned, if it
was so done, would it not be hard on the boys, Colonel
O'Brien said, 'No.'
The idea of repentance, however, was greatly to the
fore in the mind of Mr. Bosworth-Smith. He admitted
that he had suggested the erection of a 'House of
Repentance' at Sangla. "His idea was good," he said,
but he denied that it was his object to build this house
at a cost of Rs. 10,000.
For a detailed account, however, th^ reader is referred
to the Congress Committee's evidence and reports on the
subject. The former contains nearly 1,500 affidavits given
by sufferers.
Gandhi was doubtless greatly shocked by the
unexpected turn events had taken and admitted that he
TJIE HI8TOHY OF THE CONQftRSS
had made "a blunder of Himalayan dimensions which
enabled ill-disposed persons, not true passive resister& at
all, to perpetrate disorders," and while declaring his
readiness to assist in every possible way to restore normal
conditions, he announced the suspension of Passive
Resistance. Now was the turn of Government to restore
order. Lord Chelmsford published a Resolution dated 14th
April 1919, in which Government's intention was
announced in the plainest terms to employ all available
forces to put a speedy end to disaster. Meanwhile the
outbreak of the 3rd Afghan War complicated the situation
in the Punjab, and the mobilization of troops took place
on the 4th May and Martial Law dragged on its bloody
length until the llth June, except as regards Railway land
in which it was continued for long afterwards. The
undue prolongation of Martial Law led to Sir Sankaran
Nair resigning his membership of the Executive Council
of the Viceroy on the 19th July as a protest. All this
time tfie Punjab was isolated by a rigorous censorship of
news and control of traffic. The Rev. C. F. Andrews was
prohibited from setting foot in the Punjab, kept in
remand for a day and then deported and arrested" at
Amritsar early in May, and Mr. Eardley Norton,
Banister-at-Law, was prohibited from entering the
Punjab to which he wanted to go in order to take up tbe
cause of the prisoners. There was a universal cry for an
enquiry into the Punjab wrongs and for the mitigation of
the barbarous sentences meted out by Martial Law
tribunals. Lala Harikishen Lai, a distinguished
Congressman and financier, was sentenced to transporta-
tion for life and forfeiture of property (worth 40 lakhs) . It
was in September 1919 that the Viceroy, to anticipate
later events, announced the appointment of the Hunter
Committee to enquire into the Punjab disorders, but
forthwith followed it up on the 18th September by the
Indemnity Bill which usually comes in tfee wake 0f
A BEAUTY (1919) 3*1
Partial Law. Pandit Madan Mohan MM*v»ya
vigorously pleaded for ite postponement in a 4% fours'
speech, but the defence was that the Bill only indemnified
from legal, as apart from departmental penalties, actions
.taken "in good faith and in a reasonable belief that they
were necessary for maintaining or restoring order", while
it left the ordinary courts to judge, according to the usual
legal standards, whether these conditions were fulfilled.
Sir Dinshaw Wacha ''declared himself convinced that
Government was justified in the attitude it had assumed
towards the Indemnity Bill." Mrs. Besant who had all
.along been fighting Gandhi said that the Rowlatt Bill
contained nothing which an honest citizen should object
•to and wrote on April 18th that "when the mob begins to
pelt them (soldiers) with brick-bats, it is m,ore merciful
to order the spldiers to fire a few volleys of buckshot."
This gave rise to the expression, "Bullets for Brick-bats"
•which since became associated with her name, and
Mrs. Besant was virtually at the nadir of her popularity
since that time. A definite cleavage of parties, the germs
of which were already noticeable at Delhi, came thus into
existence since April 1919.
The All-India Congress Committee met on the 20th
and 21st April and protested against the Externment
orders passed on Gandhi by the Punjab and Delhi Govern-
ments and urged an enquiry into the Punjab wrongs. A
Deputation cowjposed of Mr. Vittalbhai Patel and
Mr. N. C. Kelkar was , appointed, to sail at once to
.Eogland, in view of the seriousness of the political
situation. They actually did 86 on the 29th April 1919.
On the 8th June a second meeting of the A.I.C.C. took
place at Allahabad which was occasioned by an Ordinance
•of the Goy$rnor-Geo<eral 'dated 21st April, delegating
to tbe Bp0i*b iGovflnimeilt, whereby • any
2$2 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
committed on or after the 30th March could be
transferred for trial to Martial Law Tribunals.
Obviously this date was fixed because hartals began that,
day. Prisoners were not allowed to choose their own
counsel. Mr. C. F. Andrews who had been pressed by ail
the leading Editors in India, including Mrs. Besant and
Babu Surendra Nath Banerjea, to make an independent
Enquiry into the Punjab affair was arrested, as we have
already related, when he tried to visit the Punjab, and
Martial Law was continued. These and other matters
were considered at the meeting of the 8th June, and it
was suggested that the scope of the enquiry by the
Committee to be appointed should include Sir Michael
O'Dwyer's regime in the Punjab, with special reference
to the method of recruitment for the Indian Army and the
Labour Corps during the War, the raising of the War
Loan, and the administration of Martial Law.
Mr. B. G. Horniman had been deported for his strong;
condemnation of Government's policy in the Punjab in
the columns of The Bombay Chronick, and the A.I.G.C
urged the cancellation of the orders against his return to
India.
Incidentally, it may be noted that with the exit of
Mr. Horniman, people felt the want of an organ and
found it in Young India.
Young India had been originally started by Jarnnadat
Dwaraka Das during the Home Rule days, and later came
into the hands of a Syndicate of whom Mr. Shankerlal
Banker was a member. When Mr. B. G. Hornimam was
deported and The .Bombay Chronicle was put under
censorship, Gandhi took over charge of Young India.
To resume the story. A Committee was appointed
to arrange for the conduct of an enquiry into the Punjab
NON-VIOLENCE, A BEAUTY (1919) 293
occurrences, to take all necessary legal* proceetjings in India
or England in relation thereto and to collect funds for
the purpose. Into this Committee were co-opted later, on
October 16th, Gandhi, Andrews, Shraddhananda Swami
and others. In the beginning of November Mr. Andrews
was suddenly called upon to go to South Africa at a
critical moment. He left all the evidence he had collected
with the Congress Committee. It was resolved to secure
the services of Messrs. Neville and Captain, solicitors of
London and Bombay respectively, to assist in the work
of the Sub-Committee. A cable was sent by the Hon'ble
Pandit Malaviya on behalf of the A.I.C.C. to the Premier,
the Secretary of State and Lord Sinha, asking for the
suspension of the "execution of all sentences passed under
Martial Law, pending proposed enquiry." By this time
Sir Satyendra Prasanna Sinha had become a member of
the Privy Council, a K. C., and a Baron, as the result of
which he took the name of Lord Sinha of Raipur. He was
also appointed Under-Secretary of State for India, and
later on, it was he that piloted the Government of India
Bill through the House of Lords. The A.I.C.C. next met
in Calcutta on July 19th and 20th, primarily to consider
the question of the venue of the Congress, but it was
resolved that the Congress should be held at Amritsar.
The demand' for a committee of enquiry directly by His
Majesty's Government was reiterated, and legal authority
was sought for it to revise, annul or suspend Martial
Law sentences. It was on July 19th, it will be remembered,
that Sir Sankaran Nair resigned his membership of the
Governor-General's Executive Council as a protest against
the continuance of Martial Law, and the A.I.C.C. recorded
its grateful appreciation of his resignation and requested
him to proceed to England to lay the case of the Punjab
for speedy redress of its grievances. A sum of Rs. 10,000
collected for the Punjab Committee. On the 21st July
THX HISTOBY OF THE CONGBB86
the A.P.L published the following statement by Gandhi
dropping Civil Resistance for the time being : —
Bombay, July 21. "In the course of a letter to
the Press Mr. M. K. Gandhi writes: The Govern-
ment of India had given me, through His Excellency
the Governor of Bombay, a grave warning that the
resumption of civil disobedience is likely to be
attended with serious consequences to public security.
This warning has been reinforced by His Excellency
the Governor himself at the interviews to which I was
summoned. In response to these warnings and to the
urgent desire publicly expressed by Dewan Bahadur
E. A. Govinda Raghava Aiyar, Sir Narayan
Chandavarkar and several Editors, I have, after deep
consideration, decided not to resume civil resistance
for the time being. I may add that several prominent
friends belonging to what is called the Extremist
Party have given me the same advice on the sole
ground of their fear of a recrudescence of violence on
the part of those who might not have understood the
doctrine of civil resistance. When, in common with
most other Satyagrahis, I came to the conclusion that
the time was ripe for the resumption of civil resistance
as part of Satyagraha, I sent a respectful letter to
H. E. the Viceroy, advising him of my intention bo
to do and urging that the Rowlatt Legislation should
be withdrawn, that an early declaration be made as to
the appointment of a strong and impartial Committee
to investigate the Punjab disturbances, with power to
revise the sentences passed, and that Babu Kalinath
Boy, who was, as could be proved from the record of
the case, unjustly convicted, should be released. The
Government of India deserve thanks for the decision
in Mr. Roy's Case, (Mr. Roy was the Editor of The
Tribune). Though it does not do full justice to
Mr. Roy, the very material reduction in the sentence
• is a substantial measure of justice. I have been
assured that the committee of enquiry, such as I have
urged for, is in the process of being appointed. With
these indications of good will, it would be unwise on
part not to listen to the warning given by the*
NON-VIOLENCE, A BBALITY (19H»
Government. Indeed, my acceptance of the Govern-
ment's advice is a further demonstration of the
nature of civil resistance. A civil resister never seeks
to embarrass the Government. I feel that I shall
better serve the country and the Government and
those Punjabi leaders who, in my opinion, have been
so unjustly convicted and so cruelly sentenced, by
the suspension of civil resistance for the time being.
I have been accused of throwing a lighted match. If
my occasional resistance be a lighted match, the
Rowlatt Legislation and the persistence in retaining
it on the Statute Book is a thousand matches
scattered throughout India. The only way to avoid
civil resistance altogether is to withdraw that
legislation. Nothing that the Government have pub-
lished in justification of that Bill has moved the
Indian Public to change their attitude of opposition
to it.' In conclusion, Mr. Gandhi advised his fellow
Satyagrahis to seek the co-operation of all in the
propagation of pure Swadeshi and the promotion of
the Hindu-Muslim unity."
The Joint Parliamentary Committee under the
Chairmanship of Lord Selbome was at this time sitting in
England and we may take up the question of the several
Deputations that went to England, though we are
primarily concerned with the Congress Deputation, which
was ably represented by Mr. Vittalbhai J. Patel and
Mr. V. P. Madhava Rao. These, along with
Messrs. Lokamanya Tilak, B. C. Pal, G. S. Khapaide,
Dr. P. J. Mehta, A. Rangaswaini lyengar, N. C. Kelkar,
Syed Hasan Imam, Dr. Sathaye, Mr. B. G. Horniman and
Mr. P. Chenchia formed a Congress Delegation to lay
India's claims before the British public. Mr. V. P. Madhava
Rao, ex-Dewan of Mysore, by the dignity of his bearing,
his independence and straightforwardness raised the
Congress in public estimation and earned the encomiums
of Mr. Ben Spoor, M. P., who on behalf of the LaUnjr
THE HISTORY OF THE O0XG10D8&
Party was looking after Congress interests in England and
who was the Secretary of the British Congress Committee
at the time. Other deputations that went to England
were the Moderate Deputation, the Justice Party and the
two Home Rule Deputations, the minority and the majority
ones, for, by this time the All-India Home Rule League
became split into two, composed of those who swore by the
Delhi Resolution of the Congress and those who still
harked back to the Bombay (Special) Congress.
Mr. C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar represented the minority
wing, while Mrs. Besant carved out a new organization
called the National Home Rule League and! represented
it. It may be noted that the Maharashtra Home Rule
League Deputation was turned back from Colombo and
not permitted to proceed to England, though the
Lokamanya had to be given passports shortly after in
connection with his case against Sir Valentine Chirol. The
British Committee of the Indian National Congress did
not at this time see eye to eye with the protagonists of
the Delhi Congress and inclined more favourably to the
Bombay compromise. There was a veritable tug of war
between Mr. Vittalbhai J. Patel and the Committee and
a sharp exchange of letters in which "he who paid the
piper claimed, and ultimately got, the right to call the
tune," and the British Committee had to yield. At first
the Committee took the view that each of the five Delega-
tions then in England should send a representative and
that they all should meet and define their course of
conduct at an ordinary meeting of the Committee, which
they were asked to attend as visitors. This provoked a
sharp reply from Vittalbhai wk> expressed his surprise
that the Committee should have recognised other Deputa-
tions than the Congress one, and who, point-blank, asked
those members of the Committee wbo were art prepared
NON-VIOLBNCB, A BBAUTY (1019)
to carry out the mandate of the Congress fa flevw their
connection with the Committee. The Committee was abo
called upon to draw up a written Constitution for itself
and present it to the Congress, which it did. Opportunity
was taken of the presence of Indian delegates to organise
meetings of propaganda in various counties in England
find a farewell dinner was given by the Labour Party at
the House of Commons and a message was sent to the
Indian National Congress. The Independent Labour
Party at its Glasgow Conference passed a Resolution
supporting self-determination for India along with Ireland
and Egypt. Likewise did the National Peace Council paa0
a Resolution at its Annual Conference Mid the Labour
Party, at its Annual Conference at Scarborough, demand
that "the principle of democratic self-determination should
be applied to the reorganization of the Indian Government
with adequate protection to minorities." All the organisa-
tions condemned the Punjab atrocities equally vehemently.
Vittalbhai J. Patel and the Congress Deputation were
called upon in England to face a double fight. On the one
hand they had to settle up with the British Committee
of the Congress, and on the other with Mrs. Besant who
was indefatigable in her energies and in her opposition to
the Congress.
While the Deputations were in England, an acute and
unseemly controversy took place between the Congress
Deputation and Mrs. Besant which led to mutual recrimi-
nations and even accusations of uttering falsehood against
one another. Both the Congress Deputation and
Mrs. Besant, we have already explained, looked to the
Labour Party to have their views represented in the House
of Commons. Mrs. Besaxxt was for supporting the Montagu
Scheme with certain notifications. The Congress Deputa-
tion was for the Delhi Resolution with its emphasis on
Ml THB HISTQW 'OF THE CCWOBES8
self-determination and full Responsible Government.
Woman suffrage was intended by Mr. Mon,tagu to be left
to the decision of the Local Legislatures, but the Congress
Deputation wanted its acceptance to be incorporated in
the Act. Then there was the Albert Hall meeting held on
the 25th oT October, 1919, at which the open differences
between the two wings created an awkward position for
the Chairman, Mr. Lansbury. The meeting was held under
the auspices of the Home Rule League for India Branch
established by Mrs. Besant in London. However, the
Resolution, as eventually passed, was unobjectionable in
that, "this mass meeting of the British Commonwealth
which insists upon the right of self-government being
conferred on each of the nations within its boundaries,
hereby declares that the Indian people are entitled to
receive at the earliest opportunity the full right of self-
determination."
Mr. Lansbury was the Chairman-Elect and his
intervention brought about this form which replaced the
original draft intended to support Mr. Montagu's Bill as
a first step towards the fulfilment of the declaration made
in the House of Commons on August 20th, 1917.
Mrs. Besant, nevertheless, in her speech supported
Mr. Montagu's Bill in unmistakable terms and Vittalbhai
J. Patel had to contradict her. Finally, in connection
with these recriminations, Mr. G. S. Khaparde with his
pungent humour described Mrs. Besant as Putana to which
ehe seriously objected, but which description was in detail
Justifi«di'"jby Vittalbhai. At this distance of time, and
kfcotfing as we ela^rs. Besant's great services to the
Ration, we cannot -Kelt) saying {hat the description was
imlbrtunite .apd undeserved, in spite of Mrs. Besant's
"tlttconcealedran6pathy-to the Congress and its activities
fa '"1919. It; is to be feared that thete was
Worse whidR should account for this irrepressible
NON-VIOLENCE, A BEAUTY (1019) 209*
anxiety on Mrs. Besant's part to support Mr. Montagu in
spirit and in letter. Gandhi always treated her with
reverence- and was always in the habit of rising from hk
seat to receive her, such was the regarcf shown towards
her by Gandhi and the Congress, but she treated them;
contemptuously (refer to the events of 1930). Even at,
that, one should say that Mr. Khaparde's description of
her was not only in bad form, but in bad taste and worse
spirit. Let us take this opportunity to state this much.
THE PUNJAB ENQUIRY
Affairs in India now demand our attention. In
pursuance of the Resolution of the A.I.C.C., Swami
Shraddhananda, Pandit Motilal Nehru and Pandit
Malaviya went to the Punjab in the last week of June to
enquire into the happenings in the Punjab. Mr. Andrews
went there shortly after. Both the Pandits returned, then
Motilalji visited Punjab again later. Jawaharlal and
Purushotyam Das Tandon joined Mr. Andrews. Gandhi
joined the party on October 17th, as soon as the order
against him was withdrawn. The people of the Punjab
were filled with panic, but confidence came back when
Gandhi was present in their midst. His arrival was
nothing less than a triumph both at (Lahore and at
Amritsar. Meanwhile the official enquiry was announced.
Its terms of reference fell short of the Congress demand.
Nevertheless, it was considered advisable to co-operate
with the official Committee. Mr. C. R. Das arrived from
Calcutta presently and appeared on bet
before Lord Hunter's Commissij
difficulties faced the Congress But
obliged reluctantly to withdraw]
Disorders Enquiry Committee.
was set forth in a memoranc
wanted Mme of the Martial
MO THE HISTORY OF THB OONGKESS
brought under custody to attend and assist in the enquiry
but was refused permission. It therefore appealed against
the Punjab Government to the Government of India and
the Secretary ot State, but they declined to interfere. The
prisoners in the gaol endorsed the decision to withdraw.
Later experience only proved the wisdom, of the course
adopted. Amongst other things, there was this fact, that
the restricted terms of reference would not have allowed
the Hunter Commission to entertain matters which justly
came under the events of April 1919, but which were
unjustly excluded from the reference. Accordingly, the
Congress undertook a separate enquiry by a Committee
composed of Messrs. Gandhi, Motilal Nehru, Das, Fael-ul-
Haq and Abbas Tyabji with Mr. K. Santanam as
Secretary. But soon after, Pandit Motilal, having been
elected President of the Amritear Congress, resigned and
was relieved of his membership of the Committee,
Mr. Jayakar taking his place. Mr. Neville, the London
solicitor, who was in charge of the Privy Council appeals
was with the Committee. It was also resolved to acquire
the Jallianwala Bagh and raise a memorial, for which a
committee was appointed with Pandit Malaviya as
President. To anticipate matters, that Bagh has been
acquired for the Nation. The non-official Report,
however, could not be ready for the Amritsar Congress,
and at the time it was even contemplated that a special
session of the Congress might have to be held to consider
it when ready, in detail and at leisure, but this much the
Committee stated, namely, that "the admissions made
by General Dyer before the Hunter Commission establish-
ed beyond dispute that his action of the 13th April was
nothing but a cold-blooded, calculated, massacre of
innocent, unoffending, unarmed men and children,
uoparalfeled for its heartless and cowardly brutality in
modern times/1 Judged by the happenings of April and
in *tfae Fuftjab, we can readily understand th*
NON-VIOLENCE, A REALITY (1919) SQ1
rumour prevalent at the time that it was General Dyer's
intention at first to rase Amritsar to the ground as a
fitting punishment for the horrors of the 10th April
committed by the populace. Alogether, towards the latter
half of the year 1919, the situation in India, — what with
the appointment of the Hunter Committee with no
Congress representative thereon, and with a Reform Bill
which was but a poor performance of a vast promise, —
~was not merely gloomy but portentous. We extract below
in full a "Manifesto on the Situation in India unanimously
.adopted by the Delegates from the Indian National
Congress (to England) and the British Committee of the
Indian National Congress in the autumn of 1919," soon
after the appointment of the Hunter Commission and when
•the Reform Bill was before Parliament.
MANIFESTO ON THE SITUATION IN INDIA
"It is time that the British public had a clear
vision regarding India, where, through the folly of
the Government a cloud bigger than a man's hand
has already gathered, threatening to break into a
storm, the dimensions of which no one can foresee.
"In moving a Resolution conveying the thanks
•of Parliament to the Forces engaged in tibe Great
War, Mr. Lloyd George said, 'As to India, by her
remarkable contribution to our triumph, notably in
the East, she had won a new claim to our considera-
tion, a claim so irresistible that it ought to over-
power, and must overpower, all the prejudice and
timidity which might stand in the way of her
progress.' So far as 'a new claim' is concerned, the
'Government of India since the Armistice has requited
India's glorious services by legislative and adminis-
trative repression, depriving India of freedom of the
Press, freedom of speech, freedom of the person,
provoking public protest and riots, particularly in <tihe
Ptinjab, with Martial Law, deportation of leader*
beloved by the people, confiscation of property,
THE HISTORY Of THE OONQHB88
suppression of newspapers, execution, public flogging,
imprisonment of prominent and patriotic citizens on
fantastic charges, refusal of permission to choose
counsel for their defence before Military Tribunals,
shooting by machine-guns and bombing by military
planes of defenceless men and women, — a regime of
Wood and iron which, if practised by Germans, would
have filled Englishmen with horror and indignation,
"To make matters worse, a whitewashing
Commission of Enquiry has been appointed without
any representation from the Indian National Congress
and the Indian Muslim League, and an Indemnity
Bill passed by the Government of India which will
prevent those officials who may be found guilty from
being properly punished. Prussianism could no
further go."
If the British Committee of the Indian National
Congress was, as we have seen, so deeply impressed with
the seriousness of the situation in India, as to publish
the Manifesto herein extracted, imagine what should
have been the feeling in India. The feeling was
aggravated by the inadequacy of the Reform Bill which
embodied the Monjtford Scheme. Only the Grand
Committees were not there. But Dyarchy, nominated
membership of Legislatures, the Council of State, powers
of certification and veto, ordinance-making powers, — and
all those reactionary aspects of a constitution which the
country had protested against all (these years, but which
have been embodied in an aggravated form in the Act of
1936 — these were (the malformations and monsters that
•the Amritsar Congress was called upon to fight. It must
be evident to the reader that by this time the fissiparous
forces always operating in Indian politics and altogether
inevitable under a foreign rule, must have been vigorously
at work in India. They had manifested themselves in
the Home Rule League itself. At Amritsar they
appeared in their full strength. Lokaxnanya Tilak hpd
by this time returned from England where he lost his
NONrVIOLBNCB, A BEAUTY (19W) Mt
Case against Sir Valentine Chirol for defamation. The
opinions that he had expressed in England were that be
would take whatever was given and fight hard for the
rest. They did not appear so hostile to the Scheme as
those indicated by him as soon as he landed in India.
Here he was sure that the Reform Scheme was. quite
inadequate. Nevertheless, he wired his congratulations to
the King (or Cabinet) on the passing of the Reform Bill
on behalf of the Indian people, while on his way to the
Amritsar Congress, from a Railway Station (Gangapur)
and offered 'Responsive Co-operation' in the matter of
working the Reforms. The phrase was coined by
Mr. Baptista and the telegram was drafted by
Mr. Kelkar. This was quite unexpected in Congress
circles and the Amritsar Congress became the scene of a
battle royal between the contending parties.
At Amritsar, Mr. C. R. Das was greatly in evidence
before the Congress. He had shot up into prominence
easily even in 1917 when he had espoused the cause of
Mrs. Besant for the Presidentship of the Calcutta Session.
At the Delhi Congress (1918), he took a leading part in
demolishing the compromise of fthe Bombay Special
Session (1918). At Amritsar, naturally, it was a
measuring of strength between <the rapidly vanishing Old
Guard of orators, whose ranks were by this time
reinforced by Mrs. Besant's accession to «them, and the
new Nationalists who were irrepressible. Das came to
the Congress with his resolutions ready and adopted the
strategy of moving his, before the official ones were even
put forward. The Resolution on Reforms placed before
the Amritsar Session was Mr. Das's draft as approved of
by the Subjects Committee. This "Resolution underwent
a serious change hi the open session by the incorporation
of a paragraph at the end stating that "pending th*
introduction of Responsible Government, the people would
HI8TQIBY OF vttBr* QOKQUBB
so work the Reforms as to secure it* early establish-
ment."
The implication here was that the co-operation
offered would be responsive, in the measure in which
Government would co-operate with the people. It will
be remembered that the famous Announcement of August
20th, 1917, by Mr. Montagu embodies a reference to this
bilateral co-operation. Mr. Das omitted all reference to
it. Gandhi suggested an elaborate reference in a
separate paragraph.
The Amritsar Congress (1919) was a triumph for
national self-respect. At that Congress, the Indian
politicians were keenly divided in views. Pandit Madan
Mohan Malaviya and Gandhi wanted to work the
Reforms on the basis of offering co-operation in the
measure in which Government co-operated with the
people. Mr. C. R. Das was for rejecting the scheme. He
moved the main Resolution of the day which ran as
follows: —
"1. That this Congress reiterates its declaration
of last year that India is fit for full Responsible
Government and repudiates all assumptions and
assertions to the contrary.
"2. That this Congress adheres to the
Resolution passed at the Delhi Congress regarding
Constitutional Reforms and is of opinion that the
Reforms Act is inadequate, unsatisfactory and dis-
appointing.
"3. That this Congress faujther urges that
Parliament should take early steps to establish full
Responsible Government in India in accordance with
the principle of Self-determination."
Gandhi moved an amendment omitting the word
'disappointing' and adding a fourth paragraph which
ran as follows: —
NOH-VJOLENCB, A BKALTTY (1919) 36S
"4. .Pending such introduction, this Congress
begs loyally to respond to the sentiments in the
Royal Proclamation, namely, 'Let the new era
begin with a common determination among my
people and my officers to work together for a
common purpose/ and trusts that both the authorities
and the people will co-operate so to work the
Reforms as to secure the early establishment of full
Responsible Government.
"And this Congress offers its warmest thanks to
the Rt. Hon. E. 8. Montagu for his labours in
connection with them."
Finally, a formula was evolved which was accepted
by the Congress. In the final form, the Resolution,
embodies the original Resolution moved by Mr. Das with
the replacement of Gandhi's extra paragraph by the
following: —
'Tending such introduction, this Congress trusts
that, so far as may be possible, the people will so
work the Reforms as to secure an early establishment
of full Responsible Government, and this Congress
offers its thanks to the Rt. Hon. E. S. Montagu for
his labours in connection with the Reforms."
Mrs. Besant's alternative proposition was lost and.
Mr. Das's, as finally agreed to, was passed.
The compromise effected was however not an
indubious one, although it must be said that Mr. Das's
speech made it clear that he reserved for the Nation the
right of pursuing a policy of obstruction if necessary and
co-operation if possible. The Resolution was a triumph
neither for Das nor for Gandhi exclusively. It was a.
triumph for both, the addition of the rider for Gandhi,
and its amended form for Das. By that time it was-
clear that the stalwarts of the Indian Congress could not
always see eye to eye. That was only to be expected...
196 THE. HISTORY OrV^H^ CXJfTOHHSS
But the irony of the position was that while Das was
inclined to obstruction and rejection— shall we say! Non-
co-operation? — Gandhi was there as the apostle of
co-operation- Yes, that he was. Whatever the verdict
of posterity be upon the Resolution on Reforms at
Amritsar, there is no manner of doubt whatever that the
whole Congress was a triumph for Gandhi. He had
already impressed the Congress with his personalty, his
point of view, his principles and philosophy, his code of
ethics, his cult of Truth and Non-violence. We shall
presently see how. The Amritsar Congress passed 50
resolutions which embrace a wide variety of topics,
ranging from a demand for the recall of Lord Chelmsford
to the call for an investigation of the Land Revenue
system, Labour conditions, and the woes of third-class
passengers. The Congress itself was attended by 36,000
people, of whom over 6,000 were ordinary delegates and
there were besides these some 1,200 Tenant delegates.
The rest were visitors. The atmosphere of the Congress
was charged with electricity. Punjab and its atrocities
naturally claimed the greatest attention. Gandhi was
anxious that the mob violence in the Punjab and Gujarat
should be condemned. The Subjects Committee threw out
the Resolution. Gandhi was disappointed. It was late at
night. He firmly, but politely and respectfully, expressed
his inability to be in the Congress if the Congress could
not see its way to accepting his view-point. The next
morning, amidst the winnings and whimperings
of the bulk of delegates, Resolution V was
approved which, "while fully recognizing the grave
provocation that led to a sudden outburst of mob frenzy,
expressed the deep regret of the Congress at, and its
condemnation of, the excesses committed in certain parts
of the Punjab and Gujarat resulting in the loss of lives
and injury to person and property during the month of
April last/1 Gandhi's speech on the subject was superb.
A BEAUTY (1919) 807
It encompassed within a short range his. whole plan
of campaign and his future policy.
"There is no greater Resolution before this
Congress than this one. The whole key to success in
the future lies in your hearty recognition of the truth
underlying it, and acting up to it. To the extent we
fail in recognizing the Eternal Truth that underlies
it, to that extent we are bound to fail. I say if there
was no violence on our part, — we have abundant proof
of it, and I can produce before you, chapter and
verse from Viramgam, from Ahmedabad and from
Bombay that there was violence on our part intended
and committed. I agree that there was grave
provocation given by the Government in arresting
Dr. Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal and in arresting me
who was bent on a mission of peace at the invitation
of Dr, Satyapal and Swamjji, — these troubles would
not have arisen. But the Government went mad at
the time; we went mad also at the time. I say, do
not return madness with madness, but return madness
with sanity and the whole situation will be yours."
Ringing, soul-stirring words these! Only, the wonder
is whether people understood their full significance then.
Really, this Resolution set the tone for the Congress.
Gandhi was not willing or ready to break with
Government yet. That was why a Resolution was passed
offering welcome to the Prince of Wales, thus repairing
the omission at Delhi. That was why the rider to the
Reforms Resolution offering co-operation was passed at
Amritsar, though it was greatly diluted by the
compromise. Of a piece with this avowal of Truth and
Non-violence, or allied to it, were the Resolutions on
(1) Swadeshi, "recommending a revival of the ancient
industry of hand-spinning and hand-weaving" (few people
would have noticed the expression 'handspinning9) , (2) on
the prohibition of export of milch cows and breeding
bullocks, (3) on the Liquor Policy of the Provinces, and
THE HISTOBY OT T«
(4) on the amelioration of the grievances of Third and
Intermediate class passengers. Not far removed from.
this batch comes the batch relating to gratitude to
Muslims for recommending the discontinuance of
cow-slaughter at Bakrid and the protest against the
hostile attitude of some of the British ministers towards
the Turkish and Khilaphat questions. The Amritear
Congress turned its attention to the lot of peasant*
after a number of years. The labourers also claimed its
attention equally. The Unani system as well as the
Ayurvedic system were commended to the attention of
Government. The British Committee was thanked for k&
services and so was the Labour Party in England in.
general, and Mr. Ben Spoor in particular. The Lokamanya
had just returned from England after befriending the
Labour Party to which he gave a donation of £3,000. The
Lokamanya was responsible, very likely, for the assertions
that a permanent mission be established in England and
elsewhere for Congress propaganda. Lala La j pat Rai wa&
thanked for his services to the country, in America, and
the Congress Deputation for their services in England.
'Indians overseas' were not to be missed, the settlers in
the Transvaal were still being deprived of their rights of
property and trade till then enjoyed by them. Indian
agitation raised its head in East Africa. Mr. Andrcws'&
sendees to Indians abroad were not less entitled to the
thanks of the country, than his services in the Punjab.
The Congress, for the first time and publicly, explained
why it was forced to boycott the Hunter Commission.
The Lieutenant-Governor had "refused permission even
to a few of the Punjab leaders undergoing imprisonment
to attend and sit in the Committee Rooms even as
prisoners under custody, to assist and instruct counsel in
the same manner as the Government Counsel was
instructed by the Commission." The Congress accordingly
endorsed the boycott as *a fitting and dignified action
NON-VIOLENCE, A REALITY (1919) 3*9
and called upon the Sub-Comnutftee to make an
independent Report. The Congress congratulated Sir
Sankaran Nair on his resignation and demanded the
recall of Lord Chelmsford, ithe removal of General Dyer
from his command, and of Sir Michael O'Dwyer from his
membership of the Army Committee. There is a story
relating to the Resolution of ft he recall of Lord Chelmsford
which may be told here. He was hoping that if the
Congress should ttable a Resolution asking for his recall,
it would be opposed by sonje leading Moderate
Congressman such as Mr. Sastri. But on the second day
of the Congress, both Mr. Sasitri and Mr. C. P.
Ramaswami Aiyar left for Calcutta where the first
sitrtang of the Liberal Federation was to be held. So
Mr. Sastri was not there at the Congress when the
Resolution came up, and Mr. B. N. Sarma jumped into
-the gap. He was too forward for the Liberals and so
would not go to Calcutta. But he was too backward
for the Nationalists and so would not endorse the recall
of the Viceroy, and amidst a hostile demonstration
managed to oppose the motion before the House. He
only performed what he considered to be a dulfcy. It was
but recently that he had tendered his resignation of
membership of the Supreme Legislative Council as a protest
against the introduction into it of the second Rowlatt
Bill, but forthwith withdrew it that very evening after
attending a Viceregal party. At Amritear he opposed the
recall Resolution. Altogether he did notable service to
Lord Chelmsford who rewarded him handsomely by
appointing him to the Executive Council six montha later
in June 19201. Dealing with the question of the Punjab
wrongs, the Amritsar Congress asked for the cancellation
1 Lord Ohelmsf ord had at first recommended) the name of the
Maharaja of Burdwan to the vacancy, but Mr. Konta&u wanted
: of Legislative experience and mentioned the name of Mr.
20
' JIQ THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
of the indemnities levied upon the people in certain
•places for injuries done to person and property, as well
as -the punishments meted out to University and School
students under the Martial Law. The Reforms Resolution
was reinforced by another on Fundamental Rights whicli
was pressed for by jthc Grand Old Man,
Mr.C. Vijiaraghavachariar at 10 o'clock in the night. Then
the Congress pleaded for the repeal of the Press Act and
the Rowlatt Act and the release of various prisoners who
were still in jails despite the Royal Proclamation.
Mr. Horniman's deportation was the subject of a
protest and its cancellation was urged strongly . It was
also urged that the Reforms* should be extended to Burma
and that Delhi and Ajmer-Merwara should be made full
•blown Provinces. Audit and accounts, and recovery of
Funds from various people, formed the subjects of two
other resolutions and the session terminated. It put a
great strain upon its President — Pandit Motilal Nehru
•who lost his voice and was greatly tired by the strain of
the week. The sittings of the Subjects Committee ran
into the early hours of the morning, night after night, and
the unbearable cold of the Punjab proved too much for
many delegates and added to their difficulties.
Two incidents may be narrated here which are of
interest. The Royal Proclamation granting amnesty to
political prisoners, couched in the sweetest language
imaginable, reached Amritsar a day before the Congress
was held and with it came the All Brothers to the city
in the midst of a tumultuous enthusiasm of multitudes of
people. They had a grand procession and Mahomed All
appearing on the platform stated that he came from the
Chhindwara gaol 'with a return ticket/ an expression
which has become classical since. The other incident
relates to Mr. Reginald Neville, the London solicitor who
NON-VIOLENCE, A REALITY (1919)
had been in India for some time and who was in Amritsar
•during the Congress week. The room in his hotel was broken
into at dead of night on the 25th December, 1917, by
some 20 European soldiers from the garrison at Jullunder,
find he was insulted and asked how, being a white man,
ie dared to work against Dyer. One of them said "We
have shot "the whole seething mass of sweaty natives/'
and that he was one of those who formed Dyer's
contingent that did this. We learnt later that the
soldiers were made to apologize to Mr. Neville.
R. C. Dutt
1899 : Lucknow
N. G. Chandavarkar
1900: Lahore
D. E. Wacha
1901 : Calcutta
1*1 Mohan Ghose
1903 : Madras
Part III
SYNOPSIS
CHAPTER I
THE BIRTH OF NON-CO-OPERATION (1920)
The Khilaphat wrong— Gandhi's Manifesto,
views — Gandhi on Tilafc and N. C. O' — Gandhi's achieve-
ments— Abolition of Indentured Labour — Hunter Report
—A.LC'C. meets — Leaders and N.C.O. — Tilak passes
away — Muslim Hijrat — N.C.O. inaugurated — P.C.C.'s on
N.C.O.—The Calcutta Special Session — The Resolution
on N.C.O. — Government's reaction — Khaparde opposes
N.C.O. — Bengal's Resistance to N.C.O. — Das's Conversion
— Better support for Gandhi at Nagpur — Colonel Wedg-
wood's warning — Congressmen's replies to Colonel Wedg-
wood—Other resolutions — Change of Constitution.
CHAPTER II
NON-CO-OPERATION GALORE (1921)
A New Era — The Duke's . regret over the Punjab
Occurrences — Government of India's regret — People's
response to N.C.O., (1) Lawyers (2) Students — Provision
for Non-co-operators — The Bezwada Programme — Orders
of Restraint — Nankana Tragedy — The Budget — Gandhi-
Reading Conversations — Ali Brothers9 apology — The
success of the Bezwada Programme — Boycott of foreign
•cloth — Picketing — Non-violence under grave provocation
— Dharwar shooting — Moplah Rising — Karachi Khilaphat
Conference — Working Committees resolutions to be
repeated by Congress Committees— Boycott of the Prince
314 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
— Foreign policy — Arrest of the All Brothers — Gandhi
repeats ,the speech — Civil Disobedience sanctioned — •
Conditions prescribed — Chirala-Perala — Some details of
the Moplah rebellion — The Prince arrives — Bonfire of
foreign cloth — Consolidation of Volunteer Movement —
Peace Negotiations in December 1921 — Pandit Malaviya
sees Das in Prison — Das's terms — Gandhi's terms —
Negotiations fail — The Royal Message — President-elect of
Ahmedabad Congress in Jail — Hakim Ajmal Khan
officiates — Thirty thousand in jail under individual Civil
Disobedience — Mass Disobedience under contemplation —
Nation sheds /cor — Notable features of the Ahmedabad
Session — Rev. C. F. Andrews delivers message opposing
burning of foreign cloth — The Session — Das's Address read
by Sarojini Devi — The main resolution — A thesis on A7on~
co-opera tion — Th c resolution — Hasrat Moh a n i's amend*-
ment in favour of Complete Independence — Gandhi
opposes — Other resolutions — The Congress and the Ulemah.
CHAPTER III
GANDHI BOUND (1922)
The All-Parties' Conference, Bombay — Gandhi's
Speech — Suffering not enough — Sir Sankaran N air's walk-
out— Working Committee confirms the Resolution of the
Conference — No-tax campaign in Guntur — Mass Civil
Disobedience at BardoZi — Gandhi's letter to the Viceroy —
Chauri ('haura — Firing in Madras — The Uardoli with'
drawal— Reaction of A. L C. C.,— I. C. D. sanctioned—
Government's Reaction to Delhi decisions — Imprisoned
leaders on the withdrawal of C. D. — The Great Trial —
Sarojini Devi on the Trial — Gandhi and Banker plead
guilty — Gandhi takes full responsibility — The written
statementr-The Judgment-*-£fter Gandhi's conviction—
Re-adjustments — The Moplah Enquiry Committee—;
SYNOPSIS
Al.WC. meets at Lucknow—N.C.0. re-assessed— The Civil
Disobedience Committee — Personnel — Montagu's rewg-
nation— Sections 108 and 144 Cr. P. C.— Lloyd George's
'Steel Frame9 speech — The Borsad Satyagraha — The
Guruka Bagh affair — C. D. Committee's four— C. D.
Committee's recommenda lions — Hindu-Muslim distur-
bances— Two strings to the bow of N.C.O. — From the
firing line to the Chess Board — AJ.C.C.'s historic gathering
in Calcutta in Nov. 1922 — Question of Council-entry post-
poned to the Gaya Session — 18th Observed as Gandhi Day
—JawaharlaVs Conviction,— The Gaya Session — Challenge
to Gandhism — Das's speech — N.C.O. from inside the
Councils — The resolutions — AJ.C.C.'* resolution on C. D.
ratified — Das resigns and forms the Swaraj Party —
Volunteer organization.
CHAPTER IV
N. C. O. FROM WITHIN COUNCILS (1923)
Unexpected end of Khilaphat — The Gaya Programme
— AJ.C.C. meets in February — The Compromise—
Jawaharlal — C. D. not senously taken up — -4 National
Convention — The Deputation on tour — AJ.C.C. prohibits
propaganda against Council-entry — A Special Session of
the Congress resolved upon at Nagpur — The revolt of
Tamil-nadu — AJ.C.C. meets at Nagpur — Special Congress
idea opposed — Special meeting of AJ.C.C. called — Special
Congress Confirmed — To meet at Delhi — The Nagpur
Satyagraha — Indians Abroad — Special Session at Delhi —
Delhi Resolution permissive — Swaraj Party's Manifesto —
On the eve of the Cocanada Session — Gandhis message
— The main resolution — The Cocanada Session — Other
resolutions — Congress Departments — The Akali move-
ment— Fight over Gurudwara Temples— Guruka Bagh
affair — Mr. Macpherson's testimony — Reading of Akhqnd
Pant, a crime.
314 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
CHAPTER V
CONGRESS AT THE CROSS-ROADS (1924)
Gandhi's iUness — The Juhu Conversations — Achieve-
ments of the Swaraj Party — II alley's interpretation of
Dominion Status — Statements of Gandhi and of Das and
Nehru — A. I. C. C. meets — Yarn franchise of elected
Congress Members — Other resolutions of A. I. C. C. at
Ahmedabad — Communal troubles — All-Parties' Conference,
November, 1924 — The Bclgaum Session — Revolt against
Gandhi incomplete — All boycotts lifted except the boycott
of violence and of foreign cloth — The spinning franchise
— Essentials of &varaj Scheme — Independence — Belgaum
Resolution — Indians Abroad.
CHAPTER VI
PARTITION, OR PARTNERSHIP ? (1925)
Swarajists' achievements — Gandhi's tour — Psycho-
logy of Das — Das's Farfdpur speech — Das'* faith in
Birkenhead — Das's last letter — Das's successor in Bengal
— Gandhi's offer of resignation — The Muddiman
Committee — Government's efforts to cajole 'Swaraj Party
— Motilalji's appreciation of Gandhi's offer of self-efface-
ment— Wanted a Middle Course — A. I. C. (\ meets at
Patna — The Partition — The Discussion — Motilalji ablaze
— Motilalji makes amends — A point of honour — Partition
or Partnership — Threats to arrest Das — The Caumpore
Session ahead — A loyal daughter's task — The Congress
motor lacks momentum — Interest in Local \Bodies —
Internal revolt in the Swaraj Party— Kelkar's Criticism
— The three resignations — The rising in Andhra Agency
— The Camnpore Session — Gandhi hands over charge to
Sarojini Devi — Sarojini Devi takes charge — The battle
for liberty — The deliberations of the Session — The main
SYNOPSIS Sit
resolution — Pandit Malaviya's amendment — Other
'tions — TJvbnes attends the Session — Hindu-Muslim Riot*
— The <Giwndirara question.
CHAPTER VII
THE COUNCIL FRONT (1926)
Responsive Co-operation — Assembly walk-out —
President Patel — Conditions for accepting office — The
^abarmati Pact — Pandit Nehru clears position — Strained
Delations between Responsivists and Swarajists — Break-
down of Negotiations — Panditji's departure to England —
The Bengal Swarajists — Calcutta Riots — Exchange Ratio
— Lalaji T. Motilalji — /win replies to Sir Abdur Rahim
on the appointment of a Muslim to hi-s Cabinet —
The General elections.
The Gauhati Congress — Shooting of Sirami Shraddha-
nanda — Presidential Address — The \resolutiom — Gandhi
<m the murder — The main resolution — Distinguished
visitors — Motilalji on Nabha — Election Programme of
1926 — Progress of Khadi.
CHAPTER VIII
THE COUNCIL FRONT (1927) — A STALEMATE
Congress fight in the Assembly — Adjournment motion
re. S. r. Mitra — A .scries of Clashes — The ratio question
—Sakldtuulla's visit— President Patel's Trust— fanrtitji
v. lyengar — Panditji resigns his scat on the Skeen
Committee — South Africa — A new atmosphere — Lalaji
sails /or Europe — A. I. C. C. meets in Bombay — Decision
to draw up a Constitutionr-Other A. I. C. C. resolutions
— The Madras Council party in the pillory— Subash
3(1 a THE HI8TOBY OF THE CONGRESS
Chandra Bose released — Communal 'Riots — New law to
punish offences relating to outraging religious feeling* —
Unity Conference of October — Its resolution — A. I. C. C..
meets in October — Confirms Unity Conference Resolutions
— Other resolutions — Announcement of the Sinwn Com-
mission— Dr. Besant on the Commission— Pandit Motilalji
on the Commission*— The Commission's duty — The Madras
Congress — Doctor Ansari's Presidential Address — The main
resolution — Boycott of the Statutory Commission — The
Kakori Case — Creed of Independence — The exhibition —
Admits Mill-cloth.
CHAPTER IX
THE RENDITION OF THE CONGRESS (1928*
Boycott of Simon Commission — Effects of Simon*
Boycott — Lahore — Lucknow — Patna — The Procedure —
All-Parties' Conference — Three burning questions, (1)
Panditji to preside over Calcutta Congress, (2) The
character of the Calcutta Exhibition, (3) The Bardoli
ryots — The Bardoli struggle — Congress invited to guide
it — Attachments galore — President PatcVs threat — Gov-
ernments bluf} — The settlement — The Nehru Report —
The Council front again — The Reserve Bank BUI
—Public Safety Bill— The Calcutta Session— Panditji's
Address — Resolutions — The Stated Resolution — The-
main resolution — An ultimatum — Condemnation of
Jfr. Johnson's deportation — The Youth Movement
—The main resolution — A compromise — Call to Gandhi
— Gandhi's Speech — Parties secede from the Conference
— The All-Parties9 Conference— A sad failure— The
AJ.C.C. warns the Council Party— Gandhi fed up, but
gives up his European tour— Does not lose faith in his
workers.
Part III
CHAPTER I
THE BIRTH OF NON-CO-OPERATION (1920)
The year 1920 opens with a definite cleavage of
parties in Indian politics. The Liberals had definitely
cut themselves off from the Congress and met in Calcutta
in December, 1919. In the Congress' itself, the events
that were fast developing themselves were tending to
create a further schism amongst the Congressmen left
behind. A|u Amritsar, the central issue was co-operation
or obstruction. A few months after the new year had
opened, the position, of the Amritsar parties was reversed.
Gandhi stood for Non-co-operation, and those who had
opposed his co-operation at Amritsar ranged themselves
once again against him. AVhat brought about such a
sudden change of front? The fact was 'that anxiety was
growing in the public mind over the Punjab atrocities as
well as the Khilaphat question.
The events of 1920 centre round a great movement
called the Khilaphat moveinenjt, and it is necessary to
give in outline the genesis of the Khilaphat trouble.
During the Grea6 War, Mr. Lloyd George, the Premier of
England, had made solemn promises to Indian Muslims
who depending upon them went and fought against their
brothers in Islam. When "the war came to a close, a
curious interpretation was put upon the promises,
evidently to avoid fulfilment. If there was anything that
exasperated the Indian Muslims, it wqs this perfidy of
the British Premier. The pledges given by Lloyd George
declared unequivocally in these words: "Nor are we
fighting to deprive Turkey of the rich and renowned
32t THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Jands of Asia Minor and Thrace which are predominantly
Turkish in race." These pledges were unredeemed and the
promises were heartlessly broken. The Muslim contention
was that the Jazarat-ul-Arab including Mesopotamia,
Arabia, Syria and Palestine, with all the Holy Places
situated therein, must always remain under the direct
suzerainty of the Khalif. But a* a result of the terinb of
the armistice, Turkey was deprived of her homelands.
Thrace was presented to Greece. Both Great Britain and
Prance divided the Asiatic portions of the Turkish Empire
among themselves under the guise of Mandatories. A
High Commission was appointed by the Allied Powers,
who, to all intents and purposes, were the rulers in
Turkey, with H. M. the Sultan as nothing better than a
!*isoner. Not only the entire Muslim population! in
India but other communities as well were in rage against
what * was rightly termed as the British Premier's
''betrayal,' and it was at Ainritear that the leading
Congress and Kliilaphat men discussed the situation in
ihc country caused by Lloyd George's doings, and decided
to ^organise the Kliilaphat work under the guidance of
Itiabatma Gandhi.
In the middle of January, 1920, Mr. Mahomed Ali
issued, along with his brother, a Manifesto to the country
in the course of which, after formally thanking the public
for their sympathy and support, he outlined his future
course of action. ''We expect to hear from His Excellency
the Viceroy in a clay or two," wrote Mr. Mahomed Ali and
his brother in that Manifesto, "when he would be pleased
1o receive the Kliilaphat Conference Deputation of Indian
Muslims." A deputation waited upon the Viceroy on the
19th January, 1920, headed by Dr. Ansari and impressed*
"him with "the necessity for the preservation of the'
Turkish Empire and of the Sovereignty of the Sultan as
Khalif." They stated the Khilaphat issue in a word; when
THE BOTH OF NON-CO-OPERATION
they laid down the principle "that the continued existence
of the Khilaphat as a temporal no less than spiritual,
institution was the very essence of their faith."
The Viceroy's reply to the Deputation was
disappointing to a degree, and the Muslim leaders issued
a statement recording their firm conviction that "should
the peace terms result unfavourably to Muslim religion
and sentiments, they would place an undue strain, upon
Muslim loyalty7' and demanding that "Arabia, as
delimited by Muslim authority, and the Holy Places of
Islam must remain under the control of the Khalif," and
that the pledge given by Mr. Lloyd George should be
fulfilled. The third Khilaphat Conference met at Bombay
in February, 1920, and expressed its confidence
in the Deputation going to England and issued a very
important Manifesto, laying down the Muslim demands-
and declaring that "any reduction of the claim would not
only be a violation of the deepest religious feelings of the
Muslims, but also a flagrant violation of the solema
declarations and pledges made or given by responsible
statesmen, representing the Allied and Associated Powers
and given at a time when they were desirous of enlisting
the support- of the Muslim people and soldiery, and
warning them against the consequence of a wrong decision,
particularly when not only the Muslim, but also the
entire Hindu population was fining: them int their
demand."
Lord Chelmsford's emphasis* OH the fact that tile
question did not lie in the hands of Great Britain alone
was not reassuring, and virtually neutralized his 'profound
sympathy' with the Muslim view point. The militant tone
of certain sections of the French, English and American
Press regarding the desirability of settling the Eastern
Question once for all, only strengthened the apprehensions
THE HISTOBY OF THE OOJTOfcESS !
of the Muslims. Influential sections '* W English find
American opinion demanded that the* Turks should be
expelled from Constantinople, and reduced to the status
of a fourth-rate Power. The Khilaphat question came
more and more tq the fore, during the months of February
And March in Indian politics. A Muslim Deputation left for
England early in March, 1920. The Deputation which
was headed by Maulana Mahomed Ali was received by
Mr. Fisher on behalf of the Secretary of State for India,
•and it also waited upon the Prime-Minister. It further
requested permission to place its views before the Supreme
Council of the Peace Conference but was refused.
Lloyd George's reply to the Muslim Deputation in
England on the 17th March, insisting on the fact that
'Turkey could not be treated on principles different from
'those that were applied to Christian countries, and
.asserting the doctrine that while Turkey was to be allowed
to exercise temporal sway over Turkish lands, she was not
^o be permitted to retain those lands which were not
-Turkish, struck at the root of the whole Khilaphat senti-
ment in India. On this, the 19th March was fixed as a
day of National mourning,— a day of fasting and prayer
and hartal. Gandhi once again appeared on the scene
with the announcement that he would lead a movement, of
"Non-co-operation if the terms of peace with Turkey did
•not meet the sentiments of the Muslims in India. Shaukat
Ali tabled a resolution for the 19th March that if the peace
terms were not acceptable, Muslims would be forced to
•sever their loyal connection with the British Throne. This
evoked a resolution from the Government of India in the
beginning of March, pointing out the impossibility of
"Government servants joining the celebration of the 19th
March. Gandhi's ideas were embodied in a Manifesto
'dated the 10th March, which ran thus, and in which he
THH1 BIRTH OF NON-CCHOPERATION
Imd indicated his. plans of Non-co-operation for the ;first
'time:
''Now a word as to what may be done if the
demands arc not. granted. The barbarous methqd is
warfare, open or secret. This must be ruled out, if
only because it is impracticable. If I could but
persuade every one that it is always bad, ^we should
gain all lawful ends much quicker. The power that
an individual or a nation forswearing violence can
generate, is a power that is irresistible. But my
argument to-day against violence is based upon pure
expediency, is utter futility. Non-co-operation is,
therefore, the only remedy left open to us. It is the
clearest remedy, as it is the most effective, when it
is absolutely free from all violence. It .becomes a duty
when co-operation means degradation or humiliation,
•or an injury to one's cherished religious sentiment.
England cannot expect a meek submission by us to
an unjust usurpation of rights which to Muslims
means a matter of life and death. We may therefore
begin at the top as well as the bottom. Those who
are holding offices of honour or emoluments ought
to give them oip. Those who belong to the menial
•services under Government should do likewise. Non-
•co-operation does not apply to service under private
individuals. I cannot approve of the threat of
ostracism against those who do not adopt the remedy
of Non-co-operation. It is a voluntary withdrawal
alone that is a test of popular feeling and
dissatisfaction. Advice to the soldiers to refuse to
serve is premature. It is the last, not the first step.
We should be entitled to take that step when the
Viceroy, the Secretary of State and the Premier leave
us. Moreover, every step withdrawing co-operation has
to be taken with the greatest deliberation. We must
proceed slowly so as to ensure reten(tdon of self-
control under the fiercest heat."
Let us quote Government's opinion from India, 1920!
on tliis: 'There was no doubt that Gandhi's advocacy of
soul force commended itself to a populace who shared his
324 THUD HISTORY OF THE CONGEESS
religious belief and believed in his doqtrines of
eelf-abnegation and admired his asceticism. He stood like
a 'rock of salvation* before the injured national pride of
many of his countrymen. His behesjte had the influence
of semi-divine commands." Lokamanya Tilak did not
share Gandhi's views at first. His subtle intellect and
world-conquering will stood in contrast with Gandhi's-
spiritual fervour and heaven-aspiring soul. It was in the
midst of an atmosphere charged with unrest (that the
non-official Report on the Punjab atrocities was published
(25th March). The Huixter Commission's inability Ux
examine the Congress Sub-Committee's evidence made a
separate Report inevitable, and at. the same time-
antagonized the public to the Hunjter Commission and ite
findings yet to be published. Sir Michael O'Dwyer wa,<
the bete noire of the Congress Report. His studied
contempt of the educated classes, his pressure for recruits'
and contributions by high-handed methods, and his
suppression of public opinion, were naturally the
subjects of popular accusation against him. The events-
of the year 1919 began, it will be remembered, on the
Oth April and found their culmination in the Jallianwalu
Bagh massacre on the 13th. So the week was observed as
a National Week in 1920 and continues since to be so
observed to this day. In the month of May the peace
terms with Turkey were published and they only served
to stimulate the Khilaphat agitation. Soon afiter, Gandhi
declared his resolve (to organize the Non-co-operation
movement in order to get the terms modified. The
Lokamanya did not sympathise whole-heai|tedly with
this movement, but he did not oppose it.
The policies of the two great leaders may be studied
side by side. Both had published valuable manifestoes in
the third week of April. Gandhi had just then accepted
the Presidentship of the All-India Home Rule League from
THE B1BTH OF NON-CO-OPERATION
which Mrs. Besant seceded, and he published a statement
in doing so. Tilak had published a Manifesto enunciating:
his policy in relation to the new Reforms.
GANDHI'S STATEMENT
"It is a distinct departure from the even tenor
of my life for me to belong to *n organization that is
purely and frankly political. But, after careful'
deliberation with friends, I have joined the All-India'.
Home Rule League and accepted the office of its'
President. Some friends whom I consulted told me
that I should not join any political organization and
that, if I did, I would lose the position of splendid
isolation I enjoy at present. I confess that this caution*
had considerable weight with me. At the same time,.
I felt that if I was accepted by the League, as I was,.
I should be wrong in not identifying myself with an*
organization that I could utilise for the advancement
of causes in which I had specialised, and the methods
which, experience has shown me, are attended with
quicker and better results than those that are usually
adopted. Before joining the League, I endeavoured to
ascertain the opinion of those who were outside the
Presidency and with whom I had not the privilege to-
come in such close contact as with co-workers in the
Bombay Presidency. The causes referred to by me
are Swadeshi, Hindu-Muslim Unity with special
reference to Khilaphat, the acceptance of Hidustani
as the lingua franca, and a linguistic re-distribution*
of the Provinces. I would engage the League, if I
can carry the members wi^h me, in these activities so*
that they occupy the largest part of the Nation's
time and attention.
"I freely confess that reforms take a secondary
place in any scheme of national reorganization. Forr
I feel 4?hat the activities chosen by me, if they could
but absorb national energy, would bring about all the-
reforms that the most ardent Extremist can ever
desire, and so far as the desirability of getting fuff
Self-Governmei^t can be best accelerated by
developing the activities that I have mentioned, I
21
B6 THE HISTORY OF IHB CONGRESS
keep them in the forefront of the national programme
,1 shall not treat the All-India Home Rule League as
a party organization in any sense of the term. I
belong to no party and I wish to belong
to none hereafter. I am aware that the constitution
of the League requires it to help the Congress, but I
do not consider the Congress as a party organization,
even as the British Parliament, though it
contains all parties, and has one party or other
dominating it from time to time, is not a party
organization. I shall venture to hope that all
parties will cherish the Congress as a najtaonal
organization providing a platform for all parties to
appeal to -the Nation, with a view to moulding its
policy, and I would endeavour so to m'ould the policy
•of the League as to make the Congress retain its
no-party national character.
"This brings me to my methods. I believe that
at is possible to introduce uncompromising truth and
honesty in the political life of the country. Whilst I
^would not expect the League to follow me in my Civil
Disobedience methods, I would strain every
nerve to make truth and non-violence accepted in all
our national activities. Then we shall cease to fear
or distrust Government and their measures. I do not
wish, however, to develop the theme any further, but
I would rather let time solve the many questions
that muejt arise from the bold statement I have here
made. My purpose just now is not to demonstrate
.the propriety of my action or the truth of the policy
herein adumbrated but to take the members of the
League into my confidence and <to invite their criticism
of the programme therein set forth, and any
suggestion they may wish to make for the
advancement and the welfare of the League."
THE BIRTH OP NON-CO-OPERATION
TILAK'S PROGRAMME
iHere is Tilak's Manifesto:
"The Congress-Democratic Party, as the name
denotes, is a party animated by feelings of
unswerving loyalty to the Congress and faith in
.' Democracy. It believes in the potency of democratic
doctrines for the solution of Indian problems, and
regards the extension of education and political
franchise as two of its best weapons. It advocates
the removal of all civic, secular, or social disabilities
based on caste or custom. It believes in religious
.toleration, the sacredness of one's religion to oneself
. and the right and duty of the State to protect its
against aggression. This party supports the claim of
the Muslims for the solution of the Khilaphat
• question according to Muslim dogmas and beliefs and
the tenets of the Koran.
"This party believes in the integration or
federation of India in the British Commonwealth for
the advancement of the cause of humanity and the
brotherhood of mankind, but demands autonomy for
India and equal status as a sister-State with every
partner in the British 'Commonwealth, including Great
Britain. It insists upon equal citizenship for Indians
throughout the Commonwealth and effective retalia-
i tion whenever it is denied. It welcomes the League of
Nations as an instrument for enforcing the pe$ce of
-the world, the integrity of States, the freedom and
honour of nations and nationalities, and for ending
the exploitation of one country by another.
"This party emphatically asserts the fitness of
India for Representative and Responsible Government
and claims for the people of India, on the principle,
of self-determination, the exclusive right of
fashioning the form of government and determining
the most appropriate constitution for India. It
regards the Montagu Reforms Act as "inadequate,
unsatisfactory and disappointing" and will strive to
remedy the defect by introducing, with the aid of tbe
3 members of 'the Labour party and other sympathisers
THE HISTOEY OT THE CONGRESS
in the British Parliament, at the earliest opportunity, .
» new Reform Bill for establishing full Responsible
Government* in India, including full Military control i
and full fiscal freedom, and an exhaustive Declaration
of Rights with constitutional guarantees. To achieve
this object, it contemplates and recommends a
resolute and energetic campaign in India and in the
countries represented on the League of Nations. In
this matter, the party's watchword will be 'Educate, .
Agitate and Organize.'
"This pasty proposes to work the Montagu
Reforms Act for all it is worth and for accelerating
the grant of full Responsible Government, and, for
rtliis purpose, it will without hesitation offer
co-operation or resort to constitutional 1
opposition, whichever may be expedient and best
calculated to give effect to the popular will.
"Apart from the foregoing aims and principles, the
party platform will contain the following planks, but
it does not profess to be exhaustive:
IMPERIAL
1. Repeal of all repressive legislation e.g., .
(Rotylatt Act, the Press Act, the Arms Act, etc.),
the introduction of trial by Jury of one's own
countrymen, especially in cases of offences against the
State; the abolition of rigorous imprisonment for such
offences, and jail reform with a view to placing
offenders of all classes on a par with similar offenders
in Great Britain.
2. Securing for the labouring classes, agricultural '
and industrial, a fair share of the fruits of labour, a
minimum wage, relationship between capital and
labour on equitable basis, and promoting organization? -
suitable for the purpose.
'• 3. Control of the export of foodstuffs and other •
necessaries of life by tariff or by other methods, with
a view., to reducing the prices thereof and conserving
supplies.
- 4;- Promotion of Swadeshism and development
of industries by all recognised* methods, including
State subsidies and protective tariff.
THE BIRTH OF NON-CO-OFERATION B29
5. Nationalisation of railways and regulation
of railway tariffs by legislation, with a view to assist
industrial development and to abolish privileges and
favouritism in their working.
6. Retrenchment first and foremost in every
department, especially in the Military expenditure,
and taxation when imperative or desirable, but
taxation graduated according to the capacity of
various classes, corporations or individuals, so that the
burden may be proportionate to the means or wealth
of the tax-payers.
7. Creation of a Citizen Army, officered by
Indians; naval, aerial and military education; Com-
missions for Indians in all Military services without
racial discrimination.
8. Recruitment of all services by open competi-
tive examination in India.
8. Promotion of national unity by such means
as the establishment of a lingua franca for all India,
betterment of relations between followers of different
religions, and especially a Hindu-Muslim Entente.
10. Re-adjustment of Provinces on linguistic
basis.
PROVINCIAL
1. Immediately securing full popular autonomy
for the Provinces.
2. Permanent Ryotwari settlement on the basis
of an equitable assessment.
3. Village control over reserved and protected
forests in regard to pasturage, fuel, dealwood, and use
of minor products.
4. Absolute prohibition of Veth, Begar and
Sarbarai.
5. Education through the vernacular as high as
possible.
6. Free and compulsory education without
distinction of sex, special contributions and increased
grants-in-aid from State funds to Municipalities and
Local Boards to carry out this object immediately.
7. Restoration of Village Panchayats with
administrative and judicial powers.
8. Abolition of drink.
THE HISTOBY OF THE CON4BBBS
9. Extension of the franchise without sex:
distinction.
10. -Sanitation upon a systematic basis under a
Minister of Health.
11. Carrying out of departmental reforms
already enunciated and approved by popular opinion,
€.p., agricultural development, extension of irrigation,
the co-operative movement, industrial and technical
education suitable to the needs of the country,
organised medical relief, and encouragement to •
indigenous system of medicine.
"Under this programme, the party appeals for
votes and support for candidates pledged to these
principles, with the fullest confidence of receiving an
enthusiastic response so as to ensure victories in the
coming election battles."
While the Deputation was still in Europe, the-
proposed terms of peace with Turkey were made public
on 14th May, 1920, and in India, they were accompanied
with a message from the Viceroy to the Muslims of India, .
explaining those terms. The message recognised that the
terms were such as must cause pain to the Muslims of
India, but asked them to brace themselves to bear with
patience and resignation the misfortunes of their Turkish
co-religionists. The publication of the proposed peace
terms caused the deepest indignation, and synchronising
as it did with the publication of the Hunter Committee's
Report, the whole country was ablaze. The Khilaphat
Committee met at Bombay to , deliberate upon Gandhi's
Non-co-operation project and adopted it on the 28th May,
1920, as the only means now left to the Muslims. On
the 30th May, the All-India Congress Committee met at
Benares to discuss the Hunter Report and the Turkish
Peace terms, and after a long debate decided to hold a
Special Session of the Congress to consider the question
of Non-co-operation.
THE BIRTH OF NON-CO-OPERATION 33i
Gandhi himself recorded his impressions of Tilak^s
attitude towards Non-co-operation in his reminiscences
about Tilak (Vol. 1. p. 253) : "About Non-co-operatiort
Tilak significantly repeated what he said to me before. 'I
liKe the programme well enough, but I have my doubts
as to the country being with us in the self-denying
ordinance which Non-co-operation presents to the people.
I will do nothing to hinder the progress of the movement.
I wish you every success, and if you gain the popular ear
you will find in me an enthusiastic supporter.' "
Before we proceed to narrate the events of 1920 in
the sphere of Indian politics, we must refer to the
celebration on the 1st January, 1920 of the abolition of
the system of Indentured Labour in the Colonies, which
had been prevalent for well-nigh a century and by which
India was directly affected. . In Natal, the Indentured
Labour system was brought to an end by the refusal of
the Indian Government to allow any more recruiting. In
Mauritius, Indentured Labour ceased in 1911 because no
more labour was required. But in other Colonies in
different parts of the world, the Indenture system1 was
still being carried on. During 1914 and 1915, the
Government of India made an enquiry from the Govern-
ments of those Provinces from which Indentured Labour
was taken, and it was found that the villagers were
already up in arms against the Indenture system
which was open to the gravest abuses. In 1915y
Mr. C. F. Andrews and Mr. W. W. Pearson went out to
Fiji and brought back information of the most damaging
character which was issued in the form of a Report. This
enabled Lord Hardinge to accept Pandit Madan Mohan
Malaviya's motion in the Imperial Legislative Council for
the abolition of Indenture. But he added the ominous
words that some delay must be allowed while adjustments
were being made. Later in the year, it was found out
SS3 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
that he bad privately agreed with the Colonial Office that
recruiting should go on in India for another five years.
Since it was clearly proved that such recruiting led to
grave moral evils and even suicides, the Government of
India was challenged by Mr. Andrews whether such a
private understanding did or did not exist. And when it
was made public that such an understanding had been
signed between the two Offices at Whitehall, — Indian and
Colonial, — a wave of moral indignation swept the country.
And Gandhi himself took up the challenge and started the
anti-Indenture campaign in the North and the West of
India. Mrs. Besant carried on the campaign in Madras.
This campaign was at its height in the months of March
and April, 1917, and possibly Mrs. Besant's activity in
this behalf was one of the governing reasons of her intern-
ment which took place on the 15th June, 1917. Lord
Chelmsford called Gandhi and realised the seriousness of
the situation. A deputation of Indian ladies from every
Province went also to Lord Chelmsford on behalf of their
Indian sisters. A date was fixed — 31st May, 1917 — by
Gandhi, within which the system had to be brought to an
end; otherwise a Satyagraha campaign would be started
in order to prevent further recruitment. On April 12th
<1917), Lord Chelmsford announced that all recruitment
would be stopped as a special war-measure under the
Defence of India Act. It was clear, however, that at the
end of the war the whole question would be revived by
the Colonies concerned, because vast financial interests
were -involved. Therefore Mr. Andrews, on the advice of
Oandhi and with the cordial consent of the Poet Rabindra
Hath Tagore, went out to Fiji again, in order to collect
further facts which could be used when the question
might be resuscitated at the end of the war. He spent
nearly a year in Fiji and gathered far more damaging
facts than on his previous visil. He also greatly
interested the women of Australia in the moral question
THE BIRTH OF NON-CO-OPERATION &3S
involved, and gained strong support for the abolition of the
Indenture system. In March, 1918, he met Mr. Montagu
at Delhi and was able to put before him the facts he had
in his possession, and to convince him that the system was
altogether immoral. In 1919, the Government of India
were able to announce that no further Indenture would be
allowed and that all Indentured labourers whose five years'
term had not expired should be set free. Therefore on
January 1st, 1920, there was universal rejoicing among
Indians in Fiji, British Guiana, Trinidad, Surinam, and
Jamaica, where Indenture was still lingering, because on
that day of -emancipation every Indian labourer who had
come out under Indenture was set free. It may be noted
that this whole system was started as early as 1835 in
order to supply labour to the old sugar plantations in the
Colonies, which the African slaves had worked until
slavery itself was abolished in 1833. It was thus a device
to carry on the sugar plantations in a manner not far
removed from slavery itself. Sir W. Wilson Hunter, the
historian, called it 'semi-servile labour' and that description
is accurate.
The Hunter Report was published on the 28th May,
1920, and its findings filled the country with disappoint-
ment and disgust. The Report was not unanimous, the
Indian members differing from the English. The
difference centred round the issue whether the outbreak in
the Punjab was a premeditated revolt or an accidental
outburst. The English members took the farmer view and
the Indian thq latter. Accordingly the latter thought
that Martial Law was not called for. Moreover they put
down the outbreak to O'Dwyer's Zulum in collecting
money and recruiting soldiers. They took Government to
task for suppressing news which gave rise to misreprecen-
lation. Government accepted the view that "tile
Administration of Martial Law was marred in particular
THE HISTORY OF THE OONGBEbS
instances by misuse of power, by irregularity and by-
injudicious and irresponsible acts; that General Dyer
acted beyond what any reasonable man could have thought
it to be necessary, and that he did not act with such^
humanity as the case permitted." His Majesty's Govern-
ment also expressed strong disapproval of certain.-
specified instances of undue severity and of improper
punishments and orders during the Martial Law Regime,,
and instructed the Government of India to see that this
disapproval "was unmistakably marked by censure or
other action upon officers responsible for them".
Mr. Montagu, however, remarked that "General Dyer acted
to the best of his lights and with a sincerity of purpose,
but that he committed an error of judgment." It was-
no consolation to India that instructions were issued to>
the Government of India to prepare a code of Martial
Law regulations for future use! Nor was the fact that
by the time "the cases of the officers concerned were
examined with great care," many of those whose conduct
had been censured by the Hunter Committee had left India-
or Government service, any source of comfort or satis-
faction to the people of the Punjab or India.
Soon after the publication of the Hunter Commis-
sion Report, the All-India Congress Committee met at.
Benares on the 30th May, and recorded the country's-
indignant protest on all the questions and decided to have
a Special Congress to consider the matter. Although
Lokamanya Tilak passed Benares at the time, he did"
not attend the Benares meeting, for his heart was not
wholly in the Khilaphat agitation. But he had the fair-
ness and patriotism to say that he would act up to the
behests of the A. I. C. C. It was about this time thai
Gandhi resolved to refer the question of Non-co-opera-
tion, which* was mainly concerned at this time with the-
Khilaphat movement, to a conference of leaders Of all1
THE BIRTH OF NON-CO-OPEBATION 8SS
parties which met at Allahabad on the 2nd June, 1920.
At this conference the policy of Non-co-operation was
decided upon, and a Committee was appointed, composed
of Gandhi and some Muslim leaders, to draw up the
programme. The Committee published their programme
which comprised the boycott of schools and colleges and
Law Courts. As a matter of fact, the All-India Ehilaphat
Conference held at Delhi in November, 1919 had
resolved to withdraw co-operation from Government
under Gandhi's advice, — a decision which was reaffirmed
by Muslim meetings in Calcutta and elsewhere, as well as
by the Madras Khilaphat Conference on 17-4-1920,
where the progressive scheme of Non-co-operation was
further defined as renunciation of titles and posts under
Government, honorary posts and memberships of the
Councils, appointments in the Police and Military, and
refusal to pay tax. By the summer of 1920, the situa-
tion became acute. The Triveni' of the Khilaphat and
Punjab wrong, and the invisible flow of inadequate
Reforms, became full to the brim, and by their confluence
enriched both in volume and content the stream of
national discontent. Everything was ripe for Non-co-
operation. Even the Lokamanya promised to abide by
the decisions of the All-India Congress Committee, but
alas! he passed away on the midnight of July 31st,
leaving Gandhi without that towering strength which
would have been his if he had been by his side.
In the meantime the Muslims embarked upon a
plan of Hijrat (flight) to Afghanistan as they felt they
could not stay in India under the British after the peace
with Turkey. The movement started in Sindh and
spread to the N. W. F. A ghastly collision took place
between the emigrants and the Military at Kacha Garhi
which exasperated the people, and in the month 06
THE HI8TOBY OF THE CONGRESS
August it was estimated that 18,000 people were on their
way to Afghanistan.
But very soon the Afghan authorities forbade the
admission of the pilgrims and a set-back was given to
the idea, after considerable loss of life and sufferings.
When in August the Supreme Legislative Council met,
the Non-co-operation movement had already begun and
some members of the Council resigned their seats. The
Viceroy declared that the policy of N.C.O. must inevitably
lead to disorder and asked whether anything could
be more futile or ill-advised. He finally characterised
the movement as the "most foolish of all foolish schemes."
But the proposed visit of the Prince of Wales to India
to open the new Assembly, which was opposed even by
Sastriar at the Bombay Liberal Conference, was given
up in the month of August and the Duke of Connaught
was to take his place. It was in August too, that
Dr. Sapru was appointed Member of the Viceroy's
Executive Council.
The scheme of N. C. 0. was formally inaugurated
on the 1st of August. Gandhi and the All Brothers
toured the country. It was the one study of Gandhi to
discipline the people and regulate their obvious enthu-
siasm. As usual, Gandhi's administration of a reprimand
to his following was always quoted' by Government as
proof of the rule of the mob. This proposed departure
of the Congress from the traditional, constitutional paths
was considered an issue big enough for a Special
Congress, and the Special Session which had been decided
upon already in May was held on the 4th to the 9th of
September, 1920, in Calcutta.
By this time, the various Provincial Congress
Committees gave their opinions on the burning question
of the day— N.C.O.
THE BIRTH OF NON-CO-OPERATION 3)3
The Andhra Congress Committee and the Punjab
Committee recommended to the Special Congress the
adoption of the policy of N.C.O., but would defer the
programme till after the Special Session. Bengal held
that under the conditions N.C.O was the only effective
weapon left to the people, but the Committee, in common
with C.P., did not consider a boycott of the new
Legislative bodies was called for. On the contrary, the
presence of a large number of members who would be
prepared to resort to N.C.O. within the Council was
demanded. Bihar and Orissa approved of the principle
and appointed a Committee to recommend a programme
suitable for the Province. Bombay wholeheartedly
accepted the principle and would entrust the details to
& committee to be appointed by the Special Congress.
Burma approved, but believed that the movement was not
practicable in that Province. The Madras P. C. C.
approved a policy of N.C.O. but voted against Mr. Gandhi's
programme. Sindh approved and framed a programme
in detail in four steps, but objected to the Military
being asked to withdraw. The U. P. approved and formu-
lated a detailed programme, adding boycott of the
welcome to H. R. H. the Duke of Connaught.
Buttressed by these opinions from all Provinces, the
Calcutta Session met. It was a momentous session.
Bengal did not see eye to eye with Gandhi, and C.R. Das
stood foursquare against Gandhi's programme of N.C.O.
The boycott of Councils and Law Courts evoked no
sympathy in him, nor in the majority of delegates. Yet,
by a narrow though conclusive majority of seven votes,
the Subjects Committee passed Gandhi's Resolution in
which & graduated scale of boycott was advocated. Thfr
atmosphere then prevalent was such that Non-co-opera*
tion was inevitable. The Governmtent of India had
blindly accepted the findings of the majority in the
198 THE HISTOBY OF THE OONGBE8S
Hunter Committee Report and was inclined to throw a
veil of oblivion over the misdeeds of officials. They had
slurred over Dyer's conduct as amounting only to "a grave
error of judgment which exceeded the reasonable require-
ments of the case," and held that "it was based upon
an honest but mistaken conception of duty." Montagu
himself tamely acquiesced in those recommendations and
practically condoned the misdeeds of the Punjab officials
and aggravated matters by adding that Dyer was actuated
by "honesty of purpose and unflinching adherence to
duty." The debate in the House of Commons itself
turned upon the supposed wrong and injustice of the
punishment inflicted upon Dyer, while in the House of
Lords, Lord Finlay's motion which was accepted was
inaccurate, onesided, and false in spirit and substance.
Altogether, the discussions betrayed the rights and liberties
of the Indian people. These and the Ehilaphat wrongs
and the Reforms formed the subjects of strongly worded
resolutions at the Calcutta (special) Session.
The Special Session of the Congress was held in
Calcutta from 4th to 9th September, 1920 in the midst
of the most enthusiastic scenes. Mr. B. Chakravarti was
the Chairman of the Reception Committee and Lala
Lajpat Rai,whohad only recently returned from America
was elected the President. The first -resolution placed on
record the deep and profound sorrow of the Congress at
the death of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, "whose stainless
purity of life, services and sufferings in the cause of his
country, whose deep devotion to the welfare of the
people, whose arduous endeavours in the fight for National
Autonomy would enshrine his memory in the grateful
recollection of our people and would be a source of
strength and inspiration to countless generations of our
countrymen." The Congress also recorded its grief at the
THE BOTH OF NON-CO-OPERATION
loss sustained by the country in the deafVl Af
T)r. Mahendra Nath.
The second resolution was moved by Sir Asutoeh
•Cha-udhuri who had recently retired from the Bench of
Calcutta High Court as a Judge and ran as follows: —
"That the thanks of the Congress be conveyed
to the members of the Punjab Enquiry Sub-Com-
mittee and the commissioners appointed by them, for
the great industry and judicial care with which they
have collected the evidence and written their Report,
which is supported not only by the evidence recorded
by them but also by the evidence given before the
Hunter Committee, and expresses its concurrence with
the findings of fact arrived at by the said
•commissioners.
(a) This Congress expresses its deep and bitter
disappointment at the drift, tone and tendency, and
final conclusions of the Majority Report of the Hunter
'Committee and begs to express its complete and total
dissent from the findings and recommendations of the
deliberate opinion,
(b) This Congress further places on record its ,
•deliberate opinion,
(i) that the Report submitted by the Majority
of the Hunter Committee is tainted by bias and race-
prejudice, based on insufficient consideration of
evidence, and characterised by a too obvious desire to
tglur over the proved, manifest iniquities of the
'Government officials concerned, and to whitewash the .
conduct of the Punjab Government and the Govern-
ment of India;
, (ii) that the said Report is unacceptable and
unreliable inasmuch as it is based upon evidence which
Is incomplete, one-sided and biassed by self-interest;
(iii) that the findings arrived at in the Majority .
Report are not justified even from the evidence
Actually on record, and in any case, their recommenda-
tions fall far short of the minimum legitimate
^requirements of the ciuee;
M9 THE HISTORY OF THE OONGEESB
(c) That with reference to the Government of
India's review of the two Reports of the Hunter
Committee, this Congress records its deliberate-
opinion:
(i) that the said review accepts the findings of
the Majority without sifting or discrimination;
(ii) that it pays scant and inadequate considera-
tion to the arguments and findings of the Minority
Report, even when such arguments and findings are
amply borne out by the evidence on record;
(iii) that the whole drift and tendency of the
said review is not to arrive at a just and impartial
finding on facts, but to hush up the whole affair and
to throw a veil of oblivion upon the misdeeds of the
officials concerned;
(iv) that the action proposed to be taken in the
review with reference to the conduct of guilty officials
• is grossly and utterly inadequate to the gravity of the
state of things disclosed, and has shaken all confidence
in the fairness of British justice.
The third resolution also dealt with the Punjab and 4
expressed the "deep sense of bitter disappointment at the-
British Cabinet's failure to take adequate action with*
reference to the atrocities of the Punjab, at their acquies-
cence in the recommendations of the Government of
India and their practical condonation of the misdeeds of
the Punjab officials. The Congress was . further of opinion
that "in spite of the fine and lofty sentiments expressed'
in their Despatch, the British Cabinet by their failure to •
take adequate action have forfeited the confidence of the
people of India."
But the resolution of the session was that dealing:
with Non-co-operation which was moved by Gandhi, and'
carried by 1886 delegates against 884. It ran as follows: —
,.. ."la view of, -the fact that on the Khilaphat
question both the Indian and Imperial Governments
have signally failed in tfiefr dtoty towards tfie
THE BIRTH OF NON-CO-OPEBATK>N 341
Muslims of India and the Prime-Minister has
deliberately broken his pledged word given to them,
and that it is the duty of every non-Muslim Indian
in every legitimate manner to assist his Muslim
brother in his attempt to remove the religious
calamity that has overtaken him;
"And in view of the fact that, in the matter of
the events of the April of 1919, both the said Govern-
ments have grossly neglected or failed to protect the
innocent people of the Punjab and punish officers guilty
of unsoldierly and barbarous behaviour towards them,
and have exonerated Sir Michael O'Dwyer who proved
himself directly responsible for most of the official
crimes and callous to the sufferings of the people placed
under his administration, and that the debate in the
House of Lords betrayed a woeful lack of sympathy
with the people of India, and systematic terrorism and
frightfulness adopted in the Punjab, and that the latest
Viceregal pronouncement is proof of entire absence of
repentance in the matters of the Khilaphat and the
Punjab;
"This Congress is of opinion that there can be no
contentment in India without redress of the two
aforementioned wrongs, and that the only effectual
means to vindicate national honour and to prevent a
repetition of similar wrongs in future is the establish-
ment of Swarajya.
"This Congress is further of opinion that there is
/no course left open for the people of India but to
approve of and adopt the policy of progressive non-
violent Non-co-operation inaugurated by Mahatma
Gandhi,-until the said wrongs are righted and Swarajya
is established;
"And inasmuch as a beginning should be made by
the classes who have hitherto moulded and represented
public opinion and inasmuch as Government consoli-
dates its power through titles and honours bestowed
on the people, through schools controlled by it, its Law
Courts and its Legislative Councils, and inasmuch as
it is desirable in the prosecution of the movement to
take the minimum risk and to call for the least
22
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
sacrifice compatible with the attainment of - the
desired object, this Congress earnestly advises,
(a) surrender of titles and honorary offices and
resignation from nominated seats in Local Bodies;
(b) refusal to attend Government levees, durbars,
and other official and semi-official functions held by
Government officials, or in their honour;
(c) gradual withdrawal of children from schools
and colleges owned, aided or controlled by
Government, and, in place of such schools and
colleges, the establishment of national schools and
colleges in the various Provinces;
(d) gradual boycott of British Courts by lawyers
and litigants, and the establishment of private arbitra-
tion courts by their aid for the settlement of private
disputes ;
fe) refusal on the part of the military, clerical
and labouring classes to offer themselves as recruits
for service in Mesopotamia;
(f) withdrawal by candidates of their candidature
for election to the Reformed Councils, and refusal on
the part of the voters to vote for any candidate who
may, despite the Congress advice, offer himself for
election ;
(g) boycott of foieign croods;
uAnd inasmuch as Non-co-operation has been
conceived as a measure of discipline and self-
sacrifice without which no nation can make real
progress, and inasmuch as an opportunity should be
given in the very first stage of Non-co-operation to
•every man, woman and child for such discipline and
self-sacrifice, this Congress advises adoption of
Swadeshi in piece-goods on a vast scale, and inasmuch
as the existing mills of India with indigenous capital
and control do not manufacture sufficient yarn and
sufficient cloth for the requirements of the Nation,
and are not likely to do so for a long time to come,
this Congress advises immediate stimulation of further
manufacture on a large scale by means of reviving
hand-spinning in every house and hand- weaving on the
part of the millions of weavers who have abandoned
their ancient and honourable calling for want of
encouragement."
THI BOTH OF NON-CO-OTEEATION MS
The Resolution was hotly contested, and Babu Bepin
Chandra Pal moved an amendment, which was supported
by Deshbandhu C. R. Das, by which the Prime-Minister
was asked to receive a mission from India to lay before
him the statement of India's grievances coupled with a
demand for immediate Autonomy, and in case of his
failure to receive the mission or to replace the Reforms
Act of 1919 by a measure granting full Autonomy to
India, a policy of such active Non-co-operation be adopted
as would leave no doubt in the minds of the British
people that India could no longer be governed as a
Dependency. In the meantime the country was
recommended to give consideration to Mahatma Gandhi's
programme through a representative Committee and carry
on preparatory propaganda in that behalf.
After a long and earnest consideration, the Resolution
of Mahatma Gandhi was passed.
It may be incidentally mentioned that Gandhi had
at first included the boycott of Local Bodies as well, but
•withdrew it in deference to the wishes of friends. The
Nationalist party once again remained loyal to the
Congress in spite of some of their differences with the
programme. Particular mention should be made of the
fact that nearly all Nationalist candidates who, in
obedience to the Amritsar Congress Resolution, had
.announced their candidature for the Reformed Councils,
and spent considerable time, labour and money on the
campaign, immediately withdrew from the contest. The
voters themselves — at least 80% — accepted the decision
of the Congress and refrained from voting, and from not
a few places empty ballot boxes were sent. Government
themselves admitted, "It is rattier in connection^ with the
"boycott of the new Councils that Mr. Gandhi's campaign
<rf N.C.O. seems destined to. exercise a potent influeap^
MA THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
upon the history of the next few years. It has prevented
the inclusion in the new Legislatures of certain advanced
thinkers who figure prominently in the public eye, and
has left the Moderates a clear field."
In the beginning of November, Government found it
desirable to make plain what exactly its policy was
towards this movement: "They have instructed Local
Governments to take action against those persons only,
who in furtherance of the movement have gone beyond
the limits originally set by its organizers, and have, by
speech or writing, openly incited the public to violence,
or have attempted to tamper with the loyalty of the
Army or the Police." Government further expressed their
trust and belief that "the sanity of the classes and masses
alike would reject N.C.O. as a visionary and chimerical
scheme, which if successful could only result in wide-
spread disorder, political chaos and ruin of all those who
have any real stake in the country." "The appeal of
N.O.O. is to prejudice and ignorance," they said, "and
its creed is devoid of any constructive germs."
A new atmosphere soon pervaded the country. The
attitude of people to the established and age-long methods
of political agitation changed. The Sub-Committee-
appointed by the A. I. C. C., in May, 1920, to present
a Petition to Parliament on the Punjab Tragedy never
moved in the matter. The Congress had stopped pay-
ment to the British Committee since 1918, owing to
differences between the Congress and the Committee on
the question of the Reforms. The same differences had'
led to an acrimonious controversy in England, in 1919^
between the Congress Deputation and Mrs. Besant. The-
Labour Party and the English friends were lost between
the contentions and view-points of the two schools of
The British Committee, we saw, was at last
THE BIRTH OF NON-CO-OPERATION MS
reduced to terms and the Congress gained control.
Nevertheless, the British Committee disregarded the
agreement reached between the Deputation and itself, —
to the effect that it should appoint an Indian selected by
the A. I. C. C. on its staff, and the Committee chose an
Indian direct; and despite protests from the Congress,
declined to yield. It was definitely recommended that
the paper India should, therefore, be discontinued.
While this was so in regard to work in England,
affairs in India claim our attention. On the 2nd October,
1920, the A. I. C .C. met and resolved to raise two funds,
(1) the All-India Tilak Memorial Fund, and (2) Swarajya
Fund, but the resolution remained a dead letter till
December, 1920. The new resolutions on N.C.O. were not
taken to kindly either in Bengal or Maharashtra.
Mr. G. S. Khaparde, a co-worker of the Lokamanya,
published a short Memorandum contrasting in parallel
columns how the Calcutta (special) Resolutions sought
to "divert the energies of the Congress into directions of
attaining soul force and moral excellence, and loses sight
of the political aspects of affairs." "By avoiding con-
tact with the de facto Government," it proceeded, "it
affords no training ground for acquiring the kind of
political-mindedness and temper necessary to carry on a
substantial struggle in a peaceful, and yet firm and
orderly manner. The N.C.O. as preached now may
develop powers of endurance, but cannot breed the energy
and resourcefulness and practical wisdom necessary for
a political struggle. The three boycotts at present
recommended are futile and have not at all a distinct
political aspect, and the tendency of the whole, as
evidenced in the proceedings for alteration of the Creed
of the All-India Home Rule League, now re-named
Swaraj Sabha^ would appear to be towards a return to
autocracy and personal rule, which is objectionable and
M* THB HISTORY OF THE OONGBESS
against the spirit of the age, though entrusted to a highly
developed and moral individual."
This was dated 10th December, 1920. It was
published on the eve of the Nagpur Congress. It calls
attention to the change of the Creed of the Home Rule
League, and the formation of the Swaraj Sabha by
Gandhi. The fact was that, in Calcutta, while the fate
of N.C.O. was hanging in the balance, Gandhi assembled
the old Home Rulers, from whom Mrs. Besant virtually
seceded, under a common banner and changed the Creed
of the League into a form since adopted by the Congress
at Nagpur, as also the name of the League into Swaraj
Sabha. But this Sabha never had occasion to function,
as Calcutta accepted the cult of N.C.O. and Nagpur con-
firmed it. It is by a strange irony of fate and of
politics that the Resolution of N.C.O. should have been
accepted at two successive Congresses held in the Head-
quarters of the two Provinces that strenuously opposed
the new movement.
NAGPUR CONGRESS, 1920
The Nagpur Congress was to be the next place where
the programme of Non-co-operation was to be finally
discussed and decided. The number of delegates who
attended the Congress was immense, and no Congress
before or after Nagpur can claim to its credit as many
delegates as did Nagpur Their number was 14,582, of
whom no less than 1,050 were Muslims, and 169
women. It was presided over by that veteran Congress
leader from the South, Mr. C. Vijiaraghavachariar of
Salem. Col. Wedgwood, Mr. Holford Knight, and
Mr. Ben Spoor attended the Congress as fraternal delegates
from the Labour Party of England and conveyed
tbe Labour Party's greetings wad sympathy,.
1 THE BIRTH OF NON-CO-OPERATION $17
The Calcutta Special Session was presided over by
an avowed opponent of N.C.O. Lala Lajpat Rai was a
great Social and Educational Reformer, but his creation
was the Dayanand Anglo- Vedic College, not the Gurukula.
He never believed in cutting off from Government, though
all his life he was cut off by Government, suspected,
kept under surveillance and virtually externed during the
war. Swami Shraddhananda, however, threw himself
heart and soul into the new movement.
Likewise, it was the President of the Nagpur Congress,
Mr. C. Vijiaraghavachariar, that demanded that Swaraj,
not merely the Punjab tragedy and the Khilaphat wrong,,
should be the motive for N.C.O. Gandhi readily agreed.
His point was that if once, on a moral issue, however
limited it be, — be it the Rowlatt Act, the Khilaphat
wrong or the Punjab atrocity, — we won on the
ticket of Satyagraha, Passive Resistance or Non-
co-operation, then the success would fill the
Nation with self-confidence such as was generated by
the success in the Transvaal and in Champaran. Intellec-
tual India was inclined to be logically-minded; and an
intellectual giant like Mr. Vijiaraghavachariar could not
help being rigidly logical in his view of affairs. At
Nagpur, however, Gandhi had one advantage, namely, that
Mr. Achariar, in spite of his lukewarm attitude towards
Non-co-operation, co-operated with Gandhi passively, and
always made a point of vacating the Chair whenever a
resolution came up before the open House with which he
was not in agreement.
Mr. C. R. Das brought a contingent of about 250
delegates from East Bengal and Assam, bore their
expenses to and fro, and spent Rs. 36,000 from, his pocket
to undo what was done in Calcutta. There was even a
small fight between his men and those ' of Jitendralal
*SA8 THE HISTORY OF THE OONGBB88
Banerjee, bis opponent. Maharashtra's opposition was
not less intense, nor less well-organized. Colonel Wedgwood
attended the meeting of the Subjects Committee and
so did Messrs. Ben Spoor and Holford Knight.
Col. Wedgwood put all his force into his arguments against
N. C. O. Nothing availed. The 'Khaddar clause was
made tighter, the N. C. 0. Resolution was re-affirmed, the
Creed of the Congress was changed "in such a fashion
as to eliminate the declared adherence of that body to the
British connection and to constitutional methods of
agitation." That was how Government viewed the change.
The session was a personal triumph for Gandhi. It left
every one of the older Congressmen, — seniors, leaders and
patriarchs, — aghast, asking themselves and each other,
"Who is this man that speaketh with a tone of authority
and whence doth he come?" Seasoned men like Pal and
Malaviya and Jinnah and Khaparde, stalwarts like Das
and Lalaji were simply overpowered. If the situation did
not give rise to feelings of jealousy, it must be due to the
splendid character of our political leaders.
Let us study the events connected with the Nagpur
Congress and the radical changes it introduced into the
Creed and Constitution, as well as into the ideals and
outlook of the National Congress. The acceptance of the
Resolution on N. C. O. was an event by itself, but the
great point about it is that the Resolution was moved by
Mr. C. R. Das and seconded by Lala Lajpat Rai.
The support that Gandhi obtained at Nagpur was
undoubtedly greater than what he had in Calcutta. In
Calcutta, the only top-notch politician that had lent a
helping hand to Gandhi, and that, rather late in the
session, was Pandit Motilal Nehru, — after Gandhi had
accepted his amendment to make the boycott of Law
Courts and colleges gradual. Else the stool of the N. C. O.
THE tilBTH OF NON-CO-OPERATION 149
was resting on but one leg. (At Nagpur, it stood on all
its four legs with perfect equipoise. Gandhi and Nehru,
Das and Lalaji were all for it. The Resolution itself is a
long and comprehensive one, sharing the characteristic
features of all Gandhi's resolutions on the subject of
N. C. O., in which he would not admit of any amendment
generally. It was the fashion of those days for the more
intellectually-minded delegates to table verbal and other
amendments to all resolutions, — and to Gandhi's resolu-
tions as well, — but it did not take long to discover that,
alike in terseness and comprehensiveness, Gandhi's drafts
could not be improved. That does not mean that he would
reject any reasonable suggestion. Never was he more
pleased than when a bright suggestion was made, and he
would readily grasp it. The N. C. O. Resolution of
Nagpur virtually reaffirmed that passed in Calcutta,
covering the whole field, from the renunciation of titles at
one end to the refusal to pay taxes at the other. It called
upon merchants gradually to boycott foreign trade
relations and encourage hand-spinning and hand-weaving,
exhorted the country to make the utmost possible contribu-
tion of self-sacrifice to the National movement, urged the
Congress to organize the Indian National Service, promote
the All-India Tilak Memorial Fund which had already
been resolved upon in the previous October, but which was
an amalgamation of the two funds then contemplated,
namely, the All-India Lokamanya Memorial Fund and
Swarajya Fund, requested those elected to Councils to
resign their seats and the electors to refrain studiously
.from asking for any political service from such Councillors,
recognised the growing friendliness between the Police and
soldiery and the people, appealed to all Government
servants to help the national cause by importing greater
kindness and stricter honesty in their dealings with the
people and fearlessly and openly to attend all popular
gatherings, laid emphasis on non-violence as an integral
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
part of the N. C. 0. movement. The Resolution
emphasises non-violence in word and deed as essential, "as
the spirit of violence is not only contrary to the growth of
a true spirit of democracy but actually retards the
enforcement (if necessary) of the other stages of N.C.O."
and finally, urged upon all public bodies to devote their
exclusive attention to the promotion of non-violent Non-
co-operation with the Government, and promote complete
co-operation amongst the people themselves. In this
changed atmosphere, arrangements were made to wind up
India, the Weekly published in England, while recognising
the necessity of disseminating correct information in India,
and in foreign countries. Homage was paid to the sacred
memory of the late Mac Swiney of Ireland who had met
with his end after a fast unto death extending over 65 days
for the sake of Irish emancipation.
Incidentally, it must be mentioned that Ireland and its
grim fight, though on violent lines, and the complete
boycott of the Milner Mission in Egypt, nerved India for
a fight equally grim, but on the plane of non-violence.
Col, Wedgwood who was at the Subjects Committee at
Nagpur and obtained permission to speak, gravely warned
the Congress against the cult of Non-co-operation. "You
will make it ^difficult for your friends in England to take
up your cause," said he. "You will be hampered in your
work. The Police will be after you. The lawyers sign
a pledge that they would be loyal to the Crown and cannot
therefore work for Non-co-operation. You are going into
,the wilderness. You must pursue a constructive pro-
grantme." In this strain did he go on for a quarter of
an hour with transparent sincerity and unmistakable
friendliness. Hardly had he resumed his seat when up
rose a voice in reply, and, in five minutes, answered his
objections: "We have no friends outside India; let there
be no mistake about that. Our salvation lies in our own
THE BIRTH OF NON-CO-OPERATION 351
hands. We must make or mar our future. We have
realised that, and taken to this programme. The Police-
are not a new element in Indian politics. If we have-
opened a small school, every rupee we have collected, we-
have gathered only under the shadow of the red turban
during the past fifteen years. Yes, the lawyers have to-
sign an undertaking to be Joyal, so it is that they are
asked to tear up their 'sanads.7 We are going into the
wilderness, we know, because the way to the 'land flowing
with milk and honey/ the land of Canaan, from the land
of our bondage, lies only through a wilderness. And we
trust to the leadership of a Moses or an Aaron to lead
us from untruth to truth, from darkness to light, from
death to life."
The rise in Exchange and the 'loot' thereby effected
in our Gold Exchange Standard Reserve, and Paper
Currency Reserve, through Reverse Councils became the
subject at Nagpur of a vigorous demand that the British
Government should make good the loss. It was also stated
in Resolution V that "dealers in British goods would be
entirely justified in refusing to complete their contracts
at the present rates of exchange." The country was asked
to refrain from taking any part in functions or festivities
in honour of H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught. Labour was
encouraged and sympathy was extended to it in its
struggles through Trade Unions. The export of food-stuffs
was condemned. Sympathy was also offered to political
workers, who were arrested and imprisoned with or without
regular trial. The renewal of repression in the Punjab*
Delhi and elsewhere was noted, and people were asked to
bear it up with fortitude. The Congress requested all
sovereign Princes to take immediate steps to establish full
Responsible Government in their States. The policy of
Government in still keeping Mr. B. G. Horniman removed
from the Indian people was condemned and India's-
3S2 THE HISTOBY OF THE OONGBB86
gratitude was expressed to him. The Esher Committee
and its recommendations were also condemned as
"calculated to increase India's subservience and impotence
and constituting an additional ground for N.C.O." The
Muslims were thanked for their resolution against cow-
slaughter; and export of cattle and hides was asked, to
be discouraged by the people. Free education and
indigenous medicine were the subjects of two resolutions.
Finally, we come to the Constitution of the Congress.
Ueder it, the Creed of the Congress was changed. Ite
object was declared to be "the attainment of Swaraj by
peaceful and legitimate means." Congress circles were
reorganized on a linguistic basis. A cardinal change was
the advancing of the Subjects Committee's sittings
to two or three days before the open sittings of the
Congress, and the limitation of its composition to the
members of the A.I.C.C., whose strength, however, was
increased to 350. The appointment of a Working
Committee of the A. I. C. C., composed of 15 members,
including the Secretaries, the Treasurers and the President,
was a feature of the new Constitution which has revolu-
tionized the day-to-day work of the Congress and made the
National Congress to-day a continuous organization for
carrying out the Congress behests. Before closing, let us
add that the Congress offered its support to Indians in
East Africa and South Africa in their heroic and noble
struggle against the treatment meted out to them, approv-
ed of the pplicy of peaceful N.C.O. initiated by the
Indians in East Africa, and deplored the inability of India
to render any help to the Indians in Fiji who had been
compelled to return to India, and lastly, the Congress
recorded its vote of thanks to Mr. C. F. Andrews for his
services to Indians Abroad.
CHAPTER II
NON-CO-OPERATION GALORE (1921).
The Nagpur Congress really marked a new era in
recent Indian history. The old feelings of impotent ragp
and importunate requests gave place to a new sense of
responsibility and a spirit of self-reliance. People realized
that if they would be free they must strike the blow
themselves. It was a definite call to them to cross the
Rubicon and burn their boats. They cheerfully agreed to
the course and began to march forward. The Nagpur
Congress laid a heavy duty upon the Nation, and the
A.I.C.C., under the advice of the Working Committee, set
itself seriously to its task. Let us, for a moment, study
the position of affairs in India, towards the end of 1920
and the beginning of 1921. By the end of the year 1920,
the Moderates once for all cut themselves off from the
Congress. Mr. C. Y. Chintamani made a grand speech at
the second annual session of fhe Liberal Federation.
Surendra Nath Banerjea became knighted. Lord Sinto
became the first Indian Governor of Bihar and Orissa.
Early in 1921, the new Ministers included a man like
Lala Har Kishcn Lai who had been condemned a few
months earlier to transportation for life and forfeiture of
property, in the Punjab. The Duke of Connaught, uncle
of King George, was sent over to assuage feeling in India
and open the new era. He made a fine speech: —
"I have reached a time of life when I most desire
to heal wounds and reunite those who have been
disunited. An old friend of India, I appeal to you all
— British and Indians — to bury along with the dead
past the mistakes and misunderstandings of the past,
to forgive where you have to forgive and to join
hands and to work together to realise the hopes that
arise from to-day."
354 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Later on, when the Punjab tragedy was raised by a
resolution in the Supreme Council, Sir William Vincent,
who led the debate on the question from the Government
benches, made plain "the deep regret of the administration
At the perpetration of those improper actions, and their
Jinn determination that, so far as human foresight could
avail, any repetition would be for ever impossible."
Having stated this much, Government cleverly managed
to get the mover of the Resolution to withdraw the third
clause calling for deterrent punishment. The fact, however,
was that though General Dyer was relieved of his
command, and thereby perhaps lost his pension, a
collection was made by the English ladies in India who
looked upon him as their saviour, and £20,000 was paid to
Mm, and more than the money, the honour publicly done to
him in England and in India in the presentation of a
sword was enough to compensate him; for any loss other-
wise sustained. Col. Johnson, the next arch-offender,
secured a commercial appointment in India and found
himself amply compensated for his 'losses.' Neither the
appeal of the Duke nor the "regret of the administration"
expressed by the Home Member, Sir William Vincent,
helped to appease the feelings of Indians. N.C.O. came
to stay. There was however one redeeming feature, and
that was that the Central Legislature appointed a
Committee early in 1921 to examine the Repressive Laws
which were, with the exception of the Criminal Law
Amendment Act, actually repealed early in 1922, but all
these palliatives left the sore unhealed. It continued to
be festering and the Congress had to do its own doctoring,
instead of depending upon the time-honoured remedies of
Royal Pronouncements or Legislative repeals.
'The response to the Nagpur Congress was ample. The
"No-vote campaign had been a remarkable success. Less
successful was the boycott of courts and colleges, though
NON-CO-OPERATION GALORE
their prestige was greatly damaged. Numerous lawyers
had left their profession throughout the country and
thrown themselves heart and soul into the movement. Am
unexpected measure of response however was noticeable in
the field of National Education. Though the number of
students that non-co-operated was not large, there was an
earnest move towards National Education.
The fact was Mahatma Gandhi's appeal to the finer
instincts of the youth of the country to devote themselves
to its service, and to shun the institutions which had been
created and maintained to kill all manliness in them, was
responded to with enthusiasm. Nor was the work
confined to merely to boycott. National Universities,
National Colleges, and National Schools of all grades were
started in different parts of the country. The student
movement in the U.P., the Punjab, and the Bombay
Presidency was in full swing. Bengal was not behind-hand,
and Calcutta witnessed one of those thrilling scenes which
were not few or far between in the course of that
memorable year and a half. About the middle of January,
on an appeal by Deshbandhu C. R. Das, thousands of
students left their colleges and examinations. Gandhi
visited Calcutta and opened the National College on the
4th of February. He also visited Patna for a second
time and formally opened the National College and
inaugurated the Bihar Vidyapith. Thus in the course of
less than four months, the National Muslim University of
Aligarh, the Gujarat Vidyapith, the Bihar Vidyapith, the
Kashi Vidyapith, the Bengal National University, the
Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapith, and a large number of
National Schools of all grades, with thousands of students
On the rolls, were started in all parts of the country as a
result of the great impetus given to National Education.
In the Andhradesa, the torch of National Education
which was lighted in 1907 and which was now dim andr
SIC THE HISTOBY OF THB CONGBESS
now luminous, once again began to shine bright and clear.
The students that non-co-operated with the Regulation
institutions were many, and not a few of the Provincial
and District leaders of to-day are from amongst the
lawyers and students who had non-co-operated in 1920-21.
In pursuance of the Nagpur Resolution, the Working.
Committee of the All-India Congress Committee met
almost from month to month in the year 1921 at diffeient
centres. The first meeting of the A.I.C.C. took place at
Nagpur to elect the Working Committee and to allocate
seats in the A.I.C.C. to the twenty-one Provinces. Gandhi
had already taken over Young India from the Home
Rulers who were glad to part with this splendid English
Weekly, which was the organ in Bombay of the .Home
Rule movement, for the purpose of helping the cause. The
Home Rule League itself had been disorganized and
disrupted. In January, 1921, Seth Jamnalal Bajaj, who
was the Chairman of the Reception Committee of the
Nagpur Congress and who shed his title of Rao Bahadur,
donated one lac of rupees 1o the Tilak Swaraj Fund for
the purpose of supporting non-co-operating lawyers. The
Working Committee met in Calcutta on 31st January, 1921
and framed rules for the allocation of the Tilak Swaraj
Fund, 25% being required to be sent to the Working
Committee from the Provincial collections. No lawyer
was to receive more than Rs 100 per mensem and no*
member of the National Service more than Rs 50.
Indebtedness was made a disqualification for such service.
Pending the evolution of a detailed curriculum of studies
in the field of National Education, Hindustani and
spinning were required to be ta/ught, and a course of
training was to be given for village workers. Mr. C.R. Das
was requested to look after Labour organization Mid
Mr. L. R. Tairsee was appointed Convener of the Economic
Boycott Committee.
NON-CO-OPERATION GALOEB J$f
The Working Committee next met at Bezwada on
the 31st March and 1st April^jflgl, as also the All-
India Congress ComrnitfeeT^heWorking Committee
felt unanimously that the time had not arrived yet for
non-payment of taxes. It wlas at this meeting of the
A.I.C.C. at Bezwada that collection of one crore of
rupees for Swarajya Fund, enlistment of one crore of
Congress members and introduction of 20 lacs of charkas
were enjoined upon the Nation, quotas being fixed in
the proportion of provincial population. The organiza-
tion of Panchayats and the discouragement of drink were
singled out for commendation. Even though only harm-
less reforms such as these were being preached by the
people, Government had already begun to serve orders
•under Section 144 and Section 108, and the A.I.C.C. held
that the country was not yet sufficiently disciplined,
organized and ripe for the immediate taking up of Civil
Disobedience, and called upon all to conform to orders
served upon them. The Committee expressed its sense
of horror over the Nankana massacre and assured the
Sikhs of its sympathy with them in the heavy losses
suffered by them. The fact was that even by the
second week of March, the country was in a state of
excitement. Orders of restraint were passed against
Mr. C. R. Das entering Mymensingh, Babu Rajendra
Prasad and Maulana Mazar-ul-Haq entering Arrah,
Yakub Hasan entering Calcutta, and Lajpat Rai
entering Peshawar. A host of other orders were passed
against others. Lahore was proclaimed under the
Seditious Meetings Act.
But all these were nothing compared to the
Nankana tragedy. In the first week of March, peaceful
pilgrims assembled in that Gurudwara were suddenly
pounced upon and shot down, the casualties aggregating
to 196 killed as estimated by the people, but 70
23
$9* THE HISTORY OP THE CONGRESS
according to Government. The Mahant, a loyal subject,
had stored 4,000 cartridges and 65 revolvers in his
house. There was a pit dug with a big fire burning. A
conference on public affairs was to assemble there on
the 5th March- A number of budmashes perpetrated
this crime. Major Currie, who was the same officer as
was in Delhi two years previously on the Clock Tower
tragedy day, and Mr. King, were transferred from the
locality to another district forthwith. It" is not known
•gainst whom the Mahant meant to direct his wrath.
But the circumstances were inexplicable. There was a
motion before the Council of State regarding the incident,
which was explained by Government as a fight between
two sections of the Sikhs. Mr. Man Singh while
speaking on Bakshi Sohan Lai's amendment hinted that
the officials of the locality should have been, for sometime
previously, acquainted with possibilities of the projected
crime of such magnitude. At this stage in the council,
Sir. William Vincent walked up to the seat of Mr. Hailey
and whispered in his ear. Mr. Hailey got up and, in
angry tones, vehemently condemned the speaker who
attempted to assert the implication of the officials in the
ghastly affair. The Nankana tragedy was an unprece-
dented event in which the pilgrims were shot down and,
while yet life was lingering, thrown into the burning pit.
In the history of the earlier years of the Congress
we saw how the British Committee was the real centre
of work and how expensive were its establishment and
other requirements. Sums aggregating to Rs. 60,000 a
year were sanctioned in several years. Now the centre
•f gravity had shifted to India. At Bezwada it. was
resolved that a sum of Rs. 17,000 be sanctioned for the
remainder of the 'current year' for the expenses of the
office of the President, the Secretary and the Cashier. A
Aim of 1,000 dollars Was cabled to Mr. D. V. 8. Rao of,
NON-CO-OPERATION GALORE 859
Che Indian Home Rule League of America on the
recommendation of Lalaji and Mr. Kclkai*. The sixth
and the 13th of April were required to be observed as
days of fasting and prayer. The representation of the
Congress circles on the A.I.C.C. was readjusted so as,
however, not to disturb the total strength of 350 members,
excluding ex-Presidents. When the Working Committee
ttext met at Allahabad in May on the 10th, there were
already invitations to it from Tan j ore and Sholapur.
Nothing of importance transpired at this meeting. The
Committee later met in Bombay on the 15th June, when
Gandhi made a statement regarding his interview with
the Viceroy.
At this interview which was brought about by Pandit
Madan Mohan Malaviya, Lord Reading who became the
Viceroy in April, 1921, had an opportunity of judging
Gandhi's sincerity and discovered how unwise it would
be on his part to take action against the N.C.O. movement
as such. But he incidentally drew attention to the
speeches of the Ali Brothers as falsifying the view of the
Non-co-operation movement put forward by Gandhi.
These speeches, it was pointed out to Gandhi, might be
construed as subtle incitements to violence, and being the
scrupulously fair man that Gandhi always is, he agreed
that such a misconstruction of the speeches was possible.
He therefore wrote to the Ali Brothers and secured from
them a statement repudiating any such intention on their
part.
This 'apology' was an epoch-making event in the
iiietory of the movement. Anglo-India was jubilant over
Ctaventment's victory. Lord Reading was satisfied with
flie 'apology' and gave up the idea of prosecution.
369 THE HISTOKT OF THE OOftGUDSS
At the Bombay meeting of the Working Committee
the position in regard to defence in political cases was
made clear. The Working Committee laid down that "in
the event of prosecution or a civil suit being brought
against Non-co-operators, they should not participate ill
the proceedings beyond making before the Court a full
statement of facts in order to establish their innocence
before the public. Where security is demanded from, them
under the Criminal Procedure Code, they shall refuse
furnishing such security and offer to undergo imprison*
rtent in default." Further it was laid down that non-co-
operating lawyers were precluded from appearing as
counsel, with or without payment. At that time there-
was an apprehension of hostilities being reopened with the
Turkish Government at Angora and the Working-
Committee was of opinion that it was the duty of every
Indian to refrain from helping the British Government in
the prosecution of such hostilities in direct defiance of
Muslim opinion, and it was therefore the duty of Indianr
soldiers to decline to serve in connection therewith.
An important sitting of the A.I.C.C. took place in
July, 1921, in Bombay on the 28th, 29th and 30th. The
feeling of the country was one of universal jubilation at
the success of the Bezwada programme. The Tilak Swaray
Fund 'was over-subscribed by about 15 lakhs of rupees.
The membership did not reach much over half the pre-
scribed figure but the charkas came up nearly to the figure
of 20 lakhs. The next thing was naturally to turn the
tpuntry's attention to weaving and the accessory crafts
of spinning and carding. To this end, a complete boycott
of foreign cloth was the subject for the- country to*
concentrate on, coupled with the manufacture of khaddar.
The Ai.C.C. furtl^r advised that "all persons belonging
to the Congress shVl discard the use of foreign cloth, as
from the 1st day of August next." The millowners of
NON-CO-OPERATION GALOBE ' 861
Bombay and Ahmedabad were requested "to regulate the
prices of their manufactures so as to bear proportion to
the wages of mill hands and so as to be within the reach
of the poorest, and in no case to raise the price beyond
the prevailing tfates." Importers of foreign cloth were
asked to stop all foreign orders and to endeavour to
dispose of their stock outride India.
The A.I.C.C. expressed the opinion that "it was the
inherent right of a citizen to pronounce his opinion upon
the advisability or otherwise of Government servants
leaving Civil or Military service, and that it was the
inherent right of every citizen to appeal in an open manner
to every soldier or civilian, to sever his connection with
a Government which had forfeited the confidence; and
support of a vast majority of the population of India."
The resolution on foreign policy submitted by the Working
Committee iras approved of by the A.I.C.C.
'On it-he question of anti-drink propaganda, troubles
liad -already arisen at Dharwar, Matian and other places
by undue Bnd improper interference from the authorities
•with attempts to wean weak members from visiting drink
shops, and the A.I.C.C. warned that it would be prepared
to recommend the continuance of picketing in disregard
«of such interference. The Thana District Board was
congratulated on its resolution re. picketing and its
•determination to continue it, and the A.I.C.C. called upon
•other Local Boards and Municipalities in India immedi-
ately to follow the splendid lead of Thana. It may be
noted here that the Congress had not up to that time
tabled any resolution on picketing and even then it
•confined iteelf to public bodies. An appeal was made to
traders that they should discontinue trade in intoxicants.
The Congress was keenly alive to the duty of the Nation
to maintain perfect non-violence, but excesses having
362 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
committed by some people in parts of the city of AlignA
even though under grave provocation, the A.I.C.C. advised
Congress organizations to inculcate the spirit of complete
non-violence, and congratulated the people on their self-
control despite the grave provocation at 'Dharwar, Matian,
Guntur, Chirala, Perala, Kerala, N. W. F. Province,
Keonjhar and elsewhere.
Repression was going on particularly in U. P. in a
serious and widespread manner. In several places people
were wounded by firing. Many were under imprisonment
without offer of defence, and to all congratulations were
offered on the score that "only through voluntary suffering
and through imprisonment of innocent people without
defence or bail the way to freedom lay." The situatiott
was such that from different parts of the country arose
a demand for taking up Civil Disobedience in answer to
the repressive measures of Local Governments. The
administration in N. W. Frontier Province had even
prohibited the entry into that Province of the members
of the Frontier Enquiry Committee to enquire into the
outrages alleged to have been committed by the local
officials at Banu. Nevertheless, "to ensure greater
stability of non-violent atmosphere throughout India, and
in order to test the measure of influence attained by the
Congress over the people and further in order to retail*
on the part of the Nation an atmosphere free frank
ferment necessary for the proper and swift prosecution of
Swadeshi, the All-India Congress Committee is of opinion
that Civil Disobedience should be postponed till after the
completion of the programme referred to in the resolution*
on Swadeshi." Moreover a big event was about to take
place in connection with the visit of H.R.H. the Prince of
Wales. The A. I. C. C. resolved that "it is the duty of
every one to refrain from participating in or assisting in*
any functions organized officially or otherwise in con&ee*
NON-CO-OPERATION GALORE 343
tion with his visit." And with the immense possibilities
ahead, the A.I.C.C. wisely decided in favour of patience
on the question of Civil Disobedience. The Working
Committee appointed Sjt. Bhawani Shankar Niyogi, a
non-co-operator lawyer of Nagpur (now a Judge of the
C. P. High Court), Abbas Tyabji, retired Judge of
Baroda, and Setlur, sometimes Judge of Mysore, to
enquire into the firing by the authorities on the crowd at
Dharwar on the 1st July, 1921 and to make a full report
thereon. Provincial Congress Circles being carved out
under the Constitution on a linguistic basis, the question
of bilingual districts naturally became a contentious one,
and Bellary was one such as between Karnataka and
Andhra. The matter was required to be adjusted by an
Arbitration Board appointed in that behalf as also later
in respect of Ganjam between Andhra and Utkal. Power
v*as given in regard to applications for the Congress funds
to a Committee consisting of Mahatma Gandhi, Motilalji,
find Seth Jamnnlal Bajaj. When the Working Committee
met at Patna on the 16th August, the letter of request
i'or permission to start Civil Disobedience of orders under
Section 144 from the District of Hardoi in the U. P. was
adjourned to the next meeting of the Committee. For am
effective boycott of foreign cloth before the 30th
September, the Working Committee pointed out the
necessity to collect foreign cloth from every home and to
set apart volunteers under proper control for the purpose.
Not less than one-fourth of the whole of the collections
made in the Province for the All-India Tilak Swaraj Fund
was required to be set apart, to organize the spread of
hand-spinning, the collection of hand-spun yarn and the
weaving and distribution of khaddar. Some Provinces
not having sent 25 per cent, of the T.S.F. to the Working
Committee, the latter withheld grants to defaulting
Provinces. The next meeting mtet shortly after in Calcutta
on the 6th, 7th, 8th and llth September. It waa aa
M4 THE HISTORY OF THE COKGftE&S
important meeting. Reports on the firing at Dharwar
and on the Moplah outbreak were before it. On the
latter the following resolutions were passed:
"25. The Working Committee places on record
its sense of deep regret over the deeds of violence
done by Moplahs in certain areas of Malabar, these
deeds being evidence of the fact that there are still
people in India who have not understood the
message of the Congress and the Central Khilaphat
Committee, and calls upon every Congress and
Khilaphat worker to spread the said message of non-
violence even under the gravest provocation
throughout the length and breadth of India.
"Whilst, however, condemning violence on the
part of the Moplahs, the AVorking Committee desires
it to be known that the evidence in its possession
shows that provocation beyond endurance was given
to the Moplahs and that the reports published by and
on behalf of the Government have given a one-sided
and highly exaggerated account of the wrongs done by
the Moplahs and an understatement of the needless
destruction of life resorted to by the Government in
the name of peace and order.
"The Working Committee regrets to find that
there have been instances of so-called forcible
conversion by some fanatics among the Moplahs, but
warns the public against believing in the Govern-
ment and inspired versions. The Report before the
Committee says: The families which have been
reported to have been forcibly converted into
Mohamedanismi lived in the neighbourhood of Manjeri.
It is clear that conversions were forced upon Hindus
by a fanatic gang which was always opposed to the
Khilaphat and Non-co-operation movement and
there were only three cases so far as our information
"It has been reported to the Working Committee that
the disturbances took place only in areas in which
Congress and Khilaphat activities were prohibited and
NON-CO-OPERATION GALOBE MS
that the Congress and the Khilaphat workers tried their
best at considerable risk to themselves to check the
mob-fury and prevent violence."
Events were moving fast. The All-India Khilaphat
Conference of 1921 took place at Karachi on the 8th July
at which Mahomed Ali, the President, made a daring
speech which since then became known as the Karachi
speech. The proceedings of the Conference formed later
the subject matter of the prosecution of the Ali Brothers,
Dr. Kitchlew, Jagatguru Shri Shankaracharya of Sarada
Peeth, Maulana Nisar Ahmad, Pir Gulam Mujadid and
Maulvi Hoissain Ahmed. AYhile reiterating the Muslim
demands, the Conference also passed a resolution declar-
ing it "unlawful for any faithful Muslim to serve from
that day in the army or help or acquiesce in their
recruitment." It also declared that if the British
Government fought the Angora Government, the Muslims
of India would start Civil Disobedience and establish
their Complete Independence and hoist the flag of the
Indian Republic at the Ahmedabad Session of the Indian
National Congress.
Mahomed All's speech on the occasion was repeated
on the 16th October, 1921 from thousands of platforms
in India in accordance with instructions from the
Congress high command as a challenge to Government
who had ordered the prosecution referred to. The
resolution occasioning the speech was one regarding
Military service under Government, which "virtually
reaffirmed the principle! laid down by the Congress both in
Calcutta and at Nagpur." The Working Committee of the
Congress having met in Bombay on the 5th October made
a statement in the course of which it said: —
THE HISTORY OF THB CONGBESS
'That it is contrary to the National dignity and
National interest for any Indian to engage or remain
in the service of a Government in any capacity
whatever, a Government that has used the soldiers
and the Police for repressing the just aspirations
of the people, as during the Rowlatt Act agitation,
and that has utilized the soldiers for the purpose of
crushing the National spirit of the Egyptians, the
Turks, the Arabs, and other nations."
The AH Brothers and their comrades were ordered to
be prosecuted and the Working Committee, while con-
gratulating them on the prosecution, declared that the
reason given for the prosecutions constituted an undue
interference with religious liberty, and added the following
rider: —
"The Working Committee has been only deterred
from calling out the soldiers and the civilians
in the name of the Congress, because the
Congress is not yet ready to support those Govern-
ment servants who may leave Government service
and who may not be able themselves to find means
of livelihood. The Working Committee is, however,
of opinion that in pursuance of the spirit of the
Congress Resolution on N.C.O., it is the clear duty of
every Government employee, whether soldier or
civilian, who can support himself without Congress
assistance, to leave such service."
Carding, weaving and spinning were pointed to the
soldiers and the Police as affording honourable means for
an independent livelihood. The Congress Committees were
asked to adopt the above resolution at meetings all over
the country, and this was carried out on the 16th October.
The boycott of foreign cloth was as yet incomplete and
unless it was effected, the Working Committee said,
general Civil Disobedience in any District or Province,
would not be possible. Nor would it be permitted unless
hand-spinning and hand-weaving were developed so as to
NON-CO-OPERATION GALOBft - 367
•
produce sufficient khaddar for the wants of the area —
whether District or Province. The Working Committee,
however, authorised Civil Disobedience by individuals
who might be prevented in the prosecution of the
Swadeshi propaganda, provided it was done under the
authority of the Provincial Congress Committee which
was to be assured of a non-violent atmosphere being
retained. The detailed programme for the boycott of the
visit of the Prince of Wales was worked out, and on the
day of his landing, it was laid down, there should be
general voluntary hartal throughout India, and as to the
effective boycott of any public welcome to H.R.H. during
his visit to the different cities of India, the Working
Committee left arrangements in the hands of the
respective Provincial Congress Comiijittees. An important
announcement was then made to all foreign States that
the Government of India in no way represented Indian
opinion, that India, as a Self-Governing country, had
nothing to fear from the neighbouring States or any
State, as her people had no design upon any of them
and hence no intention of establishing any trade relations,
hostile to or not desired by, the people of such States.
Further, the neighbouring States not ill-disposed towards
India, were warned against entering into any treaty with
the Imperial power, and the Muslim States were assured
that when India attained Self-Government, her foreign
policy would naturally be so guided as to respect the
religious obligations imposed upon Muslims by Islam.
Thege were the views of the Working Committee and they
did not want them to go forth in the name of the A.I.C.C.
until they were thoroughly discussed by the public and
adopted at a meeting by the former.
At this time the Ali Brothers were taken under
, custody, Maulana Mahomed Ali being arrested in the
course of his tour, at Waltair, on his way from Assam to
36S THB HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Madras, on the 14th September. He was kept in the sub-
jail for a few days, a release order was read to him and
lie was forthwith re-arrested and was taken to Karachi.
Mr. Shaukat Ali was arrested in Bombay soon after
Maulana Mahomed All's arrest. When it transpired that
the Karachi speech was to be the subject of prosecution,
Gandhi was at Trichinopoly and he publicly repeated the
speech himself and felt so strongly on the matter as to
call upon the Nation to repeat the resolution on the
subject, as already referred to, by a resolution of the
Working Committee. The rapid march of tiirie leaving
but a month for the Nation to establish Swaraj and the
•exemplary self-restraint displayed by the Nation over
the arrest of the Ali Brothers and the other leaders, led the
Working Committee and the A.I.C.C. that met at Delhi
on the 5th November, 1921, to authorise every Province
on its own responsibility to undertake Civil Disobedience
including non-payment of taxes, in the manner considered
most suitable by the respective Provincial Congress
Committees subject to the following conditions. Every
individual civil register must have fulfilled the part of
^he N.C.O.* programme applicable to him, should know
spinning, must have discarded foreign cloth, taken to
khaddar, must be a believer in Hindu-Muslim unity,
believe in non-violence as absolutely essential for the
redress of the Khilaphat and Punjab wrongs and the
attainment of Swaraj, and, if a Hindu, must by his
personal conduct show that he regards untouchability as
a, blot upon Nationalism. In regard to mass Civil
Disobedience a District or Tahsil should be treated as a
unit and therein a majority of the population must have
adopted full Swadeshi and must be clothed out of cloth
land-spun and hand-woven in that area, and must believe
in and practise all the other items of N.C.O. No one
should expect support out of public funds. It was open
NON-CO-OPEBATION GALOEB
to the Working Committee to waive any condition on
the application of the P. C. C.'s
Then a resolution was adopted to deal with the
position in Malabar including forcible conversions to
Islam and desecration of Hindu temples.
At tins point, a brief reference has to be made to-
two important developments in the movement of
non- violent Non-co-operation. In the year 1921, a spirit
of resistance to authority was the dominant factor o£
public life, and people practised this in different parts of
the country in relation to the conditions of life around
them and the local and civic problems that confronted
them. The All-India Congress Committee meeting of
March 31st, at Bezwada in the Andhra Province, almost
electrified the atmosphere of the Telugu. districts and the
people of Chirala shortly after were called, upon to face
the question of their village being converted, into a>
Municipality. The Local Self-Government Minister was-
the Raja of Panagal who had antagonised the Congress
party. The Congress party was only too anxious to*
reciprocate. The people of Chirala were not anxious to
have a Municipality. When Gandhi's advice was sought"
on the situation, he suggested that if the people did 'not*,
care for a Municipality, they might leave the precincts-
thereof and live outside. Gandhi further warned that it
should not be taken up under the auspices of the Congress.
If the movement succeeded, the glory would in part go to
the Congress, but if it failed, the discredit of it should
not attach to the Congress. Altogether the idea was a
captivating one and there was a leader worthy of the
mighty task before him. Andhraratna D. Gopala-
krishnayya put his whole heart into the idea and
conducted the exodus which reminds us of the earlier
Hijrate of the Mnslimr of SlndK. into Afghanistan;
X7t THE HISTORY OF TH» CONGKESS
l>eople of Chirala suffered much, and suffered long. They
were in huts outside the municipal limits for over ten
months. In the meantime, the leaders were arrested for
one reason or another. A few who were not
non-co-operators were cajoled and coaxed into submission,
and after nearly a year's abandonment of hearths and
homes, they returned to the village and submitted to the
Municipality. Another mighty undertaking was the
strike in Chittagong. Chittagong is a port in East Bengal
and the labour strike, organised by Sen Gupta, cost the
Congress over a lac of rupees. The difficulty in regard
to such undertakings is that men in authority can wear
$ut the energies of the strikers. The Congress cannot
always remain behind these movements. Its resources
of money are limited. Its man-power, however, is great
but Government have a complete hold on the men that
conduct the movements of the Congress. When the
strong personalities of a place are once removed and put
into prison under some law or other, the forces of
disruption add themselves to the forces of corruption, and
movements give way.
In passing, we must also state the circumstances
which led to the origin of the Moplah trouble in Malabar.
The Moplahs are Muslims who were originally the
off-spring of Arab immigrants in Malabar that had
settled in this beautiful land and contracted marital
alliances locally. They are, generally speaking, petty
traders and cultivating peasants. But under the stress of
religious excitement, they display a certain degree of
fanaticism and do not care for life or comfort. The
periodical outbreaks of Moplah note have led to special
legislation known as the Moplah Outrages Act. Govern-
ment were from the outset anxious that the 'inflammable'
Moplahs should not be charged with the spark of
Non-co-operation. Yet the movement spread into Kerala
NON-CO-OPERATION GALORE 371
as to any other place. Only, Kerala received it with
the added enthusiasm of a newly integrated Congress
Province. In the month of February, distinguished
leaders like C. Rajagopalachariar and Yakub Hassan
visited the Province, with the avowed object of preaching
the cult of non-violence. Yakub Hassan expressly
stated that he would not speak about N.C.O. Neverthe-
less prohibitory orders were passed. And four leaders —
Yakub Hassan, Madhavan Nair, Gopala Menon and
Moideen Koya were arrested on the 16th February, 1921.
This incident only gave an impetus to the cause of N.C.O.
movement in Malabar. At Ottapalem, a small town, the
Kerala Provincial Conference was organised and with it
a number of allied conferences were held. When the main
conferences had concluded, and while the students' con-
ference was sitting, the Reserve Police laid hands on some
leading Congressmen and Khilaphatists, as well as on
bazaar men. But people exhibited complete non-violence
in a wonderful manner. Thereafter the whole of Malabar
was organised on the lines indicated by the Bezwada
resolutions.
The Moplahs are chiefly concentrated in Walvanad
and Ernad talukas and Government proclaimed them
under Sec. 144. By the month of August, the com-
plexion of affairs changed and the Moplahs, writhing under
insults offered to their Thangals or religious priests in
mosques, broke into violence. Soon hostilities developed
on a military scale. The Moplaha had few fire-arms,
but plenty of swords. They practised guerilla warfare
to which the country round about admirably lends itself.
By the middle of October, a severer form of Martial Law
was introduced than in the earlier months. The Moplahs
in their turn were guilty of acts of compulsory conver-
sion, looting of Hindus, arson and murder, besides looting
and destroying public offices. The lives of Englishman
THE HISTORY OF THD CONGHESS
were at stake. Mr. M. P. Narayana Menon, a Congress-
man who had done much to organise Congress Committees-
all over Malabar, used his influence with the Moplahs-
and saved the Englishmen. This very worker was later
hauled up and at first made a State prisoner in November,
1921, but in 1922 was tried for treason and sentenced to*
transportation for life. He was released only in Septem-
ber, 1934 after serving his full term. He could have been
leleased earlier if he had only given an oral undertaking
that he would not enter Walvanad Taluk for three yearsr
but he would not and, therefore, served his full tern*
heroically and voluntarily. The further course of the
Moplah rebellion or even its developments since August
on violent lines do not concern us, except to the
extent to which the A.I.C.C. had to protest against their
excesses at its November meeting.
The Prince of Wales arrived in India on the 17th
of November. The Prince was to have opened the new
Assembly, but the atmosphere in India of August, 1920
led Government to replace him by the Duke. He was-
therefore sent in November, '21 to India, to keep up the-
prestige of the British Government. The Congress had
already resolved upon the boycott of all celebrations
connected with the Prince's visit, which was duly carried
out together with bonfires of foreign cloth. The very*
day of his arrival in Bombay, there were not merely
clashes and conflicts in Bombay but rioting and blood-
shed which extended over three or four days, resulting
in the death of 53 persons and the wounding of 400
approximately, and which could not be put down in spite
of Sarojini Devi, Gandhi and other leaders entering into
the thick of the crowds and exhorting them to disperse.
Numerous people were injured in the melee and Gandhi
fasted for 5 days pending the restoration of order, as a
penance for the excesses of the people. It was then that
NON-CO-OPERATION OALOBE
Gandhi made the statement that Swaraj stank in his
nostrils. The arrival of the Prince caused the Volunteer
Movement all over India to consolidate itself. Till then
Congress volunteers were only a kind of social service
workers, helping pilgrims at fairs and festivals, patients
in epidemics and victims of local catastrophes, also pro-
viding the retinue at conferences and other national
public functions. The Khilaphatist volunteers were
however, more 'militant/ as Government would say, and
"they drilled and marched in mass formation," and they
''wore uniform." Both sets of volunteers organised hartals
and boycott of foreign cloth. These two wings coalesced
and became civil registers, subject to the conditions laid
down by the All-India Congress Committee (vide supra).
Arrests took place by the thousand. The Prince was to
visit Calcutta on the 25th December, and the Government
of Bengal, unlike that of Bombay, proclaimed enrolment
of volunteers illegal under the Criminal Law Amendment
Act, and a large number of persons were arrested,
including Mr. and Mrs. Das and their son. Soon after,
the U. P. and the Punjab followed suit. By the.
Ahmedabad Congress, Lalaji, Pandit Motilal Nehru,,
Jawaharlal Nehru, C. R. Das and family, were all in
jail under the Criminal Law Amendment Act, or under
Sees. 144, and 108, I.P-C. These sections were discovered!
and their application to politicals was advised, it seems;
by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru who became the Law Member
of the Viceroy's Executive Council in August, 1^20.
While Bombay had acted under the ordinary Law,
Bengal, the U. P. and the Punjab invoked the Repressive
Laws.
It was at this juncture that negotiations were opened
between Congress and Government. The Viceroy, under
the arrangements made in shifting the metropolis from
Calcutta to Delhi, resides in Calcutta for three or four
24
THE HISTORY OF TH» CONGRESS
weeks every year during the Christmas season and the
Prince of Wales was to spend his Christmas in Calcutta.
Lord Reading's presence in Calcutta under the circum-
stances was taken advantage of by intermediaries like
Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya to bring about an
understanding between Government and the people, and
Lord Reading was willing — if only to avoid the boycott
of the celebrations on the 25th December in Calcutta.
A deputation headed by the Pandit waited on the Viceroy
on the 21st December. Mr. Das was in the Alipore jail
in the city of Calcutta and telephonic communications
took place between him and the intermediaries. Soon
Gandhi had to be consulted. He was in Ahmedabad
and by telegraphic communications it was agreed to by
Government that the Civil Disobedience prisoners should
be released and a Round Table Conference was to be
held in March with 22 representatives for the Congress
to consider the Reform Scheme.
Das's demand was for the release of all prisoners
under the new law (Criminal Law Amendment Act).
This would have left men like Lalaji in jail, besides the
Karachi and the Fatwa prisoners who included, Maulana
Mahomed All and Shaukat Ali, Dr. Kitchlew and various
others. The Karachi prisoners were those who were con-
victed on November 1, 1921, for having participated in
the All-India Khilaphat Conference held at Karachi in
July, 1021, where the resolution regarding Military
service had been passed. Some Ulemahs endorsed this
resolution in a Fatwa-~ which is a decree issued by the
learned Divines amongst the Muslims prescribing or
proscribing certain acts under certain conditions. (For
full details relating to the peace negotiations of
December, 1931, the reader is referred to "Seven months
wttbt Mahatma Gaadtt" by Kriahaadae,— a book well
w«th<eading), I
NQN-CO-OP&RATION <GALQRE J15
But Gandhi demanded the release of the Karachi
^prisoners which was also partly agreed to. His demand
for the release of the Fatwa prisoners and for the
•continuance of the right of picketing was refused. Before
Gandhi's telegraphic reply on this position could reach
Lord Reading in Calcutta, — and unfortunately this
message was delayed in transit, — his colleagues had left
Calcutta (on the 23rd December) and the negotiations
failed. Mr. Jinnah and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya
were the intermediaries. Negotiations having failed, the
boycott programme of the Prince's visit was observed .by
the rest of India. In Calcutta the hartal was complete,
•even the butchers' shops being closed, and this exasperated
the Europeans. The civil resistors continued to be in
jail till they were released in the usual course. The last
week of December, 1921 finds us in the midst of the
Ahmedabad Session of the Congress at which the Non-
to-operation programme reached its acme. The political
situation had not changed at all since the Nagpur Session.
The inauguration of the Montford Reforms by the Duke
of Connaught was made the occasion for a Royal message
in the course of which it was said: —
"For years, it may be for generations, patriotic
and loyal Indians have dreamed of Swaraj for their
Motherland; to-day you have the beginnings of
Swaraj within my Empire and the best scope and
ample opportunity for progress to the liberty which
my other Dominions enjoy."
Neither this half-hearted reference to the term
"'Swaraj' nor the Duke's appeal to bury the dead past and
to forgive, nor the debates in the Assembly relating to
-the Punjab tragedy in which Sir William Vincent made
plam iire deep regret of the administration at the /excesses
•of certain individual officers, and their -firm determination
io snake any repetition impossible, masuaged the fn*W*c
876 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGWESS
feeling or restored confidence in the mind of the Nation,
The N.C.O. programme had, therefore, been published and
at the Ahmedabad Session its details were perfected.
The President-Elect, Mr. C. R. Das,— Deshbandhu Das,
as he came to be known by this time, — was in jail and
Hakim Ajmal Khan was elected in his place.
The atmosphere was tense. "Swaraj inside a year"
was the thought uppermost in every man's mind. Gandhi
had promised Swaraj inside a year, if his programme was
adhered to and carried out. The year was about to close
and everybody was looking up to the political firmament
to see some miracle bringing Swaraj down to his feet.
But every one was prepared to do his best, to suffer
his worst in order to "hasten the advent of that (no
longer) far-off divine event." No sacrifice would be too
much for popular endurance. Every one was anxious to
have a programme of mass Civil Disobedience. Over
twenty thousand individual civil resisters were already in
jail. Their numbers were soon to swell to 30,000. But
mass disobedience was the thing that was luring the*
people. What was it, what would it be? Gandhi himself
never defined it, never elaborated it, never visualized it
even to himself. It must unfold itself to a discerning
vision, to a pure heart, from step to step, iriuch as the
path-way in a dense forest would reveal itself to the
wayfarer's feet as he wends his weary way until a ray
of light brightens the hopes of an all but despairing
wanderer. Mass disobedience was to be undertaken by
competent men in a suitable area with strict regard to
conditions laid down in that behalf without haste and
without rest. So Gandhi wanted to organise a No-tax
campaign in Gujarat, but friends in Guntur had already
been preparing the District for a No-tax campaign with
equftl warmth, enthusiasm and preparedness for sacrifice
mnd suffering. The state of the country at the -time as
NON-CO-OPERATION GALORE 377
well as the duty of the Congress were aptly described in
the opening paragraph of the main resolution of the
Ahmedabad Session.
Fear had been cast off by the people. A sense of
self-respect developed in the Nation. ^Congressmen
realized that service and self-sacrifice were the only
means of winning public confidence. The prestige too of
Government was materially shaken, and people had
received good lessons regarding the ideology of Swaraj.
The Ahmedabad Session is noteworthy for more than
one reform. Apart from the elimination of the chairs
and benches for delegates which had cost the Nagpur
Session sorae seventy thousand rupees, the Congress had
the shortest address from Vallabhbhai J. Patel, the
Chairman of the Reception Committee, as also the
smallest number of resolutions — altogether nine. Hindi
was the language of the Congress mainly and khaddar
worth over two lakhs was used for the tents pitched for
the Congress.
Gandhi had asked the Rev. C. F. Andrews to be
present at the Ahmedabad Session in order to give a
religious message. He consented to do so but explained first
of all to Gandhi that he was opposed to the burning of
foreign cloth, because he feared that it would inculcate
violence. Contrary to his usual custom, he appeared in
European dress in order to make clear his opposition to
the policy of burning. In his address he explained
why he was not wearing khaddar on that occasion.
It is noteworthy that he was received with the
utmlost respect and affection by the audience,
though they could nofr be expected to agree
with his opinion on the point at issue. Mr. Andrews
announced at the end of his speech that he was leaving
3ft THE HISTORY OP THE CONGRESS
Ahraedabad that night at the request of Gandhi, to the
Moplah area as a peace-maker.
Let us now briefly review the events that engaged
the attention of the Congress. Hakim ji was elected in
the absence of Deshbandhu Das for he was the embodi-
ment of Hindu-Muslim unity. As a matter of fact, at
a conference of the Hindu Mahasabha held in Delhi he
was elected its President. He had all the suavity, polish
and courtesies of a Padsha, his culture was of a high,
order and his character was its twin-sister, which made
up the excellence of his equipment in the moral no less
than the intellectual and social spheres of life. He made
a simple but striking speech at Ahmedabad as the locum
tenens of the Deshbandhu. Deshbandhu's own speech
was read by Sarojini Devi with all the eloquence which
the speech itself possessed in language and sentiment. As
was to be expected Deshbandhu Das gave a correct and
comprehensive review of Indian Nationalism that is
primarily rooted in culture and for the recovery of which
he said, "first we must have a house of our own before
we can receive a guest, and secondly Indian culture must
discover itself before it can be ready to assimilate
Western culture." Then he examined the Government of
India Act and asked in despair, "Now, is there anything
in the Preamble to compel the British ; Parliament1 to
recognize India, at any time, as a free and equal partner
of the British Empire?" "I think not," was his brief
reply. He was "quite willing to co-operate with England
but on one condition only, that she recognized this
inherent right of India" — freedom. "I cannot recommend*
to you the acceptance of the Act as a basis for co-opera-
tion with the Government. I will not purchase peace
with dishonour, and so long as the Preamble to the Act
stands, and our right, our inherent right to regulate our
gtfaire, develop our own individuality, aarf evolve
NON-CO-OPERATION GALORE 3T9
our own destiny is not recognized, I must decline to
consider any terms of peace." After this declaration he
examined the oft-repeated statement of Lord Reading
that he was 'perplexed and puzzled' by the policy of 4foe
Non-co-operators and answered it by saying that Lord
Reading's claim that the resistance to N.C.O. was not
repression, as all the proceedings were being taken under
the ordinary Law which the Sapru Committee considered
and whose repeal it declined to recommend.
The noble and dignified address of the Deshbandhu
provided the proper perspective for the magnificent
resolutions of the Ahmedabad Session. The main resolu-
tion was really a thesis on Non-co-operation, its
philosophy and programme alike, so much so that Gandhi
pointed out in moving it that it had taken him 35
minutes minutely to read it in English and Hindustani
and added that the resolution explained itself. This
resolution, he said, "was absolutely the natural result of
the National activities during the past fifteen months."
The resolution did not bar, bolt and bang the door of
negotiation, but kept it quite wide open if the Viceroy
meant well, "but the doors closed in his face if he meaaas
ill, no matter how many people go to their graves, no
matter what wild career this repression is to go through.
There is every chance for him to hold a Round Table
Conference, but it must be a real conference. If he wants a
conference where only equals are to sit and where there is
not to be a single beggar, then there is open door and that
door will always remain open. There is nothing in this
resolution which any one who has modesty and humility
need be ashamed of." "This resolution," he added, "is
not an arrogant challenge to anybody but it is a challenge
to the authority that is enthroned on arrogance. It is
a tumble and an irrevocable challenge to authority
which, in order to save itself, wants to crush freedom of
880. THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
opinion and freedom of association, — the two lungs that
are absolutely necessary for a man to breathe the oxygen
of liberty." We give below the main Resolution on
N.C.O. and the duty of the country: —
MAIN RESOLUTION
"Whereas, since the holding of the last National
Congress, the people of India have found from actual
experience that by reason of the adoption of non-
violent Non-co-operation the country has made great
advance in fearlessness, self-sacrifice and self-respect,
and whereas the movement has greatly damaged the
. prestige of the Government, and whereas on the whole
the country is rapidly progressing towards Swaraj,
. this Congress confirms the resolution adopted at the
'Special Session of the Congress at Calcutta and re-
affirmed at Nagpur, and places on record the fixed
•determination of the Congress to continue the pro-
gramme of non-violent Non-co-operation with greater
vigour than hitherto in such manner as each Province
may determine, till the Punjab and the Khilaphat
wrongs are redressed and Swarajya is established and
the control of the Government of India passes into
the hands of the people from thait of an irresponsible
corporation.
* "And whereas by reason of the threat uttered
by His Excellency the Viceroy in his recent speeches,
and the consequent repression started by the
Government of India in the various Provinces by
way of disbandment of Volunteer Corps and forcible
prohibition of public and even Committee meetings
in an illegal and high-handed manner, and by the
arrest of many Congress workers in several Provinces, •
repression is manifestly intended to stifle all
Congress and Khilaphat activities and deprive the
public of their assistance, this Congress resolves that
all activities of the. Congress be suspended as far as
necessary, and appeals to all, quietly and without
any demonstration, to offer themselves for arrest by •
belonging to the Volunteer Organisations to be formed
throughout the country in terms of the Resolution •
NON-CO-OPERATION GALORE 381
of the Working Committee arrived at in Bombay
on the 23rd day of November last, provided that no
one shall be accepted as volunteer who does not sign
the following pledge:
With God as witness T solemnly declare that,
(1) I wish to be a member of the National
Volunteer Corps.
(2) So long as I remain a member of the Corps, I
shall remain non-violent in word and deed and
shall earnestly endeavour to be non- violent in
intent since I believe that, as India is circum-
stanced, non-violence alone can help the Khila-
phat and the Punjab and result in the attain*
ment of Swaraj and consolidation of unity among
all the races and communities of India whether
Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Parsee, Christian or Jew.
<3) I believe inf and shall endeavour always to
, promote, such unity.
X4) I believe in Swadeshi as essential for India's
economic, political and moral salvation, and shall
use hand-spun and hand-woven khaddar to the
exclusion of every other cloth.
<5) As a Hindu I believe in the justice and necessity
of removing the evil of un touch ability and shall
on all possible occasions seek personal contact
1 with, and endeavour to render service to, the
submerged classes.
<6) I shall cawy out the instructions of my superior
officers and all the regulations not inconsistent
with the spirit of this pledge prescribed by the
Volunteer Bofird or thr Working Committee or
any other agency established by the Congress.
(7) I am prepared to suffer imprisonment, assault,
or even death for the sake of my religion and my
country without resentment.
(8) In the event of my imprisonment-, I shall not
claim from the Congress any support for my
family or dependants.
"This Congress trusts that every person of the
age of 18 and over will immediately join the
Volunteer Organisations.
"Notwithstanding the proclamation prohibiting
public meetings, and inasmuch as even Committee
meetings have been attempted to be construed as
public meetings, this Congress advises the holding of
Committee meetings and of public meetings, the latter
in enclosed places and by tickets and by previous
announcements at which, as far as possible, only
speakers previously announced shall deliver written
388, THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
speeches, care being taken in every case to avoid risk
of provocation and possible violence by the public
in consequence.
"This Congress is further of opinion that Civil Dis-
obedience is the only civilised and effective substitute
for an armed rebellion whenever every other remedy
for preventing arbitrary, tyrannical and emasculating
•use of authority by individuals or corporations has been
tried, and therefore advises all Congress workers and
others who believe in peaceful methods and are con-
v vinced that there is no remedy, save some kind of
sacrifice, to dislodge the existing Government from its
position of perfect irresponsibility to the people of India,
, to organise individual Civil Disobedience and mass
Civil Disobedience when the mass of people have been
sufficiently trained in the methods of non-violence and
otherwise in terms of the resolution thereon of the
last meeting of the All-India Congress Committee held
(at Delhi.
"This Congress is of opinion that, in order to con-
centrate attention upon Civil Disobedience, whether
mass or individual, whether of an offensive or defensive
character, under proper safeguards and under
instructions to be issued from time to time by the
Working Committee or the Provincial Congress
Committee concerned, all other Congress activities
should be suspended whenever and wherever, and to
the extent to which, it may be found necessary.
"This Congress calls upon all students of the age
of 18 and over, particularly those studying in the
National institutions and the staff thereof, immediately
to sign the foregoing pledge and became members of
' National Volunteer Corps.
"In view of the impending arrest of a large number
of Congress workers, this Congress whilst requiring
the ordinary machinery to remain intact and to be
i utilised in the ordinary mariner whenever feasible,
hereby appoints, until further instructions, Mahatma
Gandhi as the sole Executive authority of the Congress
and invests him with the full powers of the All-India
Congress Committee, including the power to convene a
Special Session of the Congress or of the All-India
' fc Congress Committee or the Working Committee, such
NON-CO-OPERATION GALORE 385
powers to be exercised between any two sessions of the
All-India Congress Committee, and also with the power
to appoint a successor in emergency.
"This Congress hereby confers upon the said
successor, and all subsequent successors appointed in
turn by their predecessors, all his aforesaid powers.
"Provided that nothing in this resolution shall be
deemed <to authorise Mahatma Gandhi or any of the
aforesaid successors to conclude any terms of peace
with the Government of India or the British Govern-
ment without the previous sanction of the All-India
Congress Committee to be finally ratified by the
Congress specially convened for the purpose, and
provided also that the present Creed of the Congress
shall in no case be altered by Mahatma Gandhi or his
successors except with the leave of the Congress first
obtained.
"The Congress congratulates all those patriots
who are now undergoing imprisonment for the sake of
their conscience or country, and realises that their
sacrifice has considerably hastened the advent of
Swaraj."
RESOLUTION 2
"This Congress appeals to all those who dp not
believe} in full Non-co-operation or in the principle of
Non-co-operation, but who consider it essential for the
sake of national self-respect, to demand and insist upon
the redress of the Khilaphat and the Punjab wrongs,
and, for the sake of full national self-expression,
to insist upon the immediate establishment of Swafaj,
to render full assistance to the Nation in the promo-
tion of uniity between different religious communities,
to popularise carding, hand-spinning and hand- weaving
from its economical aspect and a£ a cottage industry
necessary in order to supplement the resources of
millions of agriculturists who are living on the brink
of starvation, and to that end preach and practise the -
use of hand-spun and hand-woven garments, to help
the cause of total prohibition and, if Hindus, to bring
about removal of untouchability and to help the
improvement of the condition of the submerged classed."
384 THE HISTORY OF THE COXGBE8B
We must now refer to a debate initiated by Maulana
Hasrat Mohani, who proposed to define 'Swaraj' in the
•creed as "Complete Independence, free from all foreign
control." At this distance of time, one is apt to look
upon it as the most natural sequence of all that had
happened, and may even wonder why it should have
been resisted at all by the Congress or by Gandhi. But,
at the time, Gandhi was obliged to speak out frankly: —
"The levity with which the proposition has been
taken by some of you has grieved m£. It has grieved
me because it shows lack of responsibility. As
responsible men and women, we should go back to the
days of Nagpur and Calcutta."
The language employed by Gandhi may strike us now,
as we read it, as strong, but strong it was meant to be.
Was it also too strong?, is the question. Gandhi had
evolved a new movement, shaped a new Creed and planned
a new attack. It was a perfect campaign in which the
objective and the strategy were all clearly defined. The
troops were in the midst of skirmishes and engagements.
A huge battle was about to take place. Just then for a
•soldier to come up to the General and the army and say
that the objective should be re-defined was to disturb the
forces arranged for battle. There was no doubt that the
time chosen was utterly inopportune and the spirit dis-
' played unhelpful. No wonder, then, if fthe General was
distressed or even became indignant. But some of the
arguments employed by Gandhi on this occasion sound
very much, it was pointed out ajti the time, mutatis
mutandis like the arguments of the opponents of the
existing Creed at the time of its evolution at Nagpur.
"We shall be charged by the thinking portion of the world
that we do not know really what we are. Let us under-
stand too our limitations. Let Hindus and Muslims
have absolute, indissoluble unity. Who is here who can
NON-CO-OPERATION GALOEE 385
say to-day with confidence: 'Yes, Hindu-Muslim unity
has become an indissoluble factor of Indian Nationalism*'
Who is here who can tell me that the Parsees and the
Sikhs, and the Christians and the Jews and the untouch-
ables about whom you heard this afiternoon, who will tell
me that those very people will not rise against any such
idea?" The argument however that appealed was, "Let
us first of all gather up our strength, let us first of all
sound our own depths. Let us not go into waters whose
depths we do not know, and this proposition of
Mr. Hasrat Mohani leads you into depths unfathomable."
This argument was clinching. A general cannot take an
army into depths unfathomable to himself. And the
proposition was thrown out, and to anticipate events, was
pressed year after year until it was accepted as a
resolution of the Congress in 1927 in Madras and was
embodied in the Creed iteelf in 1929 at Lahore.
Of the other resolutions, one related to the Constitu-
tion, and two to the appointment of office-bearers. Of the
remaining, one relates to the Moplah disturbance and
declares that the N.C.O. or the Khilaphat movement had
nothing to do with it, that preachers of non-violence were
denied opportunity of carrying the gospel for six months
prior to the outbreak, and that, in any case, the movement
would not have been prolonged if leading Non-co-
operators like Yakub Hassan and Mahatma Gandhi
himself had been permitted to visit the area. Horror and
indignation were expressed at the inhumanity of confining
nearly a hundred Moplah prisoners in a goods waggon on
their transfer to Bellary, which ended in the death by
suffocation of seventy of them on the night of November
19th, 1921. The Congress deplored the occurrences i»
Bombay on the 17th November and assured all parties
and all communities that it was the <tesire and
determination of the Congress to guard their rights to the
386 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
fullest extent. Congratulations were then offered to
Kemal Pasha on his victory over the Greeks which led to
the revision of the Treaty of Sevres, and to Baba
Ourudutt Singh of the Komagatamaru who, after being
a fugitive for seven years, had delivered himself to the
Police voluntarily, and io the Sikhs who remained non-
violent on this occasion, as well as on other occasions,
despite the great provocation by the Police and the
Military.
One notable feature of /the Ahmedabad Session was
the prominent part played by the Muslim Divines in
advising the Congress on the political matters that came
up before it. Regarding the conditions of Individual and
Mass Civil Disobedience, there was considerable discus-
sion over the question of non-violence, — whether it should
be in thought, word and deed. It will be remembered
that the Calcutta resolution included 'word and deed'
<oaiy. The Muslims objected to the addition of the
*word 'thought' in the volunteers' pledge as opposed to the
Shariat and therefore 'intent' was .substituted for the
word 'thought'. In all (these matters, the Ulemah
played a notable part in interpreting political
ideas in the light of Al Quoran, the Shariat and
the Hud is. We shall see later on that their aid was
invoked on matters of Council-entry AS well, and conduct
of affairs thereafter. Finally, attention has to be invited
to the penultimate paragraph in which Gandhi was
.appointed as the sole Executive authority of the Congress
with power to appoint a successor, in case the ordinary
iradhineTy broke down. Only two limitations were placed
in respect of powers so conferred on him, namely, that
neither he nor his successors could conclude peace or alter
•the Creed. That could be done only with the leave of
*Che Congress.1
NON-CO-OPERATION GALORE 387
A new departure took place at the Ahmedabad
Session which deserves to be noted. The delegates were
not willing to disperse soon after the conclusion of the
sittings. Gandhi walked up to each camp and explained
the technique of Civil Disobedience. In the Andhra
camp, he took pains to point out how, in any area where
p. No-tax campaign was contemplated, volunteers must go
about the villages and take the signatures of the ryots
agreeing to the campaign. This was of course to be done
in addition to the enforcement of the conditions of mass
and individual Civil Disobedience.
CHAPTER III
GANDHI BOUND (1922)
Hardly had the year 1921 closed when well-meaning
friends of the Congress, who had not, however, accepted
its new programme, were anxious to bring about an
understanding between the Congress and Government.
On the 14th, loth and 16th of January, before the ink
of the Ahmedabad resolutions was dry. an All-Parties'
Conference was convened in Bombay which was attended
by about 300 persons belonging to all parties.
At the Representative Conference, the convenors
planned a draft resolution embodying the terms on which
a truce could be asked for. Gandhi, explaining the
position of the Non-co-operators, said that while it would1
not be possible for him formally and officially to join the
Conference, he would assist the Conference informally.
The reason for not participating formally was, as given
by him, that the Government wiere still carrying on their
repressive policy and any Round Table Conference would
be futile unless there was repentance on their part. The
Conference appointed a Subjects Committee of twenty
which Gandhi alone joined from amongst the Non-co-
operators. The draft prepared by the Subjects
Committee was placed before the Conference on the
following day and Gandhi again explained the position
of the Non-co-operators. Sir Sankaran Nair who had
been acting as Chairman disapproved of the draft
resolution and retired from the Conference, which pro-
ceeded under the Chairmanship of Sir M. Visvesvarayya
and passed a resolution unanimously condemning the
repressive policy of the Government, suggesting that;,
pending negotiations, the Civil Disobedience contemplated1
GANDHI BOUND (1922) 389
by the Ahmedabad resolution should not be proceeded!
with, supporting an early convening of a Round Table
Conference with authority to make a settlement on the
questions of Khilaphat, the Punjab and Swaraj, and with
a view to provide a favourable atmosphere, asking for
withdrawal of notifications under the Criminal Law
Amendment Act banning organisations, and the Seditious
Meetings Act, and release of all prisoners convicted or
under trial under them as also of the Fatwa prisoners.
It further asked for a Committee to investigate the
cases of persons convicted in connection with the move-
ment under ordinary Law. After the Conference,.
Sir Sankaran Nair issued a statement to the Press con-
taining some misstatements bitterly attacking Gandhi, ta
which Messrs. Jinnah, Jayakar and Natarajan, aa
Secretaries, and others had to issue contradictions.
The resolutions of the Representative Conference
applicable to the Non-co-operators were virtually con-
firmed by the Working Committee at its meeting held
on the 17th January, which postponed the starting of
Civil Disobedience till the end of the month. A perusal
of the correspondence reveals that Lord Reading received
the communications from the Conference with apathy
and nothing resulted from it. This, if nothing else, made
it clear that the approaches for a settlement made in
Calcutta by Government, — and even the sweet words
that Lord Reading had employed in Calcutta when he
said that neither side should claim victory for itself, —
were not as sincere as the intermediaries imagined.
Government were anxious to see that the sojourn
of the Prince was not disturbed by the hostile
demonstrations of Non-co-operators. The attempts of
well-meaning intermediaries failed. The Viceroy
summarily rejected the terms offered by the Conference.
It was after this that Gandhi sent to the Viceroy,' on
390 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
1-2- '22 a letter intimating his intention to start Civil
Disobedience in Bardoli. The Congress did not regret
the result, as the Congress fully shared Gandhi's belief
that Government had not done its worst and the country
bad not showta. its best in the new line of suffering and
•civil resistance, and it was premature to enter into a
•settlement.
While these negotiations were thus progressing, the
country's attention was really rivetted on the campaign
of No-tax:, which Gandhi had decided to organize in the
Bardoli Taluka in Gujarat. He was anxious to make
the first experiment in mass Civil Disobedience under
his own direct supervision. In that Taluka there were
many South-Africa returned emigrants who were familiar
with the ways of Gandhi, and it was Gandhi's earnest
-wish that the rest of India should watch his experiment
and infuse strength and spirit into him. He was anxious
that nothing should be done to distract or disturb his
Attention or endeavours. The same position was incor-
porated in a resolution of the Working Committee dated
31st January, 1922. Soon after the Ahmedabad Session,
however, the Andhra P.C.C. met on the 7th January at
Beewada and decided to give power to District Congress
Committees to explore their respective areas with a view
to carrying on a No-tax campaign. Four Districts
sought and obtained permission in this behalf. Krishna,
Godavari, Guntur and Cuddapah were the Districts con-
cerned. The Executive Committee of the A.P.C.C. had
passed a resolution a fortnight before the Congress, on
15-1 2- '21, at Guntur calling upon the Andhradesa to
withhold the payment of taxes. This step was taken in
advance of the Congress decision, but in anticipation of
it, While the other Districts began to investigate local
conditions and take signatures of ryots as desired by
in his camp-talks after the Congress session at
GANDHI BOUND (1922) 391
.Abmedabad, Guntur alone declared a No-tax campaign
^outright on the 12th January, 1922. Gandhi having
-acquainted himself with the facts of the case by personal
talks with two representatives from Andhra, in Bombay
during the sittings of the All-Parties' Conference, sentl
.a letter on the 17th January to the President, A.P.C.C.,
and a note to the Press saying that he would be glad to
hear that all taxes were paid by the 25th. The Press
note was not published for some reason or other. The
letter gave rise to 'correspondence between Gandhi ajid
friends in Guntur. The news of Gandhi's attitude, when
'broken to the other Districts, led to the taxes being paid
up as desired. But in Guntur the campaign was con-
tinued. In answer to pressing requests for permission,
•Gandhi telegraphed as follows: —
"If 'the Delhi conditions of mass Civil :
Disobedience are satisfied, and if you think Guntur
has reasonable chances of success, then all that I
can say is I do not wish to stand in your way.
• God help you."
This was interpreted into assent incorrectly. But
:a Committee was appointed to tour the District and
investigate how far the Delhi conditions were fulfilled
•and to report on the advisability of continuing the
campaign. The campaign took the form of withholding
the payment of Revenue taxes in the plains, and of
grazing fees in the forest areas. In one of those areas
-a Sub-Inspector who went to a village to impound
certain cattle, and in impounding separated the calf
from the dame, met with some protests and shot down
a leading villager. The Military quartered themselves
in Guntur (town) and the Governor's cavalry
(bodyguard) visited villages where the men were
^gathered outside the village and taxes were attempted
"to be collected, though in vain, under threat of distraint-
392 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
and arrest. The state of affairs under such conditions-
could more easily be imagined than described.
By this time the Working Committee meeting on the-
31st January, 1922 had received and considered the
resolution of the Bardoli Taluka Conference regarding.
mass Civil Disobedience, and congratulated the people
of the Taluka on their self-sacrificing resolve to offer
mass Civil Disobedience. The Working Committee-
advised all other parts of India to co-operate with the
people of Bardoli Taluka by refraining from mass or
individual Civil Disobedience of an aggressive character,,
except upon the express consent of Mahatmu Gandhi
previously obtained. The Working Committee further
advised the people throughout the Provinces to pay up >
the taxes due by them to the Government whether
directly, or indirectly through Zamindars or Talukdars, —
except in such cases of direct payment to the Government
where previous consent had been obtained from Mahatma
Gandhi for suspension of payment preparatory to mass^
Civil Disobedience.
Let us * for a moment travel to Gujarat and other
Provinces. Gandhi had made up his mind to run his
No-tax campaign in Gujarat, — the campaign which, after
the All-Parties' Conference of Bombay, he had postponed
to 31st January. Accordingly, he sent to the Viceroy a
letter on the 1st February, which roused adverse criti-
cism from Mr. Jinnah and others. Gandhi explained in
his letter how the campaign should have taken place
even earlier, but for the unfortunate and regrettable
riots in Bombay on the 17th November, 1921, resulting
in the postponement of the step contemplated by
Bardoli. He referred to the looting of property, assaults
0n innocent people, brutal treatment of the prisoners in
jails, including flogging. He admitted intimidation. He-
GANDHI BOUND (1922) 993
pointed out that his task was to rescue from paralysis
freedom of speech, of association and of Press. "The
"Working Committee of the Congress has restricted mass
disobedience only to certain areas to be selected by fiae
from time to time, and ai present it is confined to
Bardoli. I may, under the said authority, give my con-
sent at once in respect of a group of 100 villages in
Guntur in the Madras Presidency, provided they can
strictly conform to the conditions of non-violence, unity
amongst different classes, the adoption and manufacture
.of hand-spun khaddar and untouchability." Gandhi
gave seven days' time to Lord Reading within which to
release the prisoners and free the Press from administra-
tive control. Gandhi's letter to the Viceroy is given
•below: —
Bardoli, 1st February, 1922.
To
His Excellency
The Viceroy,
Delhi.
Sir,
Bardoli is a small Tehsil in the Surat District
in the Bombay Presidency, having a population of
about 87,000 all told.
On the 29th ultimo, it decided under the Presi-
dency of Mr. Vittalbhai J. Patel to embark on mass
Civil Disobedience, having proved its fitness for it
in terms of the resolution of the All-India Congress
' Committee which met at Delhi during the first week
of November last, but as I am perhaps chiefly
responsible for Bardoli's decision, I owe it to Your
Excellency and the public to explain the situation
under which the decision has been taken.
It was intended under the resolution of the
All-India Congress Committee, before referred to, tx>
-make Bardoli the first unit for mass Civil Disobe-
dience, in order to mark the national revolt agaipst
\ ithe Government's consistently criminal refusal to \
394 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
appreciate India's resolve regarding the Khilaphat,
the Punjab and Swaraj.
Then followed the unfortunate and regrettable
riots on the 17tb, November last in Bombay, result-
ing in the postponement of the step contemplated by
Bardoli.
Meantime repression* of a violent type has taken
place, with the concurrence of the Government of
India, in Bengal, Assam, the United Provinces, the
Punjab, the Province of Delhi and in a way in Bihar
and Orissa and elsewhere. I know that you have
objected to the use of the word 'repression/ for
describing the action of the authorities in (these Pro-
vinces. In my opinion, when an action is taken
which is in excess of the requirements of the
situation, it is undoubtedly repression. The looting
of property, assaults on innocen(t people, brutal
treatment of the prisoners in jails, including flogging,
can in no sense be described as legal, civilised or in
any way necessary. This official lawlessness cannot
be described by any other terms but lawless repression.
Intimidation by Non-co-operators or their sym-
pathisers, to a certain extent, in connection with
Hartals and picketing may be admitted, but in no
case can it be held to justify the wholesale suppres-
sion of peaceful volunteering or equally peaceful-
public meetings, under a distorted use of an extra-
ordinary law, which was passed in order to deal with
activities which were manifestly violent both in.
intention and action, nor is it possible to designate
as otherwise than repression, action taken against
innocent people under what has appeared to many
of us as an illegal use of the ordinary law, nor again
can the administrative interference with the liberty
of the Press under a Law that is under promise of
repeal be regarded as anything but repression.
The immediate task before the country, therefore,
is to rescue from paralysis freedom of speech, free-
dom of association, and freedom of Press.
In Ihe present mood of the Government of India,
and in the present unprepared state of the country in«
respect of complete control of the sources of violence,.
GANDHI BOUND (1922) 39$
Non-co-operators were unwilling to have any-
thing to do with the Malaviya Conference whose
object was to induce Your Excellency to convene an
R. T. C. But as I was anxious to avoid all avoidable
suffering, I had no hesitation in advising the
Working Committee of the Congress to accept the
recommendations of that conference.
Although, in my opinion, the terms were quite
in keeping with your own requirements, as I under-
stood them through your Calcutta speech and other-
wise, you have summarily rejected the proposal.
In the circumstances, <there is nothing before the
country but to adopt some non-violent method for'
the enforcement of its demands including the elemen-
tary rights of free speech, free association and free
Press. In my humble opinion, the recent events are ft
clear departure from the civilised policy laid down,
by Your Excellency at the time of the generous,
manly and unconditional apology of the All
Brothers, viz., that the Government of India should
not interfere with the activities of the Non-co-opera-
tors so long as they remain non-violent in word and
deed. Had the Government policy remained neutral
and allowed public opinion to ripen and have its full
effect, it would have been possible to advise post-
ponement of the adoption of Civil Disobedience of an-
aggressive type till the Congress had acquired fuller
control over the forces of violence in the country and
enforced greater discipline among the millions of its-
adherents. But the lawless repression (in a way-
unparalleled in the history of this unfortunate coun-
try) has made immediate adoption of mass Civil
Disobedience an imperative duty. The Working
Committee of the Congress has restricted it only to
certain areas to be selected by me from, time to time,
and at present it| is confined only to Bardoli. I may,
under said authority, give my consent at once in
respect of a group of 100 villages in Guntur in the
Madras Presidency, provided (they can strictly con-
form to -the conditions of non-violence, unity among-
different classes, the adoption and manufacture of
hand-spun khaddar and untouchability. *
396 THE HI6TOBY OF THE CONGRESS
But before the people of Bardoli actually com-
mence mass Civil Disobedience, I would respectfully
urge you as the head of the Government of India
finally, to revise your policy and set free all the Non-
co-operating prisoners who are convicted or under trial
for non-violent activities, and declare in clear terms
the policy of absolute non-interference with all non-
violent activities in the country, whether they be
jegarding the redress of the Khilaphat or the Punjab
wrongs or Swaraj or any other purpose, and even
'though they fall within the repressive sections of the
Penal Code or the Criminal Procedure Code or other
repressive laws, subject always to the condition of
non-violence. I would further urge you to free the
Press from all administrative control and restore all
the fines and forfeitures recently imposed. In thus
urging, I am asking Your Excellency to do what is
to-day being done in every country which is deemed
to be under civilized government. If you can see
your way to make the necessary declaration within
seven days of the date of publication of this
Manifesto, I shall be prepared to advise postponement
•of Civil Disobedience of an aggressive character till
the imprisoned workers have, after their discharge,
reviewed the whole situation and considered it de
novo. If the Government make the requested decla-
ration, I shall regard it as an honest desire on its
part to give effect to public opinion and shall, there-
fore, have no hesitation in advising the country to
be engaged in further moulding public opinion
without violent restraint from either side, and trust to
its working to secure the fulfilment of its unalterable
demands. Aggressive Civil Disobedience in, that
•case will be taken up only when the Government
'departs from its policy of strictest neutrality or
.refuses to yield to the clearly expressed opinion of
ihe vast majority of the people of India.
I remain,
Your Excellency's
Faithful servant and friend,
(Sd.) M. K. Gandhi
GANDHI BOUND (1822) 397
The Government of India promptly published a reply
«to Gandhi's Manifesto justifying their repressive policy as
being only the result of the Bombay riots and the dangerous
; manifestations of lawlessness in many other places, as well
as a systematic campaign of violence, intimidation and
• obstruction by volunteer associations. The reply further
pointed out that Government's policy was not at variance
with that laid down by His Excellency at the time of
the apology of the Ali Brothers, for, there it was made
plain that Government would "enforce the Law relating
to offences against the State, as and when they may
think fit." Nor did the Government of India summarily
reject the proposal of a conference, stated the reply, for,
the fundamental condition of the discontinuance of the
unlawful activities of the N.C.O. party was not
amongst the proposals of the All-Parties' Conference.
Only Hartals, picketing and Civil Disobedience would
cease and other illegal activities, it was claimed, would
continue. Those referred to apparently were the enrol-
ment of volunteers in prohibited associations and the
preparations for Civil Disobedience as stated by Gandhi.
Moreover "Mr. Gandhi also made it apparent that the
proposed Round Table Conference would be called merely
to register his decrees." His demands comprised (1) the
release of all prisoners ^convicted' or under trial for non-
violent activities, and (2) a guarantee that the
Government refrain from interference with all non-violent
activities of the Non-co-operation party even though they
fell within the purview of the I.P.C.
There was, however, a fatality hanging over the
1 Congress. On the 5th February, when a Congress
procession was taking place at Chauri Chaura, near
Gdrakhpur, U.P., 21 constables and a Sub-Inspector were
rushed by the mob into a Police Station, and the station
and the men in it were set fire to. They all perished
396 THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
ip the flames. Moreover, the scenes of Bombay on the*
17th November, in which 53 persons died and 400 were*
wounded, had repeated themselves on the 13th January
to Madras during the Prince's visit to the city, though
on a miniature scale, and these two events were made
the reason for suspending . mass Civil Disobedience at
a meeting of the Working Committee which met at
Bardoli on the 12th February, 1922. Congressmen were
asked to stop all activities designed to court arrest and
imprisonment, all volunteer processions and public
meetings merely for the purpose of defiance of notifica-
tions. Then a constructive programme was drawn up
which included the enlisting of a crore of members, the
popularising of the charka, organising of National schools,
temperance and Panchayate. Just then, the Committee
that had been appointed to tour the Guntur District and
report on the conditions had published its recommenda-
tion to the people to pay up (the taxes, and they were
duly paid by the 10th February. It must be owned that
the non-payment campaign in the Andhradesa was a
thorough success, so far as the campaign went, for not:
even five per cent, of the taxes were collected so long as
the Congress ban was operative.
The Bardoli resolutions gave rise to a variety of"
feelings in the country. There were many who placed1
implicit trust in Gandhi and his decision. There were
also a few who would not lose an opportunity of ques-
tioning them. When the All-India Congress Committee-
met in Delhi on the 24th and 25th February, it
virtually endorsed the Bardoli resolutions of the Working
Committee, except that it permitted individual CiviP
Disobedience in respect of particular places of particular -
laws under the authority of the P.C.C.'s and in strict
conformity to the conditions laid down in that behalf by
the Congress. The picketing of foreign cloth was?-
GANDHI BOUND (1922) 399*
expressly permitted on the same terms as liquor picket-
ing mentioned in the Bardoli resolutions. The A.I.C.C.
reiterated its faith in Civil Disobedience and considered
that an atmosphere of necessary non-violence could be-
established by the workers concentrating upon the con-
structive programme.
The A.I.C.C. proceeded to define Individual Civil'
Disobedience (I.C.D.) as "disobedience of orders or laws
by a single individual or group of individuals." "There-
fore, a prohibited public meeting where admission is
regulated by tickets and to which no unauthorised!'
admission is allowed is an instance of Individual Civil
Disobedience, whereas a prohibited meeting to which the
general public is admitted without any restriction is an<
instance of Mass Disobedience. Such a Civil Disobe-
dience is defensive, when a prohibited public meeting
is held for conducting a normal activity, although it may
result in arrest. It would be aggressive if it is held not*
for any normal activity but for arrest and imprisonment."
There was great perturbation in Delhi when the-
A.I.C.C. passed its resolution advocating Individual Civil!
Disobedience, amongst the intermediaries who were not
hopeful of any readjustment of relations between
Government and Congress, but now were anxious to
avoid the impending disaster of Gandhi's arrest. Very-
likely, Government would not have taken action if the
A.I.C.C. had not still harped upon Civil Disobedience as
the ultimate resort and Individual Civil Disobedience as-
an immediate practical programme. On the other side,,
there was an outcry against Gandhi that he should have
switched off the whole current and made the movement
no longer a live wire. Long letters were written front
behind the bars by Pandit Motilal Nehru and Lala
Lajpat Rai. They took Gandhi to task for punishing:
,-400 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
ihe whole country for the sins of a place. Why should,
Panditji asked, a town at the foot of the Himalayas be
penalised, if a village at Cape Cainorin failed to observe
non-violence? Isolate Chauri Chaura and if need be,
-XJorakhpur, but go on with Civil Disobedience, individual
and mass. That was the burden of the complaints of
Panditji as well as Lalaji and two other younger friends
who too made no secret of their displeasure and dis-
appointment and disgust at the sudden termination of the
•movement. These letters were read to an informal
gathering of friends of the A.I.C.C. at Dr. Ansari's
place on the 24th February, 1922. And strangely
enough, C.I.D. men got mixed with the audience and
•were carefully following them. In reply Gandhi had but
• one word to say, namely, that those who went to jail
were civilly dead and could not claim or be expected to
.advise those outside. But the storm blew with un-
fxampled fury when the A.I.C.C. had a regular sitting.
iGandhi was assailed on all sides. He was taken to
task for resiling from the movement, and for the Bardoli
resolutions in general. Bengal and Maharashtra tore
liiiri to pieces. Why should Individual Civil Disobc-
'dience not be continued? "Bengal is ^ot going to pay
the Chowkidari tax, say what you will." Even devoted
•men like Babu Hardyal Nag raised Hie standard of
revolt. Why should civil resisted wear khaddar?
Dr. Moonje had already confronted the Working Com-
•mittee on llth January, with a resolution of the Nagpur
District Congress Committee permitting reservation in
•untouchability and Swadeshi. These were the questions
put to Gandhi. Every line of the Bardoli resolutions
was subjected to a scathing attack. The meeting
reduced itself to attacks from Maharashtra and Bengal.
A vote of censure on Gandhi was moved by Dr. Moonje
rat the A.I.C.C. meeting. Some speakers supported it by
*Jieir speeches, but when it was put torvote only those
GANDHI BOUND (1922) 401!
who had spoken in favour voted for it, the rest of the
House voting against it. Gandhi did not permit any one
to oppose the motion of censure by speech. The storm,
blew over and Gandhi, like the proverbial reed, remained,
unmoved.
GANDHI'S ARREST
The die was cast. Now was the turn of Government
to pounce upon Gandhi. No administration would
select a moment of high popularity of a leader in the
country for its attack on him. It bides its time patiently,
and it is when the army retreats fighting a rearguard"
action that the enemy comes down with all his fury "like
a wolf on the fold." On the 13th March, Gandhi was
arrested, — his arrest being virtually decided upon even
in the hist week of February, — and committed to sessions
on a charge of sedition.
The Great Trial' began on the 18th March at
Ahniedabad, and, to quote from Sarojini Devi's Foreword
to a little brochure bearing that title: "A convict and
a criminal in the eye of the Law; nevertheless the entire
Court rose in an act of spontaneous homage when
Mahfttma Gandhi entered, — a frail, serene, indomitable
figu're in a coarse and scanty loin cloth, accompanied by
his devoted disciple and fellow-prisoner, Shankerlal
Banker."
\then you go to a big textile shop or a jewellery mart
for your dress and diamonds, your puzzle is what to buy
with your limited purse. Even so might the Law officers
of the Crown have been 'puzzled and perplexed' as to
the choice of Gandhi's articles published from week to-
week for their indictment against him. Which was not
seditious? Gatotfhi. always held that it was his duty to*
propagate sedition, 'and if his articles were not sufficiently
seditious, it meant his pen was weak. In the end
*402 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Delected three of them, headed 'Tampering with Loyalty/
'The Puzzle and its Solution' and 'Shaking the manes.9
AB soon as the charge was read, Gandhi rose to plead
guilty, remarking, "I observe the King's name has been
• omitted from the charges, and it has been properly
-omitted." Mr. Banker also pleaded guilty. The trial
might have ended forthwith with the pronouncement of
sentence, but the Advocate-General urged a full trial.
The Judge disagreed and wanted only to decide the
sentence. Gandhi made a statement and prefaced it by
saying that his preaching disaffection had begun long
!>efore his connection with Young India. He took full
responsibility for the occurrences in Madras and
!Bombay and Chauri Chaura and added: —
"I knew I was playing with fire. I ran the risk
and if I was set free, I would still do the same.
I would be failing in my duty if I do not do so. It
is the last article of my faith. But I had to make
my choice. I had either to submit to a system which
I considered has done an irreparable harm to my
• country, or incur the risk of the mad fury of my
.people bursting forth when they understood the truth
from my lips. I know4 that my people have sometimes
gone mad. I am deeply sorry for it; and I am,
therefore, here to submit not to a light penalty but to
•the highest penalty. I do not ask for mercy. I do
,not plead any extenuating act. I am here, therefore,
to invite and submit to the highest penalty that can
be inflicted upon me for what, in Law, is a deliberate
•orime and what appears to me to be the highest duty
of a citizen. The only course open to you, Mr. Judge,
is, as I am just going to say in my statement, either
to resign your post or inflict on me the severest
penalty, if you believe that the system and law you
tare assisting to administer are good for the people.
I do not expect that kind of conversion. But by the
time I have finished with my statement, you will, ,
.perhaps, have a glimpse of what is raging within my
'breast to run this maddest risk which a sane man can
tun."
GANDHI BOUND (1922) 40S
THE WRITTEN STATEMENT
"I owe it perhaps to the Indian public and to the
*<public in England, to placate which this prosecution
.is mainly taken <up, that I should explain why froni
a staunch loyalist and co-operator I have become an
uncompromising disaffectionist and non-co-operator.
'To the Court too, I should say why I plead guilty to
the charge of promoting disaffection towards the
'Governmient established by law in India.
"My public life began in 1893 in South Africa,
in troubled weather. My first contact with British
authority in that country was not of a happy
character. I discovered that, as a man and an
Indian, I had no righte. On the contrary, I discovered
that I had no rights as a man because I was an
'Indian.
"But I was not baffled. I thought that this
"treatment of Indians was an excrescence upon a
system that was intrinsically and mainly good. I
-.gave the Government my voluntary and hearty
• co-operation, criticising it fully where I felt it was
-faulty, but never wishing its destruction.
"Consequently when the existence of the Empire
was threatened in 1890 by the Boer challenge, I
'offered my services to it, raised a volunteer
-ambulance corps, and served at several actions that
^took place for the relief of Ladysmith. Similarly in
1906, at the time of the Zulu revolt, I raised a
stretcher-bearer party and served till the end of the
^rebellion.' On both these occasions, I received
medals and was even mentioned in despatches. For
my work in South Africa, I was given by Lord
Hardinge a Kaisar-i-Hind Gold Medal. When the
'war broke out in 1914 between England and
'Germany, I raised a volunteer ambulance corps in
"London consisting of the then resident Indians in
vltondon, chiefly students. Its work was acknowledged
*by the authorities to be valuable. Lastly in India,
"when a special appeal was made at the War
'Conference in Delhi in 1917 by Lord Chelmsford for
Tecruite, I struggled at the cost of my health to raise
*a corps in Kheda, and the response was being made
404 THE HISTORY OP THE CONGRESS
when the hostilities ceased and orders were received
that no more recruits were wanted. In all these
efforts at service, I was actuated by the belief that
it was possible by such services to gain a status of
full equality in the Empire for my countrymen.
"The first shock came in the shape of the
Bowlatt Act, a law designed to rob the people of all
real freedom. I felt called upon to lead an intensive
agitation against it. Then followed the Punjab
horrors, beginning with the massacre at Jallianwala
Bagh and culminating in crawling orders, public
floggings and other indescribable humiliations. I
discovered too that the plighlted word of the Prime-
Minister to the Muslims of India regarding the
integrity of Turkey and the holy places of Islam was
not likely to be fulfilled
"But in spite of the foreboding and the grave
warnings of friends, at the Amritsar Congress in 1919,
I fought for co-operation and working the Montagu-
Chelmsford Reforms, hoping that the Prime-Minister
would redeem his promise to the Indian Muslims,
that Punjab would be healed, and that the Reforms,
inadequate and unsatisfactory though they were, .
marked a new era of hope in the life of India.
"But all that hope was shattered. The
Khilaphat promise was not to be redeemed. The
Punjab crime was whitewashed and the semi-starved '
masses of Indians are slowly sinking to lifelessness.
Little do. they know that their miserable comfort
represents the brokerage they get for the work they
do for the foreign exploiter, that the profits and the -
brokerage are sucked from the masses. Little do
they realise that the Government established by law
in British India is carried on for this exploitation of
the masses. No sophistry, no jugglery in figures can
explain away the evidence the skeletons in many
villages present to the naked eye. I have no doubt
whatsoever that both England and the town-dwellers
of India will have to answer, if there is a God above,
for this crime against humanity which is perhaps
•unequalled in history. The law itself in this country
has been used -to genre the foreign exploiter. My
of the; Punjab Martial
GANDHI BOUND (1022)
cases has led me to believe that at least ninety^five
per cent of convictions were wholly bad. My
experience of political cases in India leads me to the
conclusion that, in nine out of every ten, the
condemned men were totally innocent. Their crime
consisted in love of their country. In ninety-nine
cases out of hundred, justice has been denied to
Indians as against Europeans in the Courts of India.
This is not an exaggerated picture. It is the
experience of almost every Indian who has had
anything to do with such cases. In my opinion the
administration of the law is thus prostituted,
consciously or unconsciously, for the benefit of the
exploiter.
"The greatest misfortune is that Englishmen and
their Indian associates in the administration of the
country do not know that they are engaged in the
crime I have attempted to describe. I am satisfied
that many English and Indian officials honestly
believe that they are administering one of the best
systems devised in the world, and that India is
making steady though slow progress. They do not
know that a subtle but effective system of terrorism^
and an organised display of force on the one hand,,,
and the deprivation of all powers of retaliation or*
self-defence on the other, have emasculated the*
people and induced in them the habit that has-
added to the ignorance and the self-deception of the1
administrators. Section 124- A, under which I ami
happily charged, is perhaps the prince among the1
political sections of the Indian Penal Code designed'
to suppress the liberty of the citizen. Affection
cannot be manufactured or regulated by Law. If
one has no affection for a person or thing, one should
be free to give the fullest expression to his disaffec-
tion, so long as he does not contemplate, promote or
incite to violence. But the section under which
Mr. Banker and I are charged is one under which
mere promotion • of disaffection is a crime. I have
studied some of the cases tried under it, and I know-
that some of the most loved of India's patriot*
have been convicted under it. I consider it a
privilege, therefore, to be charged under it. I have
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
endeavoured to give in their briefest outline the
reasons for my disaffection. I have no personal
ill-will against any single administrator, much less
can I have any disaffection towards the King's
person. But I hold it to be a virtue to be disaffected
towards a Government which, in its totality, has
done more harm to India than any previous system.
India is less manly under the British rule than she
ever was before. Holding such a belief, I consider
it to be a sin to have affection for the system. And
it has been a precious privilege for me to be able to
write what I have in the various articles tendered in
evidence against me.
"In fact, I believe that I have rendered a service
to India and England by showing in non-co-opera-
tion the way out of the unnatural sibate in which
both are living. In my humble opinion non-
co-operation with evil is as much a duty as
is co-operation with good. But in the past, non-
co-operation has been deliberately expressed in
violence to tax the evil-doer. I am endeavouring to
show to my countrymen that violent non-co-opera-
tion only multiplies evil, and that, as evil can only
be sustained by violence, withdrawal of support of
evil requires complete abstention from violence. Non-
violence implies voluntary submission to the penalty
for non-co-operation with evil. I am here, therefore,
to invite and submit cheerfully to the highest penalty
"hat can be inflicted upon me for what, in Law, is a
deliberate crime and what appears to me to be the
highest duty of a citizen. The only course open to
you, the Judge and the Assessors, is either to resign
your posts and thus dissociate yourselves from evil
if you feel that the law you are called upon to
administer is an evil and that in reality I am
fiito&capt, 05 to inflict on me the severest penalty if
^ofii * beJieyjT that the system and the law you are
assisting to "administer are good for the people of this
C(ptmtry, and that my activity is therefore injurious
to the public weal.
M. K. GANDHI"
GANDHI BOUND ((1922) 407
. . The judge passed judgment sentencing Gandhi to six
years' imprisonment, on the analogy of Lokamanya Tilak
who had been similarly sentenced, and Mr. Shankerlal to
one year's simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 1,000,
or six months' imprisonment in default of payment.
Gandhi made a short reply saying that he considered it
* proud privilege to have his name associated with that
of the Lokamanya and thanked the judge for his
-considerateness in passing the sentence and for his
•courtesy. All those present in Court bade him good-bye,
.most of them with tears in their eyes.
Gandhi was thus convicted and spirited away from
the Nation. That was not unexpected. On the 9th of
March, he had published an article in Young India
headed 'If I am arrested/ where he reiterated his
^discovery that there was a spirit of violence abroad, that
Kunzru's report about Chauri Chaura was clinching, that
the Congress Secretary's report from Bareilly was clear
that in the volunteer procession there might not be
violence, but there was the spirit of violence. Accordingly,
he had ordered the suspension of Civil Disobedience and
explained that disobedience under the conditions would
be not 'Civil' but 'Criminal.' He could not understand,
however, the Englishman's dead-set against the very
theory of Civil Disobedience, as if it was something
immoral, when he had glorified even armed rebellion. It
would be a sad commentary if his arrest was to be a
-signal for a storm all over the country,
workers show that Government's fears ar<
Let there be no hartals, noisy <
-procession. The Bardoli programme,
not only release him but inaugurate
these words that he had welcomed hil
.powers, disprove the theory that p€
would explode the superstition about
408 THE HISTORY OF THE ;£ON3RESS
N. C. 0. under his influence, prove our capacity for
Swaraj and finally give him a quiet and physical rfesb
which perhaps he deserved. And well did the coontty"
respect his wishes and observe perfect peace on his arrest
and conviction.
About the same time that Gandhi was arrested, a>
fairly large number of arrests took place in Andhra in,
connection with the No-tax campaign. But the really
noticeable feature was that as the Congress relaxed ite
Civil Disobedience movement, Government tightened it»
repression. That was but to be expected, for Govern-
ment having sent out the leader of the Non-co-operation-
movement, the General of the Army, it was but naturaT
that they should seek to disperse or even destroy the-
force. It is equally natural for the forces to muster
together and carry on with a substitute for the departed
leader. That is one position. The other position is that
with the removal of Gandhi, there was created a chasm in-
the public life of the country. The one experiment that
should have been made on the 23rd of November but waar
postponed by the Bombay riots to the new year, and1
postponed again to the 31st January, on account of the-
All-Parties7 Conference of Bombay (14th and 15th
January, 1922), was ultimately postponed sine die. Who
was to attempt this stupendous and novel experiment
during the six years of Gandhi's absence?
The Working Committee was busy for three months
after Gandhi's conviction with adjusting affairs. The
khaddar department was entrusted to Seth Jqnraalal
Bajaj and five lacs of rupees were asked to be placed
in his charge. For relief in Malabar, the Committee
veiled Rs. 84,000. Seth Jamnalal Bajaj generously ptfid
another lac of rupees as a donation for the maintenance
of lawyers. The compulsory 'use' of khaddar 'trite
GANDHI BOUND (1922) 409
interpreted to mean 'personal wear.' Non-co-operating
lawyers were once again warned not to appear in cases,
and Non-co-operators were not to enter defence. A
Committee was appointed for investigating and reporting
upon, (1) the causes which led to the outbreak of the
Jtfoplah rebellion, (2) the extent of the outbreak, (3) the
measures adopted by Government for suppressing it,
including the declaration of Martial Law, (4) Forcible
conversions by the Moplahs, (5) Destruction of property,
and (6) steps, if any, necessary to restore and strengthen
Hindu-Muslim unity. The C. P. Marathi Provincial
Congress Committee already suggested certain modifica-
tions in the N. C. 0. programme. A Committee was
appointed to formulate a scheme regarding the removal of
untouchability. All these and other recommendations
vere soon considered by the A. I. C. C. which met at
Lucknow on the 7th, 8th, 9th, of June, 1922. The fact is
that in this world, whenever there is a failure in business
or death of the head of a family, the calamity is
followed by an immediate bustle and excitement
incidental to readjustment, which in turn gives rise to a
feeling of void and vacuum. Into this void and vacuum,
there is a rush of multiple thoughts and divided counsels
ending in some confusion. Even so was the conviction of
Gandhi followed by three months of readjustment of
affairs, payments of money, collection of dues, interpreta-
tion of terms, appointment of committees, reassertion of
principles, statement of policies, filling of casual vacan-
cies, recording of services and such other things. The*
came the time in June for a re-examination of
fundamentals.
The task of the A.I.C.C. was really to re-assess ti.ft
theory and practice, review the science and art of Non-
co-operation, Passive Resistance, and Civil Disobedience.
We need not make an unnecessary secret of the simple
4» THE HI8TOBY OF THB CONCRESS
fact that the top-notch . politicians, notably Deshbandhtt;
Das and Vittalbhai J. Patel, who were reluctant coo-i
verts but warm apostles of Non-co-operation, were.ii*
favour of changing faith on its orthodox lines and
professing a protestant creed that would carry NOIHCO-
operation into the very aisles and chancel of the Bureau-
cratic Church. They wanted to beard the lion in its own*
den and carry Non-co-operation into the very citadela
of Provincial Governments. Accordingly, the A. I. C. C^
after placing on record Gandhi's services to the cause oi
humanity by his message of peace and truth, reiterated
its faith in the principles of non-violent Non-co-operation,
and carried the Working Committee's resolution moved
by Pandit Motilal Nehru, who had just been released,
as amended by Pandit Malaviya. It condemned the con-
tinued repression by Government and recognised the
necessity of some form of Civil Disobedience to combat
it. It held the constructive programme to be the best
preparation for even mass Civil Disobedience. It
adjourned, to the month of August, the consideration of
the question "whether Civil Disobedience in some form,
or some other measure of similar . character, should be
adopted," and in the meantime requested the President
to nominate and authorize a few gentlemen to tour round
the country and report on the situation to the next
meeting. Accordingly, Pandit Motilal Nehru, Dr. Ansari,
Syts. V. J. Patel, Jamnalal Bajaj, C. Rajagopalacharia*
and Seth Chothani were appointed by the President,
Hakim Ajmal Khan, who was to be the Chairman of
the Committee.
In place of Seth Jamnalal who could not accept the
offer, Mr. S. Kasturi Ranga lyengar was appointed: Setb
Chothani could not join at all. . >,
GANDHI BOUND (1022) 41 i'
Before we proceed to deal with the Civil Disobedience .
Committee's activities and their report, let us go back
to the month of March. Montagu was forced to resign
his ministership on the 23rd of March, 1922, for' ;
revealing the contents of a certain document relating to t
the revision of the Treaty of Sevres with Turkey whicjh .
scored a first class victory just then against the Greeks*
Prosecutions and convictions were raging everywhere. In
the Punjab it was the Lawrence Statue that was the*
object of the attack. In Andhra-, it was the hoisting
of the National Flag in Godavari that was the red rag
to the bureaucratic bull. The No-tax campaign was of.
course there. The reign of Law reduced itself to the
reign of Sections 108 and 144. The Indian Members of*
the Executive Councils expressed helplessness as the
Collectors (Deputy Commissioners) were all-powerful in
the matter, and only a Judicial appeal — which' the non- '
co-operators would not resort to — could remedy the '
obvious wrong. Another source of irritation to the people '
of India arose from the 'steel frame' speech of Lloyd'
George, the Premier. It was occasioned by a circular-'
known as the O'Donnell circular to Provincial Govern-1
ments, inviting their opinions on the various considerations
involved in the question of Indianization, in order that
the Government of India might consider the whole
position. This got wind and roused the ire of the
officers in England and India, whereupon, to reassure
them, Lloyd George made a speech in which he declared
that "the Civil Services of India were the steel frame •
of the whole structure of administration." He added
that he could see no period when India could dispense-
with the guidance and assistance of a nucleus of the British
Civil Services, whose continued assistance was necessary*
to bring about the discharge of Britain's great trust in
India, and it was not to relinquish this trust but to bring
it into partnership in its discharge, that the Reforms
412 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
had been introduced. The Viceroy, however, to appease
apprehensions in India, obtained at the time, from
Mr. Lloyd George, a clear authorization to say that
nothing in that speech was intended to conflict with
earlier pledges and proclamations. One thing after
another helped to keep up excitement.
We must now refer to another instance of Satyagraha
with which the name of Borsad was associated. The
Satyagraha at Borsad took place in the year 1922. It
was organized under circumstances which seem to us
almost incredible. For some time past, an arch-dacoit
named Devar Baba had been carrying on his exploits in
the Borsad Taluka. He would come in his usual dress
to the schools in the day-time and distribute sweets to
children. He hit upon this device in order to ascertain
who was rich in the village, and then in the nights he
would descend with his men upon his intended victim,
kidnap him and negotiate a ransom for his release. This
wtent on for a month, and there was no help. While
these exploits were progressing, a rival rose in the person
of a Muslim who had a quarrel with a pleader and,
having murdered him, had disappeared and become an
•outlaw. He gathered a band of men and was carrying
on his depredations in the Taluka as a rival to Devar
Baba. The Police were helpless. Government posted to
the place their best officer, but his labours met with no
-success. The Baroda Police were also interested in the
•detection of the criminals, as similar mischief was going
on in their territory adjoining the Borsad Taluka. The
Police and the Revenue officers concerned, of the State
and the Taluka, put their heads together and evolved a
clever plan of detecting the criminals. They entered into
a pact with the Muslim outlaw, who undertook to catch
Devar Baba and deliver him to the authorities, provided
he was well-armed and, further, received the assistance
OANDHI BOUND (1922) 41*
of- four or five constables with rifles and cartridges, This1
was agreed to. A thief was set to catch a thief, but the
new ally of the Police only used his men and munitions
to intensify his campaigns in the Taluka for his own*.
ends. ,• <
. Crime increased and, as the last resort, Government
thought that the villagers themselves were privy to these
crimes and posted Punitive Police on the Taluka,
levying a heavy punitive tax which they began to collect
with the usual relentlessness that prevails under such
circumstances. In the meantime, public men in Gujarat
learnt about the pact between the Police and the
Muslim dacoit, and Vallabhbhai J. Patel challenged
Government on the matter. He went to Borsad and
asked the people not to pay the punitive tax. The shots
that were taken out of the bodies of persons injured in
the dacoities proved to be Government shots and left no
doubt that the Police rifies and ammunition were being
used by the dacoits. Vallabhbhai J. Patel posted
200 volunteers in the Taluka and 'they kept watch
day and night. He succeeded in persuading the people
not to lock up their doors from the evening time, as
1hey had been wont to, for weeks together previously,
but keep them open. The villagers proved by the aid
of photographs that the officers of the punitive Police
posted in the Taluka were themselves locking up their
doors inside, as well as getting them locked outside, in
order to put the dacoits off the scent and make them
believe that the houses were abandoned. On the slightest
noise outside, the Police were crouching under their cots.
All these allegations were proved to the hilt by photo-
graphs taken, and when the charges were publicly-
brought against the authorities, they had only two
alternatives left to them,' — eitiber to prosecute those that
had brought them forward or to plead guilty by silence.
414 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
When these revelations were made, the Baroda Police
was quickly withdrawn from the villages in the State,
but the British Police continued to remain and attach-
ments of property went on merrily for collection of the
punitive tax.
In the meantime Lord Lloyd, the Governor of
Bombay, left India and his successor, Sir Leslie Wilson,
took charge of the Province. On hearing of the
happenings in Borsad, he at once sent the Home Member
to Borsad, who verified the allegations and withdrew the
Police on the spot. Devar Baba himself had disappeared
the moment Vallabhbhai and the volunteers appeared oa
the scene.
",
Two events of the year now claim our attention*.
The first of them was the tour of the Civil Disobedience
Committee in the summer in the country. The second
was the great event known as 'the Guruka-Bagh
affair which took origin in August. We shall
describe the latter first. The Shiromani Gurudwar
Prabandhak Committee was a reformist group of Sikha
who called themselves Akalis — as opposed to the Udasia
who were conservatives and whom the Mahants or the
Abbots in power at the Sikh shrines favoured. The
reformists wanted to capture the shrines by Satyagraha
and some Akalis serving the shrine cut down a tree ia
August on the land of the Guruka-Bagh shrine. The
Mah&nt complained to the Police, who afforded protec-
tion, but batches of Akalis pledged to non-violence
passed the Police Pickets and were severely beaten as
unlawful assemblies. No resistance was made to these
attacks by the Police and the spectacle aroused consider-
able excitement in the country. It was an object lesson
in -non-violence displayed by a martial race of India
GANDHI BOUND (1922)
who had fought the Germans and won victories for the
British in Europe.
The self-control exhibited by the Akalis has been
freely acknowledged by Government, and Government's
only regret was that "while this fact was emphasized
and indeed praised to the skies as a triumph of Gandhism
in various sections of the Indian Press, scarcely a word
of commendation was given to the remarkable good
temper and excellent discipline shown by the Police in
the discharge of their peculiarly unpleasant duty."
Indeed, it was at Guruka-Bagh that the Police, it was
said, perfected the technique of lathi-charge which was
destined, a decade later, to play so prominent a part in
Indian politics. Even the Police abominated their
thankless task and ere long Government Were forced to
abandon the dispersion of the Akali jathas and, instead,
to arrest individual members and in November, 1922,
a public-spirited gentleman, Sir Ganga Ram, stepped in
to take on lease the lands in question from the Mahant
and made no objection to the Akalis cutting thq wood
thereon.
The Civil Disobedience Committee undertook its
tour throughout India. The spirit of the people was not
dead. Wherever they went, they received a warm
welcome. At Guntur, the Municipality presented an
address to the Committee wishing them success in their
object. On their arrival at the Railway station, 200
volunteers were arrested by the Police, — a fact worth
more by way of evidence than the arguments presented
to 'them. The Committee finished their labours and
presented their Report. At first, it wa? the intention of
the A.I.C.C. to discuss this at a meeting to be held on
the 15th August. No meeting could be held but,
apparently, private discussions took place about the time
THE HISTORY OF THE^CQNCRESS
when some of the prominent men of India met in Calcutta
in connection with the wedding of Doshbandhu Das's.
second daughter. It was then, we were told at the time,
that Pandit Motilal Nehru was weaned away from Civil
Disobedience and converted to Council-entry. Later,
when the Report was published, it transpired that all
the members discussed the question whether the Congress
should or should not contest Council elections. A little
later, a parallel Committee appointed by the Khilaphat
Committee reported predominantly in favour of con-
tinuing the Council Boycott. Without dwelling at
•greater length upon the forces that were at play in the
production of the Report. — and there must, doubtless,
have been many legitimate forces operating, — we quote
below the recommendations of the Civil Disobedience
Committee :
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATIONS
1. CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
(a) The country is not prepared at present to
•embark upon general mass Civil Disobedience of a
limited character e.g., the breaking of a particular
law or the non-payment of a particular tax for
which the people are ready. We recommend that
Provincial Committees be authorised to sanction
such limited mass Civil Disobedience on their own
responsibility, if the conditions laid down by the
All-India Congress Committee in that behalf are
fulfilled.
(b) We recommend the restoration of the resolu-
tion No. 2 passed by the All-India Congress Committee
at Delhi on the 14th and 15th November, which gives'
Provincial Committees all the powers necessary to
determine upon a resort to Civil Disobedience of any
Tcind whatever, by cancelling Resolution I. Cl. 1,
passed. on the 24th, 25th February, to the extent
% conflicts with that resolution; provided that general
mass Civil Disobedience is not permissible.
GANDHI BOUND (1022) '4Yt
2. ENTRY INTO LEGISLATIVE COUNCILS
(a) The Congress and the Khilaphat at their
Gaya Session should declare that, in view of the fa«rt
that the working of the Legislative Councils during
their first term has, besides proving a great obstacle
to the redress of the Khilaphat and the Punjab wrongs
and the speedy attainment pf Swaraj y a, caused great
misery and hardship to the people, it is desirable that
the following steps should be taken in strict
accordance with the principles of non-violent Non-co-
operation to avoid the recurrence of the evil:
1. Non-co-operators should contest the election
on the issue of the redress of the Punjab and'
Khilaphat wrongs and immediate Swarajya, and make
every endeavour to be returned in a majority.
2. If the Non-co-operators are returned in a
majority large enough to prevent a quorum,,
they should after taking their seats leave the-
Council Chamber in a body and take no part in
the proceedings for the rest of the term. They should
attend the Councils occasionally, only for the purpose
of preventing vacancies.
3. If Non-co-operators are returned in a majority
which is not large enough to prevent a quorum, *they
should oppose every measure of the Government
including the budget, and only move resolutions for
the redress of the aforesaid wrongs and the immediate-
attainment of Swarajya.
4. If the Non-co-operators are returned in a
minority they should act as pointed out in No. 2; and'
thus materially reduce the strength of the Council.
As the new Councils will not assemble till'
January, 1924, we further propose that the Congress
Session of 1923 be held during the first instead of the
last week of December and the matter be again brought
up for the issue of a final mandate by the Congress*
in view of the election.
(Recommended by Hakim Ajmal Khan, Pandit
Motilal Nehru, T. J. Pajtei). <•
(b) There should be' no diatige of the Cfefegrttefc*
programme in respect of the boycott of Councils.
(Recommended by Dr. M.A. Ansari, Syt. C.
Rajagopalachari, Syt. S. Kastrari Rang» lyengar.)*
418 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
3. LOCAL BODIES
We recommend that in order to clear the position
it should be declared that it is desirable for Non-co-
operators to seek election to Municipalities and
District or Local Boards with a view to facilitate the
working of the constructive programme, but that no
hard and fast rules ta at present laid down to
regulate or restrict the activities of non-co-operating
members beyond advising them to act in harmony
with Local or Provincial Congress organisations.
(Unanimous)
4. BOYCOTT OF GOVERNMENT EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS
We recommend a strict adherence to the Bardoli
resolution in regard to these by suspending for the
present active propaganda calling upon boys to come
out of schools and colleges. As required by that
resolution," reliance should be placed upon the
superiority of National schools for drawing scholars
from Government institutions and not upon picketing
or other aggressive propaganda.
(Unanimous)
5. BOYCOTT OF COURTS BY LITIGANTS AND LAWYERS
Effort should be concentrated on the establish-
ment of Panchayats and cultivation of a strong public
opinion in their favour.
We further recommend that all existing
disqualifications imposed on practising lawyers should
be removed.
(Unanimous)
6. ORGANISATION OF LABOUR
«0§efajtion No. 8. passed. by the Nagpur Congress
iH be earned «t %itt**it further delay.
GANDHI BOUND (1022) 419
7. BIGHT OF PBIVATE DEFENCE
(a) We recommend that individuals should be
given full freedom to exercise the right within the
limits defined by Law, except when carrying on
Congress work or on occasion directly arising
therefrom, subject always to -the condition that it is
not likely to lead to a general outburst of violence.
Using force in private defence in gross cases, such as
insults to religion, outrages on modesty of women, or
indecent assaults on boys and men, is not prohibited
under any circumstances.
(All members except Syt. V. J. Patel).
(b) Full freedom to exercise the right within
the limits defined by Law should be reserved to
Non-co-operators, subject only ito the condition that
it is not likely to lead to a general outburst of
violence, and to no further conditions.
(Syt. V. J. Patel).
8. BOYCOTT OF BRITISH GOODS
(a) We accept the principle and recommend that
the whole question be referred to a committee of experts
for a full report to be submitted before the Congress
meets.
(All members except Syt. C. Rajagopalachari).
(b) There is no objection to the collection and
examination of facts by experts, but the acceptance
of the principle by the All-India Congress Committee .
would mislead the Nation and injure the movement.
(Syt. C. Rajagopalachari).
It will be evident to the reader that the forces of
orthodox and heterodox Non-co-operation were equally
arrayed against each other. Butt both were really forces
«rf N.C.O., neither plumping for co-operation with
Government. Only with the heterodox school the bow of
Non-co-operation was to work with a second string by
which arrows could be better flung at the citadel of
Bureaucracy from inside the Council Chamber. The
420 THE HISTORY OF >THE CONGHESS
recommendation regarding Local Bodies was but to be
expected. Already Congressmen and Non-co-operators-
had begun to contest elections of Municipalities and Local
Boards and give pin-pricks to Government, as the latter
thought, by advocating the use of khaddar in hospitals
and for uniforms for servants, by urging the hoisting of
the National Flag upon their offices, by recommending 'the
introduction of charkha and Hindi in 'Local' and
Municipal Schools, and occasionally by urging the
boycott of Governors' visits and the visits of Ministers.
But, except that they were indications of an attitude,,
there was not much in the way of real achievement.
The diversion of the national mind — be it even of ai
section — from the dynamic and destructive programme of
boycott and the offensives of Civil Disobedience to the
milder spheres of Local Sclf-Government and Legislatures
IP perhaps like a diversion from the firing line of the
battle-field (to the chess-board of the drawing-room. Yet.
the fact must be recognized that by the winter of 1922,
there was a scliism which it was no longer possible to-
conceal, and which was destined to develop into a splits
at the Gaya Congress. The meeting of the AJ.C.C. which
should have been held on August 15th, had necessarily to
wait till the month of November. In that month, a truly
bistoric gathering of the Committee met in Calcutta on the
aOth, 21st, 22nd, 23rd and 24th November, 1922. It
was a gala session, extending over five days, much like
the field-day of1 Budget debates in Legislative Councils,
when members could speak on subjects, all and sundry,
without time-limit. The Congress discussions in Calcutta
were like a rtournament in which the rounds were all well
marked out, and pairs of opposing speakers were carefully
selected. The first day's sitting* were held in the Indian
Association Rooms, but the atmosphere was suffocating and
next four days were spent under a shamiana that
GANDHI BOUND (1922) 421
was erected for the occasion on the premises of 148, Russa
Road, Bhawanipore, the magnificent residence of
Mr. C. R. Das, which was bearing on its forehead the
marks of ten months' neglect. Nor could it be said that
the Calcutta performance was a mere feat of intellectual
levity. Although towering personalities like Nehru, the
Elder, and Das were supporting the Council programme
and were briskly aided by their old ally, Maharashtra,
yet the recent incarceration of Gandhi and ithe spirit of
loyalty and reverence which his following always bore
towards him, the attractiveness of a programme of revolt,,
the absence of a programme of equal attractiveness, the
proximity of the goal in sight, in spite of the crags and1
chasms that intervened but were hidden from view by"
the carpet green of tree-tops, and above all, the crossing
of the Rubicon and the burning of the boats by most
Non-co-operators, — all these constituted a formidable
opposition which could not be overawed either by ihe
intellectual eminence of Motilal or the dominating:
personality of Das. At the end of five days' analysis,
criticism, invective and diajtribe, the Committee resolved
that the country was not prepared for mass Disobedience
but it authorized P. C. C.s to sanction on their own
responsibility limited Civil Disobedience that may be
demanded by any situation, subject to the fulfilment of
the conditions laid down in <fchat behalf. The harder
question of Council-entry was held over till Gaya, and
likewise were postponed the questions of Boycott of
British goods, the recommendation of entry into Local
Bodies with a "view (to facilitating the constructive
programme, the boycott of Schools and colleges and Law-
Courts, and the right of private defence within the limits
of Law ex6e£t when 'carrying' on Congress work. Thu*
tended the deliberations of the Civil Disobedience
Committee which cost the Congress Rs; 16,000.
27
.422 THE (I8OTORY OF THJB CONGRESS
Before we pass on to the Gaya Congress, let us bring
the deliberations of the Working Committee up to, date.
'In 1922, the Committee had met thrice in January, twice
in February ,, Once in. March, once in April, once in May
for four days on fcnd, twice in June, once in July, once in
^September, once in November, and once in December. An
-influential Comjmittee had been appointed to investigate
the Guruka-B<agh affair, the grief of »fche Congress was
expressed over the death of the venerable old patriot,
Motilal Ghose of the Amrita Bazaar Patrika, a Committee
<was appointed to visit Multan with a view to bringing
About the restoration of good feelings between Hindus and
Muslims.
It was jitnfortunate that the Hindu-Muslim unity
•which was a remarkable feature of >t<he history of the
previous two years should have been broken in the
Muharram 6f 1922, in which communal feeling in Multan
reached serioufe heights, leading to extensive destruction
of life arid property. Strenuous efforts made to restore
<unity provedi unavailing. "The structure so painfully
erected by Mr. Gandhi," says India, 1922-23,' "had
crumbled hopelessly."
In fafct, the 18th of every month was being observed
ever since -the 18th April, throughout the country as the
Gandhi Day, even as the 15th of every month was being
observed ill 1917 as the Besant Day, till her release in
September that year. Another important event was the
arrest and conviction of Jawaharlal in May, 1922, some
time afiter his release from imprisonment in connection
with the boycott of the Prince's visit. The warrant of
his arrest bore the 'familiar' Section 124-A. But he
-was not tri&i under it. He stood charged with "criminal
intimidation afad abetment of an attempt to extort/9 He
had really declared his intention in a public speech to
GANDHI BOUND (1922) 423
^picket foreign shops. He had also presided at a
"Committee meeting at which letters were agreed
to be sent to certain cloth merchants to pay the fines
imposed by their own association under their own rtiles.
The conviction was under Sec. 385 I.P-C. The fact was
that he was really being tried for picketing foreign cloth-
shops. He made an exquisite statement in Court on the
i7|th May, 1922, in which he explained how he, who ten
years before was virtually an Englishman who had
imbibed all the prejudices of Harrow and Cambridge, was
transformed in the space of ten years into "a rebel
against the present system of Government in India." "I
marvel at my good fortune," he concluded. "To serve
India 'in the battle of freedom is honour enough. To-
serve her under a leader like Mahatma is doubly
fortunate. But to suffer for the dear country! What
greater good fortune could befall an Indian unless it be
death for the cause, or the full realization of our glorious
dream."
The Gaya Congress of 1922 was in every sense a
remarkable one. The towering personality of
Deshbandhu Das, the President, would, if nothing '.else,
make it remarkable. It was not, however, merely the
men who conducted the Congress, but the masters relating
to the Congress which made the Congress remarkable.
The fight at Gaya was really a tri-partite one, — between,
those that raised politics to a spiritual level and those
that worked politics on the intellectual and the material
plane. That the leader of the former group was not
present in flesh and blood made no difference. His ideals
of truth and non-violence, his philosophy of suffering and
sacrifice, his religion of politics based on the Sermon on
the Mount and the Beatitudes, — all these were there
imperfectly lisped by his followers, but perfectly shining
424 THE HIStOBY OF THE CONGRESS
forth from the aureole that surrounded his benign*
portrait.
The question which caused the greatest excitement i
and difference among the delegates was the question of*,
entry into Councils. It will be remembered that the
A.I.C.C. meeting in Calcutta had left this question over-
for the Congress, and the Congress had to sit for five days, .
to come to conclusions on this and other matters. There
were those who felt strongly that the scheme of Non- -
co-operation would be upset if entry into Councils was •
permitted, and they insisted that the ban on Council- -
entry should not be lifted. There were a few intellectuals
who would enter Councils and not take seats or Oaths
of Allegiance and would, that way, beat the enemy
altogether. Finally, there were the passionate politicians
who would sweep the Councils and make short work of
Cabinets and Ministers, who would beard the lion in his •
den, who would withhold supplies and move Votes
of Censure, who would create deadlocks and bring the
Government machinery to a standstill.
Deshbandhu Das delivered his speech, a marvel of
logic, erudition and practical idealism. But the reaction
against the change of direction of the ship of N.C.O.
gathered volume and force, and despite the high
intellectualism of S. Srinivasa lyengar and Pandit
Motilal Nehru, the ship pursued its own old course.
Mr, S. Srinivasa lyengar tabled an amendment to the •
effect that Congressmen should contest seats but refuse
to take their seats, and Pandit Nehru gave his qualified '
assent to 'it. Mr. Srinivasa lyengar had resigned his*
membership of the Madras Legislative Council, his--
Advocate -Generalship and his 'C.I.E./ and come into the
movement more than a year earlier in the midst of"
universal congratulations. The Khilaphatists were under •
GANDHI BOUND (1922) 425
,the influence of the Jamiat-ul-ulemah, who had published
Fatwa declaring Council-entry as mamnoon, not haram.
But nothing availed at Gaya. The spirit of Gandhi was
ell-pervading. Every one took it to be an act of disloyalty
to the Master to turn his back on him, the moment he
was found to be absent froml the Congress. After doing
honour to the memory of Motilal Gliose and A. C.
Mazumdar, a handsome tribute was paid to Gandhi and
his principles- The unexampled bravery of the Akali
Martyrs and the noble 'example of non-violence set by
them as well as other political prisoners were admired.
Kemal Pasha was congratulated on his success. Councils
were asked to be boycotted. A solemn warning was
administered to Government not to incur any more
National Debt, and to the people not to contribute any
further to National Debts floated by the bureaucracy
under the authority of the so-called Legislatures. The
A.I.C.C.'s resolution of November on Civil Disobedience
was virtually ratified, the Nation being called upon to
get ready money and men in the meantime for the
purpose. The boycott of colleges and courts waa to be
continued, the right of private defence as already defined
in November was conceded. Labour was to be organised
by a Committee including Mr. Andrews, Sen-Gupta and
four others with power to co-opt. Congress Bodies in
Smith Africa and Kabul were affiliated with rights to
send 10 and 2 delegates respectively to the Congress.
Deshbandhu Das really had two precious documents
in his pocket when he presided over the Gaya Congress, —
one was the Presidential Address, and the other his
resignation of the Presidentship, together with a
constitution of the Swaraj Party.
The Bengal Provincial Congress Committee had
formulated some sufch thing in 1920. At the Special
416 THE HISTORY OF THE .CONGRESS
.Congress of Calcutta, Bengal and Maharashtra .leaders »
had opposed boycott of Councils. At Nagpur',. Das had
spent JRs. 36,000 to undo Calcutta, and when he failed.,
he magnanimously moved the resolution of the day. At
Ahmcdabad, we know not what he would have done if he
had been present in person. The Gaya Congress was a-
battle-royal between the two contending^ parties. It was •
not to be expected that a man of Das's personality — with •
the Support of eminent men like MotilaT and Vittalbhai-r-
would tamely succumb to the spirit of the masses and'
submit to Council-Boycott. A party was, therefore,,
organized .and a programme was drawn up. Das was to*
capture .the, Provincial Council of Bengal and Motilalji
was to mountguard over Delhi and Simla. Maharashtra*
would look after Nagpur. If Bardoli's successful No-tax-
campaign would obviate similar campaigns of suffering
and sflcrificg in India, why not the success in Calcutta
and Nagpur of the programme of wrecking the formation
of Ministries set an example to and save the troubles and'
sufferings of the rest of India? Das had immense faith-
in his Province. Indeed, if the choice were given to him,
he Would be happy with schemes of village reconstruction r
provided h0 had facilities therefor. His tastes and*
tendencies were to narrow down the sphere of activity
for intensive work, and not to diffuse his energies over'
an extensive area. The Non-cd-operation movement was
shortly to be shunted to the side-line of legislative'
activities.
Before we close the year 1922, we have to refer to*
two matters, though they are not directly germane to our-
subject. Government was not unmindful of the growing-
passion of young men for volunteering. The volunteer*
organization was really growing in numbers and strength,
.and the tour of the Congress party met' with reactionary
orders in Jubbulpore and other places. The Khilaphafc
GANDHI BOUND (1922) 427
volunteers and their quasi-military equipment and dress
were such as to strike the imagination of young India; and
Government, as if to take the wind out of the sails of the
national movement, started a territorial organization for
different parts of India and Burma. A scheme was also
initiated for the training of Indian lads for Sandhurst in
an Indian Military College. The second matter relates
to the relation of jail rules in respect of 'political
prisoners/ This term was not avoided by Government
then, as it was in the later years. Their treatment was
sought to be regulated along certain broad lines. Of
course, this category of prisoners excluded all those
convicted of offences involving violence, or against
property, all persons Convicted of attempts to seduce
soldiers or Police from their allegiance, and of offences
directly involving criminal intimidation. The cases were
to be considered, each on its merits and selection, for
differential treatment which was to be based upon the
status, character and education cf the prisoner and the
nature of his offence. Prisoners so selected were to be
separated from ordinary prisoners, might get their own
food and bedding and wear their own clothes, might
possess books and magazines, receive visitors and letters
at stated intervals, and enjoy exemption from labour and
from menial duty. We have described at length these
instructions issued by the Government of India, only to-
bhow that they had not been then or later observed by
the jail authorities in relation to the vast bulk of political
prisoners. Indeed, Government have latterly refused to
recognize the term 'political' itself, as qualifying prisoners.
CHAPTER IV
N.C.O. FROM WITHIN COUNCILS (1923)
The political atmosphere of the country at the
commencement of 1923 was beginning to get polluted once
again by communal differences. The year 1922 had already
witnessed the Multan riots. The Muharram of 1923 was
attended with serious riots both in Bengal and the Punjab.
In the year 1922, the Khilaphat question met with an
unexpected end. After the signing of the Armistice at
.Mudania early in October, 1922, a conference of the
.Allied Powers was convened at Lausanne, on the 20th
^November, where a two months' discussion was held. It
•was then that representatives of the Angora Government
look over the civil administration of the city, with the
Tesult that the Turkish Sultan was compelled to flee for
3iis life secretly on a British warship which conveyed him
to Malta. No sooner had he departed than he was
^deposed, not only as Sultan but also as Khalifa. A new
.Khalifa was elected in the person of his nephew Abdul
Majid Effendi and the Sultan ceased to exist, Turkey
liaving become a Republic. Thus had the Khilaphat been
•vaticanized.
* The victory of the no-changers at Gaya was
-destined to be short-lived. The A.I.C.C. resolved on the
1st January, 1923, that a sum of 25 lacs be collected and
50,000 volunteers be enrolled before the 30th April, 1923,
and the Working Committee was authorized to take all
necessary steps. It was also empowered to relax any of
the Delhi conditions for Civil Disobedience in order to
meet any grave emergency that might arise out of the
Turkish situation. Dr. Ansari was requested to get a
K. C. O. FROM WITHIN COUNCILS (1923) 429
scheme of National Pact prepared for the next meeting.
38ut the most important matter before the Committee was
Hhe President's resignation. That was inevitable, for he
..had already intimated to the Subjects Committee his
.plans regarding the new Swaraj Party. The question of
•the resignation was held over to the next meeting of the
A.I.C.C. which was held at Allahabad on the 27th
JTebruary, 1923. At this meeting a compromise was
.arrived at, under which Council propaganda was to be
suspended on both sides till the 30th April, and both
[parties were to be at liberty to work the remaining items
of their respective programmes in the interval without
interference with each other, and each party was to
: adopt such course after the 30th April as it might be
: advised.
By this time, both Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru were released and the A.I.C.C.
recorded their grateful thanks to both for their services
-in effecting the settlement.
It did not look as though Civil Disobedience would
r be seriously taken up as a national programme. The split
itself would be a potent cause for its not being resumed.
. Again, a splendid opportunity arose in the budget of the
year. The Salt Tax was proposed to be raised in the
• budget session of 1923, but the Assembly threw the
j;proposal out. The Viceroy of course certified the higher
figure. Although the members of the Assembly had urged
that the imposition of the enhanced tax would only place
..a premium upon Non-co-operation, although the restora-
"tion of the duty by the Viceroy,— after it had been
* condemned by men like Mr, Montagu Webb and
Mr. E. D. Sassoon,— was received with alarm and
indignation, although it was felt at the time that "if
«=only the N.C.O. party had been possessed of any thing
$30 -THE HISTORY, OF THE CONGRESS .
like it»:former , vigour, it is , quitd 'possible that the-
certification of the Salt Tax might have provided it with-*
a fresh lease of life," yet, the fact remained that this;
opportunity made no impression on the Congressmen's
minds. It did not occur to them, as it occurred seven
years later to their Master, that salt would be a
splendid point at which to begin Satyagraha. In fact the
author of India — a Government officer, twitted the •
Congress then and there, saying that the Viceroy's
certification was not availed of to renew C. D. in some •
form. The autocratic action of Lord Reading had, .
however, a collateral result. Mrs. Besant had been
talking, for some time earlier, of a National Convention
to rally together all the constitutionalists. Dr. Sapru had
just resigned his office of Law Member of the Government
of India and a Conference was convened under his -
presidency to discuss a practical programme for achieving
self-governing status within the Empire and the •
Conference appointed several committees to consider
various details.
The constructive programme was vigorously preached .
and popularised by a deputation composed of Babu
Rajendra Prasad, C. Rajagopalachari, Seth Jamnalal
Bajaj and Devidas Gandhi, which toured the country
widely and made a good collection for the T. S. Fund.
They submitted a report of their work to the Working
Committee that met in Bombay on the 25th, 26th, and
27th May, 1923. There took place an important meeting
of the A.I.C-C. as well, at which it was decided that no
propaganda be carried on amongst voters in furtherance
of the resolution passed at the Gaya Congress relating •
to the Boycott of Councils. It was just a month previous*-
to that, that the Deshbandhu had made a suggestion that .
the work of the Congress should be divided into various -
sections including the, capture of the Councils, and that.
N. C. TX EBOM WITHIN COUNCILS (1923)
each section be entrust&l to persons interested iri it tod
that five to six crores of rupees be collected for thi
purpose. This proposal was explained to the 'Working
CoB&mittee by Messrs. C. Rajagopalachari and Babtf
Rajendra Prasad, but was dropped as impracticable and1
opposed to the Gaya Congress resolutions, so far 'as the
Councils were concerned. The moment the A.I.C.C. passed
the aforesaid resolution, and on account of it, six members
of the AVorking Committee tendered their {resignations
of membership of the Committee. These were Messrs.
C. Rajagopalachari,Arallabhbhai J. Patel, Rajendra Prfcsad,
Brij Kishore Prasad, G. B. Deshpande, and Jamnalal
Bajaj. AfU-r some parley for a reconsideration, at the
instance of Jawaharlal Nehru, the resignations were
accepted and so was the President's resignation. The
Committee was reconstituted and work was carried on
under Dr. Ansari's chairmanship. There was nothing
further of any importance done at this meeting. Only,
we must pause at the Committee's congratulations offered
to the volunteers of the Central Provinces carrying on
their Flag Satyagraha and the call to the volunteers
throughout India to be ready to join the struggle when
icquired.
The Bombay compromise was obviously resented by
a number of Provincial Committees and the A.I.C.C.
that met later at Nagpur felt it necessary "to declare in
express terms the adherence to, and insistence on, the
propriety and validity of the compromise resolution passed
by this Committee on the 26th of May and this
Committee makes the said declaration." It furthei
resolved "that the attempt of certain Provincial Congress
Committees to act contrary to the said resolution is
deplorable," and it hoped that such conduct would not be-
persisted in. The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee wa»:
sought to be' condemned for indiscipline. This wte*
•432 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
•objected to by a section of the A.I.C.C. as the material
-was not sufficient for such condemnation. The House
-agreed in the latter view and this led to the resignation
of Jawaharlal who had moved the proposition and those
-of his persuasion, from the 'Working Committee, including
Dr. Ansari. The resignations were accepted by the
.A.I.C.C. and a new Working Committee was elected on
the spot.
But really quite an unexpected resolution, and one
:in respect of which no notice was given, was sprung on
the Committee at Nagpur when ''a Special Session of
•the Congress to consider the question of the Boycott of
•Councils" was decided upon. It was to meet in Bombay
.in the month of August and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
was elected President and the Working Committee was
••empowered to take all necessary action in this behalf.
As was to be expected, the unexpected decision at
.Nagpur in favour of a Special Congress naturally aroused
-come opposition which was strengthened by another
-circumstance, namely, the closeness of voting on the
•resolution itself, and these two reasons were cited in a
requisition for a special meeting of the A.I.C.C. in the
'month of August at Vizagapatam. At this special meeting
which was held on the 3rd of August, "the President
asked," says the official Report of the proceedings, "if
-any member wanted to move a resolution in pursuance of
-the requisition. None coming forward, Mr. C. Rajagopala-
•diari moved the following resolution which, being duly
seconded, was carried."
The resolution voted for a Special Session in September
<rtot August) and if there was any difficulty regarding thd
•venue, the President was authorized to arrange for the
•session being held in any other .place. There is something
N. C. O. FBOM WITHIN COUNCILS (1923) 43S-
striking in the mover being Mr . Rajagopalachari. It may
be noted incidentally that the President was Desabhakta
K. Venkatappayya, a pronounced no-changer. Was it.
intended to thresh out the question at a Special Session,
or was it intended to facilitate the passage of the Congress
train along the new direction?
Before we proceed to the Special Session which was
ultimately held in Delhi — not Bombay, as originally
intended — we may as well review the events of the day.
The Nagpur Satyagraha claims our first attention. The-
movement at Nagpur arose from the Police objecting to a
procession carrying the National Flag, proceeding in the-
direction of the Civil Lines of the City, by the-
promulgation of S. 144 on the 1st May, 1923.
The volunteers insisted on their right to carry the-
flag where they willed. They were arrested and sentenced.
This developed soon into a movement earning the-
blessings of the Working Committee, as we have already •
freen, and later of the All-India Congress Committee held *
on the 8th, 9th, and 10th of July, 1923 at Nagpur. The
Committee resolved to give assistance to the Nagpur
Satyagrahm Committee in carrying the campaign to a
successful issue, and further called upon the country to
observe the next Gandhi day (18th) as a flag day, the
Provincial Committees being instructed to organize flag
processions and public display of the flag by -the people.
By this time Seth Jamnalal Bajaj also had been arrested
in connection with this Satyagraha movement. That was
ically why the A.I.C.C. met at Nagpur and the Committee
appropriately congratulated Sethji on his incarceration
and "assured him of its whole-hearted support of the
said campaign." Sethji's car was attached for realizing the
fine of Rs. 3,000 imposed upon him, but the car wo^dd
not sell in Nagpur; so, it' was taken to Kathiawar fo*
-43* THE HISTORY OF, THE CONGRESS
.-..sale. Numerous were the sufferings of the prisoners' in
•the Nagpur Satyagraha who came! from .all the Provinces
<$f thp country in response to the call of the Workinfe
'Coinmittfee and the A.I.C.C. to support the campaign at
Nagpur.
The Nagpur Flag Satyagraha soon developed into
an All-India movement and Syt. Vallabhbhai J. Patel
was asked to, be in charge of it as from the 10th July,
Volunteers were being sent from several parts of India;
some .Congress Committees appealed for funds. The
Working Committee met at Vizagapatam early in August
and recorded ''its grateful appreciation of the help
rendered by Syt. Vittalbhai Patel in the conduct of the
Nagpur Satyagraha and requested him to continue to be
•on the spot and help to guide the movement along with
the member 4n-charge, (Vallabhbhai J. Patel). Virtually
then, the Patel Brothers were looking after the campaign,
and to them is due the credit for bringing it to an
honourable termination. Government's contention was that
•the processionists should apply for permission. Congress
claimed the right to proceed along any public road
without let or hindrance. A vigorous campaign was
• contemplated and the public were taken into confidence
by Vallabhbhai who cleared all misunderstandings and
proclaimed the time and route of the March for the '18th.
The prohibitory section was there, in fact it had just
"been renewed, but on the 18th the flag procession was
allowed to pass. Later, a controversy arose out of this,
Anglo-Indian papers claiming victory for Government on
"the/ allegation that the Congress had Applied for
permission, and the Congress rightly contending that it
netef-didr.so. This is not the only strugglfe in which a
ecjfcttemeht has giv£n rise to different comments by
• Opponents of "the National movement. Sufltee It to say
tHWHhe Belhf Congress offered its ^hearty congratulations
N. C. O. OTOM WITHIN COUNCILS (1923) 435
to the organizers of the Flag Satyagraha movement ait
Nagpur and the Volunteers for having, by their fceroii
sacrifice and suffering, upheld the honour of the country
by carrying the fight to a successful finish." ' '»
i •
There remains an important development relating to
Indians abroad which arrested the attention of thci
Jongress in the months of July, August and September.
Vffairs in Kenya were going from bad to worse and
nerited a pronouncement by the A.I.C.C. early in August
it its Vizagapatam sitting. The position in the years
L922-23 may briefly be reviewed. With the exception of
New Zealand and Newfoundland, Indians resident in
other parts of the British Empire had for long been
subject to certain humiliating conditions. In 1921, the
Dominion representatives assembled at the Imperial
Conference of 1921, South Africa alone dissenting, passed
a resolution admitting the justice of Indian claims saying
"that in the interests of the solidarity of the British
Commonwealth, it is desirable that the rights of Indians
(lawfully domiciled in some other parts of the Empire)
should be recognized." It was also agreed that thence-
forth India should directly negotiate with South Africa
in matters in which her Nationals were concerned. In
South Africa the rights of Indians secured to Indians by
the Smuts-Gandhi Agreement of 1914, were endangered
early in 1920 by a decision of the Transvaal Provincial
Court. In Transvaal, Indians were politically helpless. In
Natal, they no doubt possessed the municipal franchise,
but their position had lately been the subject of seriotift
attack. In the Orange River Free State, Indians are not
allowed at all, while in the Cape Province, Cecil Rhodesf
"equal rights for every civilized man" prevails. A
Commission appointed by the South African Governflfcent
In 1920 to enquire into the question o! Asiatics trading
and holding land in the several South African
* THE HISTORY OF THE CONQBBSS
find before which Sir Benjamin Robertson appeared Ba-
the representative of the Government of India,,
recommended, it is true, the retention of the law
prohibiting the ownership of land by Asiatics but declined .
to recommend a compulsory segregation. In Natal,
h9wever, the right of Indians to acquire and own land was
confined to the coast belt, but on the protest of the
Government, of India, the Union Government abandoned
the proposal. Natal, however, issued two Ordinances-
shortly after, which endangered still further the position
of, Indians, but which were vetoed by the Governor-
General of South Africa. These two and a third1
Ordinance were onqe again introduced in 1922-23, but the
Union Government once again vetoed the first two and1
pressed for certain changes in the third. The third is the
Natal Retail Dealers Licensing Ordinance. All along,.
Lord Reading's Government took .a just view of the
matter and explained the same to a deputation of the
Central Legislature. Let us recall the fact that at the
Jjnpe^al Conference of 1921, it was suggested that a
deputation from India should visit Canada, New Zealand'
and Australia to assist the Governments concerned to-
implement the resolution of the Conference recognizing
the rights of Indians: The proposal being officially
endorsed by the several Dominion Governments, the
jHon'ble V. S. Sastri, accompanied by Mr. G. S. Bajpai,
left India in May, 1922, for the three Dominions.
We need not go into the small grievances of Indians
in these places and the success that attended Sastriar's
good offices. It is to Kenya that we must now turn our
attention. The position of Indians there had long been
piostj'tmsatisfactory. This Colony owed much to Indian
labour and Indian capital. Indians were tHe pioneer*-
ia; many directions pnd they outnumbered the European 1
population.
N. C. O. FROM WITHIK COUNCIL* (1023) 4HF
Winston Churchiirs testimony to the Sikh soldier,
the Indian trader, the Indian banker who advanced
financial aid even to the white settlers, and his protest
against a policy of deliberately squeezing out the native
of India from regions in which he had established himself
under every security of public faith, were largely quoted
by Moderate politicians in the Indian Central Legisla-
ture. Indians resented the prohibition against the transfer
to Indians of agricultural lands in the highlands of the
Colony, the region which stretches across the road to
Uganda with its cotton fields, where Indian interests are
already considerable. Compulsory segregation, the denial
of franchise to Indians, and the prohibition of Indian-
immigration, it was feared, may be forced on Kenya, by
the intolerance of the European community. The very
Churchill Who had "accepted the recognition of the
Imperial Conference that there is an incongruity between
the position of India as an equal member of the Empire
and the existence of disabilities upon Indians lawfully
domiciled," was the Colonial Secretary in 1921. Early
in 1923, the Colonial Office sent for the Governor of
Kenya and he proceeded to London along with European
and Indian delegations, for the purpose of discussing the
terms of a final settlement. Likewise the Indian Central
Legislature sent a delegation of which Sastriar
was the leader. The Kenya Indian delegation asked
Mr. C. F. Andrews to accompany them as their adviser.
In this capacity he rendered to the cause of Indians in
Kenya notable help for which the Working Committee
thanked him in April, 1923.
The problem became more urgent in view of
proposals in the air to carve out one great union of
Rhodesia, Tanganyika, Nyassaland, Uganda and Kenya
The position of Indians in Uganda was dependent upon
the settlement of the Kenya problem. 'Segregation' was
. $HE HISTORY OF THE CONCUSS , •
infecting this Colony as well. In the township of
Kampala, a residential site, away from European quarters,
was assigned to Asiatics in Uganda. The Government
of India's representations were of no avail. In
Tanganyika, on the assurances of Lord Milner in 1921,
Indians bought enemy property, and the equal rights
promised were sought to be set aside by the three
Ordinances introduced by Government "for fiscal pur-
poses." An extensive hartal was organised which
persisted up to the middle of April, 1922. Restrictions
0n travel by 1st class in Railways were imposed, but
were withdrawn.
We have given all these details because the Congress
took a definite step early in August, 1923 on the question.
The resolution passed by the A.I.C.C. runs as follows: —
"The decision of the British Government on the
Kenya question having made it clear that it is not
possible for India to have an equal and honourable
place in the British Empire, the A.LC.C. of the
Indian National Congress is of opinion that there
should be a solemn demonstration throughout India
to mark the event."
The Committee then prescribed a peaceful hartal on
the 26th of August with meetings everywhere calling
upon people to abstain from participation in the British
Empire Exhibition, the Imperial Conference, the Empire
Day celebrations and all other Imperial functions.
DELHI SPECIAL CONGRESS, 1923
Now we pass on to the Special Session of the Congress
at Delhi cojivened in the 3rd week of September, 1923.
The President, Maulana Abul Kalam &zad, is a great
Muslim Divine* who commands respect and popularity
in 'Bengal as well as Delhi! and whose clear head and
N. 0. O, FROM WITHIN COUNCILS (1028)
impartial judgment were trusted to by both parties alike.
There was not much difficulty in the pro-Council . pa^ty
getting the Congress to register their wishes in a permis-
sive resolution which declared that "such Congressmen^
as have no religious or other conscientious objection^
against entering the legislatures are at liberty to stand
as candidates and to exercise their right of voting at
the forthcoming elections. And this Congress, therefore,
suspends all propaganda against entering the Councils."
Of course, a rider was added urging that redoubled
•efforts be put forth in behalf of the constructive pro-
gramme. The death of Pandit Rambhuj Dutt Choudhri,
the earthquake in Japan, forced abdication of Nabha,
and floods in Bihar, Kanara and Burma were the subjects
of suitable resolutions of condolence and sympathy. Then
a Committee was appointed to organise an effective
campaign of Civil Disobedience and to advise and regulate
the action of Provinces in this behalf. Another Committee
was appointed to revise the Constitution, and still
another to prepare a draft of the National Pact. The
Press was warned to observe great restraint in dealing1
with matters relating to inter-communal relations, and
the appointment of District Conciliation Committees was
advised. The Akalis were once again congratulated on
their courageous and non-violent stand against repres-
sion, culminating in the arrest of the Enquiry Committee
sent by the Siromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee.
The boycott of foreign cloth through khaddar was urged
and a Committee was appointed to determine the most
feasible methods of encouraging Indian manufactures
and the boycott of British goods in particular. The Flag
Satyagraha campaign received congratulation on its
successful finish and the released prisoners, notably Lalaji
and Maulana Mahomed All were welcomed.
440 THE HISTORY Of THE OQNGBBSS
Kenya became the subject of indignation, and
Turkey for jubilation. Two more Committees were
appointed, one to recommend measures to prevent
the Hindu-Muslim dissensions which had recently shown
a recrudescence and the other to investigate allegations
of force in respect of Suddhi and anti-Sudd/u move-
ments. The formation of Civic Guards and the
promotion of physical culture were finally urged on the
Nation for the maintenance of peace and order.
The way was cleared at Delhi for a realignment of
the course of the Congress. The revolt at Gaya had
nearly borne fruit. Nay, the Delhi resolutions bear
testimony to a complete change in the outlook of those
that had the ordering of things in their hands. The
large number of Committees — altogether five, was itself
an indication of leisure created anew which could not
be better occupied than in a re-examination of the
several questions committed to their care. "Civia
Guards and physical culture" wound up the deliberations,
while the question of Council-entry opened them. There
was, perhaps, a tinge of a taint in that the resolution1
regarding Council-entry was only permissive, but the
feeling of the mass of the population on the subject had
to be respected. The way was, however, clear to those
who were inclined to take part in the ensuing elections,
and Congressmen were for the first time divided in their
attention to a programme which itself was divided in its
course. The principles and policy to be followed by the
Swaraj party were set forth in a manifesto.
The next annual session of the Congress was to meet
at Coeanada. There were lingering hopes in the minds
of a few no-changers that, though Cocanada might not
be able to undo what Delhi had done, for the elections
would be over by that time, still the banner of orthodox
N. C. O. FBOM WITHIN COUNCILS (1023) *4t
Non-co-operation should be kept raised at an annual
session. Maulana Mahomed All was chosen as the
President of the year. He had coined a phrase even at
Delhi that a bird was whispering in his ears that
Gandhi himself would not object to Council-entry, and
the phrase was literally taken by not a few in the
country. The basis for such a statement was a message,
to which related the veiled reference, sent by Gandhi
in prison to Mahomed Ali free, through Devidas Gandhi,
•which is available to the public. "I can send you no
message," said Gandhi, "because I am in prison. I have
always disapproved of people sending messages from
prison. But I may say that I am deeply touched by your
loyalty to me. I would, however, ask you not to allow
your loyalty to me to weigh with you so much as your
loyalty to the country. My views are very well known.
I expressed them before I went to jail and there has
been no change in them since. I may assure you that
if you chose to differ from me, it will not affect by
one jot the sweetness of the relations between you and
me." Does this sound like supporting Council-entry?
Mahomed Ali was anyway for peace and Shaukat Ali^
who presided over the Khilaphat Conference of the year,
wag equally for peace- Their aged mother's exhortations
in the open Congress 'ettifaq se raho' could not be
easily ignored. Yet, at Cocanada a strong resistance was
put up. Only some of the pronounced No-changers had
disappeared from the leadership of the party. Rajendra
Babu could not attend the Cocanada Session owing to
ill-health and Mr. C. Rajagopalachari cast his weight on
the side of the Delhi resolution. Syt. Vallabhbhai was
present, but his assent to the Delhi settlement had been
wrung out of him at the Delhi Session. Shyam
Sunder Chakravarti, the woe-struck man of Bengal, who
had suffered years of deportation and imprisonment, of
poverty and misery, was the man who moved the
442 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
mighty audience of Cocanada to tears by his speech
opposing Council-entry. But the die was cast. The
fate of the Council-Boycott was sealed. We give below
the main resolution: —
"This Congress reaffirms the Non-co-operation.
v resolutions adopted at Calcutta, Nagpur, Ahmedabad,
Gaya and Delhi.
"Since doubts have been raised by reason of
the Non-co-operation resolution adopted at Delhi
with regard to Council-entry, whether there has been
any change in the policy of the Congress, this
Congress affirms that the principle and policy of that
boycott remain unaltered.
"This Congress further declares that the said
principle and policy form the foundation of con-
structive work and appeals to the Nation to cany
out the programme of constructive work as adopted
at Bardoli and prepare for the adoption of Civil •
Disobedience. This Congress further calls upon every
P.C.C. to take immediate steps in this behalf with
a view to speedy attainment of our goal."
The Cocanada Congress wais memorable for
more than one feature. It was perhaps the
grandest Congress ever held, — for the lay-out of
roads, for the magnificent tent which was to
be permanently the property of the Congress, for
the close attention paid to the smallest detail in
arrangements, for the equable weather, and for the
housing of Presidents and leaders on the premises. Such
a Congress made itself memorable too for the interpre-
tation that Non-co-operation could be effected as much
from inside the Councils as from outside. It was the
unpleasant duty of Cocanada to record the Nation's
Borrow over the demise of S. Kasturi Ranga lyengar,
whose' Nationalism was an evergrowing culture and who,
like Dadabhai, was on a level with his age, and of
Kumar Datta who was loved all over Bengal
N. C. O. FBOM WITHIN COUNCILS (1923) 443
and whose memory is revered all over the country. The
continued incarceration of Damodar Vinayak Savarkar
evoked condemnation by the Congress. The National
Fact that was prepared was asked to be circulated along
with the 'Bengal Pact' prepared by Deshbandhu Das.
The Congress welcomed the movement for the formation
of an all-India volunteer organisation into which was
later merged the movement of Civic Guards.
A scheme of separate Congress Departments was
called for, as also a scheme of a National Service of
paid workers to work these various departments. Kenya
aroused the whole-hearted — albeit powerless — sympathy of
the Congress, and Srimathi Sarojini Devi and Mr. George
Joseph were deputed as delegates to the Kenya Indian
Congress.
The Civil Disobedience Committee appointed at
Delhi and the Satyagraha Committee were absorbed in
the Working Committee. An All-India Khaddar Board
was formed with power to organise khaddar work.
Emigration was advised to be stopped from India, and
a Committee was appointed to examine Labour condi-
tions of Indian emigrants to Ceylon. A number of
amendments to the Constitution were carried, and finally
the Congress took up Government's challenge to the
right of free association of Indians for non-violent
activities in attacking the Akali Dal of the S. G. P.
Committee and resolved to stand by the Sikhs in their
'present' struggle and render all possible assistance,
including assistance with men and money.
At this point, it is but meet to digress a while and
give a succinct account of the birth of the Reform
movement amongst the Sikhs. The Akali Sikhs with
4beir .black turbans and cries of 'Sat Sri Akal' and their
444 THE HISTORY Off THE CONGRESS
Langar Khanas had become an unfailing annexe to the
Congress. When a foreign Government assumes control
over the country, it is only to be expected that, octopus-
like, they would extend their grasp over almost every
institution in the land, economic, educational or even
religious. The English annexed the Punjab in 1849,
and when in the transition, the affairs of the Golden
Temple at Amritsar, the centre and stronghold of
Sikhism, were in confusion, a Committee of baptized
Sikhs was appointed as Trustee with a Government-
appointed Sarbrah or guardian. They had a manager
handling lacs a year, and as often happens in such cases,
the Committee was dropped in 1881, and the manager
became all-powerful. Want of control bred irresponsi-
bility and corruption, and after repeated clashes between
managers and priests on one side and the Sikh public
on the other, with a puzzled Government in the middle,
a Committee was established towards the end of 1920
which became the Gurudwara Siromani Prabandhak
Committee, whose first President was Sirdar Sundar
Singh Majithia who became, shortly after, a Member of
the Executive Council of the Punjab Government. The
Reformists were known as Akalis who brought more
historic Gurudwaras under their control. A collision
occurred at Tara Taran in which several Sikhs were
injured and two died. We have already described at
length the tragedy of Nankana Sahib early in 1921, and
the cold-blooded' murders of innocent pilgrims in it.
The Police looked upon the movement as one designed
for the capture of power and wealth associated with the
Gurudwaras. This view encouraged mahants—even
those who had settled terms with the Akalis, to resile
from them and Government also pursued a "policy of
wholesale repression against the Reforming Sikhs."' In
May, 1921, hundreds of Sikhs were thrown into prison
and the discredited mahants were restored to power.
N. C. O. FROM WITHIN COUNCILS (1923) 44S
The S-G.P.C., therefore, passed a resolution of N.C.O.
with Government, so far as this Reform was concerned,
in May, 1921.
The Gurudwara Bill contemplated by Government
had to be dropped, being unacceptable to any shade of
opinion, including moderates and co-operators. Sikhs
were prosecuted for wearing kripans beyond certain
length. The Punjab Provincial Congress Committee
protested on 10th July, 1921, and the Sikhs imprisoned
were released at the end of the month. Barbarous
sentences of 18 years and 7 years R. I. were passed
against Bhai Kartar Singh of Jhabbar and Bhai Raja
Singh of Bhuchar. On the 28th August, 1921, the Sikh
members of the Legislatures were called upon to resign.
Sirdar Bahadur Sirdar Mehtab Singh, Barrister-at-Law,
resigned his Government Advocateship and Deputy
Presidentship of the Punjab Legislative Council, as a
protest against the policy of Government regarding the
Gurudwara movement. These two long-term prisoners
and many others were released in the beginning of
September, 1921. But Sirdar Sardul Singh Kaveeshar,
General Secretary of the Punjab P.C.C., who had been
sentenced to 5 years R. I. under S. 124-A I.P.C. in June,
1921, and other Gurudwara workers were not released.
Suddenly on the 7th November, 1921, Government snatched
away the keys of the toshakhanas of the Golden Temple.
This prevented the decoration on the birthday of Sri
Guru Nanak Dev. A certain manager was appointed
temporarily by Government, but he was not allowed to
assume charge by the S.G.P.C. and he resigned. Since
then the 'keys' became the bone of contention and the
subject of public meetings of protest. But Government
applied the Seditious Meetings Act from the 26th
November, 1921, and Sirdars Kharak Singh and Mehtab
Singh were sentenced to R. I. Sri Guru Govind Singh's
446 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
birthday was coming off on the 5th January, 1922, and
Government offered the keys to the S. G. P. C. pending
the final decision of the civil suit filed by Government.
The S.G.P.C. refused. After 200 Sikh workers were
arrested, Government stopped their course and released
all prisoners unconditionally, and the keys were restored
on ll-l-'22. Pandit Dina Nath's continued detention
gave rise to renewed agitation and Civil Disobedience
of the Seditious Meetings Act, the whole Executive
Committee of the S.G.P.C. speaking at a public meeting
on the 8th February, 1922. He was then released, as
also Baba Gurudutt Singh of the Komagatamaru fame
-(1914). The S.G.P.C. was not a political body, but in
a small community, politicians and Social or Religious
Reformers easily get mixed up or even identified. Nor
would Government allow this distinction to be main-
tained. The religious prestige of the Durbar Sahib was
used to whitewash the crimes of General Dyer, when he
was given Khila'at at the Golden Temple by the
official manager, and Lord Finlay turned this event to
the best account in the House of Lords when he said
that the Sikhs had approved of General Dyer's action
and even made him a Sikh. Again, it was in the Golden
Temple that the official manager got it proclaimed that
the Budge Budge martyrs were not Sikhs. Government
obtained a war loan of Rs. 50,000 from the Temple funds
during the Great War.
The Akalis wore black Turbans. From about the
2nd week of March, 1922, "by a well arranged coup,
wholesale arrests of Akalis were carried simultaneously
in 13 selected Districts of the Punjab and the Sikh
States of Patiala and Eapurthala, and within a fortnight
about 1,700 black-turbaned Sikhs were arrested." Sirdar
Kharak Singh, President of the S.G.P.C. and the P.P.C.C.
given 4 years R. I. "Kripans," Government said, early
K. C. O. FROM WITHIN COUNCILS (1923) 44J
in March, 1922, "were swords and their manufacture
required licenses." People were directed to Wear Kripans
in the manner prescribed by Government. Some Military
Sikhs were imprisoned for wearing them at all and
received sentences ranging from 4 to 18 years, R. I.
Baba Gurudutt Singh (of the Komagatamaru) was
rearrested and sentenced to 5 years' transportation in
July, 1922, and Master Mota Singh of the anti-Rowlatt
Act agitation, for 8 years.
The Criminal Law Amendment Act was the supreme
master of the day and the security sections were its
assistants. "The Police were the masters of the situation
end they had a jolly time of it," wrote a leader. Pandit
Malaviya visited the Punjab and got a Committee
appointed under the Presidency of Dewan Bahadur Raja
Narendra Nath "to investigate the official excesses,
illegalities and barbarities." The Punjab Government
published a communique dated 14th May, 1922, warning
the Religious Reformers against association with "the
disorderly and Criminal conduct of men, who have no
real connection with Reform." The reference was
obviously to Congressmen. Altogether 1,900 to 2,000 Sikh
workers were arrested by the 15th June, 1922.
Then occurred the Guruka Bagh affair which has
been mentioned under the year 1922. Suffice it to say
here that (the Sikhs proved Gandhi's statement that "to face
a bullet was easier than receive a lathi blow and those
who endured it non-violently deserved their respect." The
excesses committed in connection with this event were
the subject of enquiry by an European of the Punjab
Government. Men like Mr. Andrews bore testimony t6
their serious character. "It is one of the most moving
and pathetic sights I ever have seen," said he, "the
triumph of non-violence is so complete. It is to the men
448 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
a real martyrdom. There was a blockade, as pointed out
by Pandit Motilal Nehru, and not a particle of any
ioodstuff was allowed to pass the barbed wire fencing for
several days and those who carried such stuff were
severely beaten." "My car was searched," he added "at
the entrance to the Gurudwaras, before it was allowed to
pass through the small opening in the fencing."
One woman was wounded because she nursed some
sufferers. One bore the marks of horse's hoofs. Two
were killed and when Government launched a case against
the alleged culprits, they were acquitted. Some of the
spectators were harassed, there were allegations of theft
and robbery and looting against the Police — in the Press.
Mr. MacPherson, Superintendent of Police, was the
author of a book on Zcrffci-exercises and bore testimony as
follows: —
"It is quite possible that some iujuries, such as
fractures, may have occurred. The jathas did not
resist the Police at any time, being quite non-violent.
It is possible that some of the injured became
' unconscious. 953 cases of injuries had been tabulated
as 269 above the trunk, 300 on the front of the body,
79 brain, 60 to genitals, 19 <to perinacum, 7 to teeth,
and 158 contused wounds, 8 incised, 2 punctured, 40
urine trouble, 9 fractures and 2 dislocations."
There were 210 arrests in this connection. Fines to
^the tune of Rs. 1,27,000 were levied by a single Honorary
Magistrate at 4 sittings. Swami Shraddhanand was
sentenced to IS months. On the 22nd October, a jatha
solely composed of 101 Military pensioners, containing
about 55 non-commissioned officers, the remaining being
sepoys, started with Military band from Amritsar to
Giiruka Bagh and 50,000 men accompanied them. When
•the train carrying the Military prisoners after conviction
; N. c, e. FBOM WITHIN COUNCILS (1923) 44*
was approaching Pan] a Saheb, a number of people were
waiting with food for the prisoners and on hearing that
the train would not stop at the station, squatted on the
Railway line. The train was not stopped and the result
was that two died and eleven were injured. After a time,
the beating stopped and arrests took place. 'Ring-leaders'
were severely punished. But the worst of it was not yet
over. When in response to public pressure and to a
resolution of the Punjab Council on the 8th March, '23,
the Akalis were released in batches, one batch of 170"
Akalis released at Rawalpindi were severely mauled and
injured and dispersed by force on the ground that they
did not take the stated route from the Railway station.
Military, Police and Cavalry combined to effect the
dispersal. 128 persons received serious injuries. Pindi
observed a complete hartal from 3rd May in sympathy.
When a Committee was suggested to go into the whole
affair, in the Punjab Legislative Council, the Chief
Secretary to the Punjab Government quietly asked the
people to let by-gones be by-gones and let the memories
of the unhappy events of Guruka Bagh die as speedily as
possible and not to rake up old sores as the Hunter
Committee had done. To knock down a fellow and ask
him to forget it quickly is neither statesmanship nor
sportsmanship. Yet the majority of the members of the
Punjab Legislative Council were satisfied and did not
press the Resolution moved by Mr. K. Rallia Ram. The
troubles of the Akalis were not destined to be over yet,
and we may as well give them now in a connected form,
in spite of the fact that we are partly anticipating the
events of the year 1924. The Maharaja of Nabha
'abdicated* in the middle of 1923, but this was interpreted
by the S.G.P.C. as deposition and it began an agitation
tor his restoration, holding meetings at Jaito in the
Nabha State, among other places. The speeches delivered
450 THE HISTORY OF THE OONQKB8S
were alleged to be seditious and the speakers, while
engaged in reading the Akhand Pont, were arrested.
Trouble thus arose over the reading of the
Akhand Pant at Jaito in the Nabha State and jathas of
25 continued to be sent daily for some time to Jaito to
resume the reading. Later in February, a 'Shahidi' jatha
of 500 was sent. Dr. Kitchlew and Acharya A. T. Gidwani
accompanied this jatha as spectators. It was fired on
near Jaito and there were some deaths. Kitchlew and
Gidwani were both arrested by the Nabha authorities, on
attempting to render aid to the injured, but the former
was released after a few days while the latter continued to
be in the Nabha jail till the year-end. 'Shahidi' jathas
continued to march and met with arrests. Thousands of
these Akalis were in jail and the treatment given to them
was reported to be bad. Acharya Gidwani's place on the
Akali Sahayak Bureau was taken by Mr. K. M. Panikkar.
The Working Committee sent an Enquiry Sub-Committee
to enquire into charges o'f ill-treatment of Akali prisoners
and also rendered substantial financial aid to the families
of Akali prisoners. The whole question was settled later
when an Act was passed regarding the control of the
Gurudwaras.
CHAPTER V
CONGRESS AT THE CROSS-ROADS (1924)
I
The year4 1924 opened, in a sense, with absolute gloom,
in the atmosphere, Gandhi's sudden and serious illness in
jail overshadowing every thing else. Most people associate
particular years with particular outstanding events. So
do we, and when we think of 1924, we call to mind
Gandhi's serious illness, operation and release four years
before it was due, the triumph of the Swaraj party in
the Legislatures, then the Akali troubles to which we
have already referred, the murder of Earnest Day in the
fetreets of Calcutta and the Dinajpur resolution on
Gopinath Saha, the Juhu conversations and their failure,
the All-India Congress Committee meeting at Ahmedabad
and the ever-memorable scenes and strifes that occurred
at it, the renewed repression in Bengal followed by the
arrest of Subash Chandra Bose and other eminent
Congressmen, the communal riots, Gandhi's fasf of 21
days and the Unity Conference at Delhi, the threat of
arrest of C. R. Das, the All-Parties' Conference in Bombay
and its infructuous deliberations, the death of Bi Amma,
— the aged and venerable mother of the Ali Brothers, —
the Belgaum Congress with Gandhi as President and the
division of the Congress activities into two distinctive
fronts, — the constructive front and the Council front.
Gandhi's sudden illness with appendicitis on the 12th
January, 1924 and the radical operation for appendicitis
at the hands of Colonel Maddock at dead of night caused
widespread anxiety in the country, but it was soon
relieved by Gandhi's fair recovery and his premature and
unconditional release on the 5th February.
452 . THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
His release brought him, however, no rest or peace.
The split that occurred at Cocanada was tending
to became wider and wider. On the one hand the
no-changers were hoping that Gandhi's return might
reverse the engine of the Congress, back along the track
of Civil Disobedience. On the ofther, the pro-changers
were naturally anxious to consolidate their victories at
Delhi and Cocanada and take away from them the taint
that appeared still to be clinging to them. Earnest efforts
were made to reconcile the conflicting issues and stand-
points in the country. Gandhi spent some time in Juhu
— a sea-side resort near Bombay, and what later came to
be known as the Joihu conversations between Gandhi and
Messrs. Das and Nehru went on for a time raising hopes
of agreement. In the month of May, 1924, Gandhi
published a statement which we make no apology for
extracting in full, for its sympathetic tone is as clear as
its prophetic character, and side by side with it we give
the statement of Deshbandhu Das and Motilalji which
were simultaneously published at the time.
Before we publish these historic statements, it is but
right to state the developments in the Assembly and the
powerful hold which the Swarajists had attained over the
forces inside the Legislature.
The Swaraj Party having been organized, the elections
to the various Legislative bodies were contested by the
Swaraj Party, and the Legislative Assembly presented a
compact and well-disciplined party of 45 Swarajists
who were pledged to carry out their programme.
They could easily command a working majority
in the Legislature by securing the sympathy and
support of the Nationalist Party — composed of equally
patriotic citizens though they had not accepted the cult of
Son-co-operation. With this accession of strength, the
CONGRESS AT THE CB088-BOADB (1924) 45»
Swarajists secured a series of victories, — the first being
on Pandit Motilal Nehru's amendment in favour of "a*
Round Table Conference to recommend a Scheme of Full
Responsible Government in India/' to a proposition tabled
by Mr. T. Rangachari pressing for an immediate change*
in the constitutional machinery. Panditji challenged the*
justice of the Preamble of the Government of India Act
of 1919, and at the same time declared "that his party
could not be dismissed as wreckers. He was not asking'
for Responsible Government, to be handed over as it
were, tied up in a bundle. His party had come there to1
offer their co-operation. If the Government would*
receive this co-operation, they would find that the
Swarajists were their men. If not, the Swarajists Would
stand on their rights and continue to be Non-co-operators."1
i
Sir M. Hailey, the Home Member, stated that the
demand for Dominion Status was entirely new and it wag-
inconsistent with the specific provision of the Government
of India Act, that advance towards Self-Government was
to take lihe form of successive stages. Government had a
series of defeats and amongst the most notable of these
may be mentioned the passing of the resolutions calling
for the release of certain political prisoners, for the repeal
of Regulation III of 1818, for the imposition of a
countervailing duty on South African coal imported into
India and for the appointment of a Committee of enquiry
into the Sikh situation. The defeats of Government were
really victories to the Swaraj Party whose strength was
reinforced by the strength of the Independents, the
Nationalists, and even the Moderates from time to time.
We say so because the Swaraj Party had laid down in its
programme that its "demand should take the shape of an
ultimatum calling for the release of all political prisoners,
for the repeal of al] repressive laws, and for the
4Si THE HISTORY OF THB CONGRESS
summoning of a National Convention to lay down the
lines of the future Constitution for India."
Refusal of Supply: — The next great achievement for
the Swarajists was the throwing out of the first four
heads under the demand for grants. This "unprecedented
course" was tantamount to the refusal of supplies. Pandit
Motilal Nehru contended on the other hand "that his
present motion has nothing to do with the wrecking or
destroying policy of Non-co-operation, and was in effect
a perfectly constitutional and legitimate means of
drawing attention to the grievances of the country,"
We now give the statements of Gandhi and of Das
and Nehru which were issued as a result of the J>uhu
conversations, in order to present to the reader the
developments that took place by the middle of summer,
1924.
GANDHI'S STATEMENT
A FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCE
After having discussed with Swarajist friends, the
vexed question of entry into the Legislative Assembly
and the Councils by Congressmen, I am sorry to have
to say that I have not been able to see eye to eye
with the Swarajists. I assure the public that there
has been no lack of willingness or effort on my part/
to accept the Swarajist position. My task would
'be much simpler if I could identify myself with it.
It can be no pleasure to me to oppose, even in
thought, the most valued and respected leaders, some
of whom have made great sacrifices in the cause of
the country and who yield to no one in their love of
freedom of the Motherland; but in spite of my effort
. *nd willingness, I have failed to be convinced by
their argument. Nor is the difference between them
and myself one of mere detail. There is an honest
; H CONGBODSe AT THE CROSS-ROADS (1924) 45$
and fundamental difference. I retain the opinion
that Council-entry is inconsistent with Non-co-
operation, as I conceive it. Nor is this difference a
mere matter of interpretation of the word 'Non-co-
operation/ but relates to the essential mental attitude
resulting in different treatment of vital problems.
It is with reference to such mental attitude that the
success or failure of the triple boycott is to be judged,
and not merely by a reference to the actual results
attained. It is from that point of view that I say
that to be out of the legislative bodies is far more
advantageous to the country than to be in them. I
have, however, failed to convince my Swarajist
friends, but I recognise, so long as they think other-
wise, their place is "undoubtedly in the Councils. It
is the beat for us all.
It was hardly to be expected that the Swarajists
could be convinced by the arguments I advanced in
the course of the conversations. There are many of
them who are amongst the ablest, most experienced,
and honest patriots. They have not entered the
legislative bodies, without full deliberation, and they
must not be expected to retire from the position until
experience has convinced them of 'the futility of their
method.
The question, therefore, before the country is
not an examination and distribution of the merits of •
the Swarajist view and mine. The question is, what
is to be done now regarding Council-entry as a
settled fact? Are the Non-co-operators to keep up
their hostility against the Swarajist method, or are
they to remain neutral and even help wherever it is
possible or consistent with their principles?
NO ANTI-SWARAJIST PROPAGANDA
xTO
The Dolhi and Cocanada res6ftRic
permitted those Congressmen who
•t'ious scruples to enter the Coiuxpils JSt
if they wanted to. In mj
are, therefore, justified
todies and expecting
Of the
456 THE HISTORY -OF THE CONGMSS
resorting to obstruction, because such was their
policy, and the Congress laid down no conditions as
to their entry. If the work of the Swarajists prospers
and the country benefits, such an ocular demonstra-
tion cannot but convince honest sceptics like me of
our error, and I know the Swarajists to be patriotic
enough to retrace their steps when experience has
disillusioned them. I would therefore be no party to
putting any obstacles in their way or to carrying on
any propaganda against the Swarajisite' entry into*
the Legislatures, though I cannot actively help them
in a project in which I do not believe. The purpose
of the Delhi and Cocanada resolutions was to allow
the Swarajists a chance of trying fthe method of
Council-entry and that purpose can be served only
if the 'no-changers/ with scrupulous honesty, allow
the Swarajists full liberty to pursue their programme
in the Councils, unfettered by any obstruction from
them.
POLICY WITHIN COUNCILS
With regard to the method of work in the-
Councils, I will say that I would enter a legislative
body, if only I found that I could, at all, use it to
advantage. If, therefore, I enter the Councils, I
should, without following a general policy of obstruc-
tion, endeavour to give strength to »the constructive
programme of the Congress. I should, therefore,
move resolutions requiring the Central and Provincial
Governments, as the case may be,
(1) To make all their cloth purchases in hand-
spun and hand-woven khaddar.
(2) To impose a prohibitive duty on foreign
cloth.
(3) To abolish the drink and drug revenue, and
at least correspondingly reduce the Army expenditure..
If the Government refuse to enforce such resolu-
tions when carried ia the Legislatures, I should invite
them to dissojgpe them and take *he vote of the-
electors on the specific points. If the Government
would not dissolve, I should resign my seat and*
prepare the country for Civil Disobedience. When*
that stage is reached, ithe Swarajists will find me?
' CONGRESS AT THE CRO6S-EOAD6 (1924) 457
ready to work with and under them. My test of
fitness for Civil Disobedience remains the same as
fcefore.
ADVICES TO NO-CHANGERS
During the state of probation, I should advise
'the 'no-changers' not to worry about what the
'Swarajists are doing or saying, and to prove their
•own faith by prosecuting the constructive programme
with undivided energy and concentration. Khaddar
and National Schools are enough to occupy every
available worker who believes in quiet, honest and
undemonstrative work. The Hindu-Muslim problem
too will tax the best energy and faith of the workers.
The 'no-changers' can justify their opposition to
Council-entry, only by showing the results of their
•application to the constructive programme, even as the
"'pro-changers' must justify <their entry by results.
The 'no-changers' are in one respect in an advantage-
ous position, for they can secure the co-operation of
the 'pro-changers.' The latter have declared their
faith in the constructive programme, bmt their conten-
tion is that, by itself, the constructive programme
cannot^ enable the country to reach the goal. In the
prosecution, however, of the constructive programme
outside the Legislatures, all, — 'no-changers/ 'pro-
changers' and others, — can, if they will, work in union
through their respective organisations, if necessary.
The statement is incomplete without an examina-
tion of the working of the Congress organisation. I
hold drastic and definite views in the matter, but I
must reserve their expression for a future, though
early, occasion.
SWARAJIST STATEMENT
The following is the statement of Mr. C. R. Das and
Pandit Motilal Nehru: —
We are obliged to Mahatma Gandhi for the
trouble he has taken to discuss with us the various
points involved in the question of Council-entry, and
458 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
are indebted to his courtesy for the opportunity we
have had of seeing an advance copy of the statement
he has issued to the Press. The views expressed by
him in the course of the conversation, and those
embodied in the Press statement, have all been
considered by us with the care and attention due to
his great personality, but, with all the reverence we
entertain for him and his opinions, we remain
unconvinced by his reasoning.
COUNCIL ENTUY AND N. C. O.
We regret that we have not been able to convince
Mahatma Gandhi of the soundness of the Swarajist
position regarding Council-entry. We fail to under-
stand how such entry can be regarded as inconsistent
with the Non-co-operation resolution of the Nagpur
Congress. But if Non-co-operation is more a matter
of mental attitude than of the application of a living
principle to the existing facts of our national life,
with special reference to the varying attitude of the
bureaucratic Government which rules that life, we
conceive it to be our duty to sacrifice even Non-co-
operation to serve the real interests of the country.
In our view, this principle includes self-reliance in
all the activities which make for the healthy growth
of the Nation and resistance to the bureaucracy as
it impedes our progress towards Swaraj. We are,
however, anxious to end this fruitless verbal
discussion, making it clear that Council-entry is, and
can be, thoroughly Consistent with the principle of
Non-co-operation as we understand that principle to
be.
IMPLICATIONS OF OBSTRUCTION
We desire further to make it clear that we have
not used in our programme the word 'obstruction' in
the technical sense of English Parliamentary history.
Obstruction in that sense is impossible in subordinate
and limited legislative bodies, such as the Legislative
Assembly and Provincial Legislatures under the
Reforms Act undoubtedly are. Possibly another
. word should have been found to convey our meaning.
CONGRESS AT THE CROSS-ROADS (1924) 459
We may state, however, that our position is really
not so much that of obstruction in the Parliamentary
sense as that of resistance to the obstruction placed
in our path to Swaraj by the bureaucractio Govern-
ment. It is this resistance which we meant to imply
when we used the word 'obstruction.' This was clearly
indicated in the way we defined and described
Non-co-operation in the preamble to the Constitution
of the Swaraj Party. It is the removal of such
bureaucratic obstruction which we feel we must
emphasize. This is the policy which we have
hitherto followed in the legislative bodies, and it is
this policy which moist in future be n\ore and more
effectively directed to the varying needs and problems
of our national life.
Here again we arc anxious to end all verbal
discussion as to whether this can be aptly described
as a policy of "uniform, continuous and consistent
obstruction." We are content to detail our policy
and then leave it to our friends to give it a more
appropriate name, should they so desire.
FUTURE PROGRAMME OF WORK
•»
In the light of this principle and policy, we would
here state our future programme of action within
and outside the legislative bodies.
Within the legislative bodies we must continue: —
(1). To throw out budgets unless and until the
system of Government is altered in recognition of our
rights, or as a matter of settlement between
Parliament and the people of this country. In
justification of this step, all that we need point out
are a few salient facts connected with the Budget in
the Central Government, which are more or less true
of Provincial Budgets also. Out of a total of 131
crores (excluding railways) only 16 crores are votable.
Further, out of the non-votable amount, as mtuch as
67 crores, i.e., more than half the amount of the
Budget are for Military expenditure. It is thus clear
that the people of this country have the right to vote
only less than 1/7 of the total amount of the Budget,
and even the exercise of this limited right is subject
«f60 THE HI8TOBY OF THE CONGRESS
to the power of restoration vested in the Governor-
General. It is, therefore, clear that the people have
neither any voice in the framing of the Budget, nor
any control over those who frame it. They have no
power either over the raising of the revenue or its
expenditure. On what principle then, may we ask,
is it our duty to pass such a Budget and take the
.responsibility of being a party to it? We have no
.doubt of the support of many self-respecting men in
the country in holding, as we do, that it is our clear
•duty to 'throw out such Budgets in all legislative
bodies, unless and until this vicious system is changed.
REJECTION OF LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS
2. To throw out all proposals for Legislative
enactments by which the bureaucracy proposes to
consolidate its power. It is conceivable that some
.good may incidentally result from a few of such
measures; but we are clearly of opinion that in the
larger interests of the country it is better to
temporarily sacrifice such little benefits rather than
add an iota to the powers of the bureaucracy, which
are already irresistible.
/' ' THE CONSTRUCTIVE PROGRAMME
I i
3. To introduce all resolutions, measures and
bills which are necessary for the healthy growth of
our National life and the consequent displacement of
.the bureaucracy. We heartily accept the suggestions
made by Mahatma Gandhi in his statement, and we
think that the resolutions mentioned by him in
support of the constructive programme of the Congress
jshould certainly be accepted by the Swaraj Party.
The principle of self-reliance and resistance to
--bureaucratic obstruction, upon which we have
hitherto acted, calls for their adoption, and if the
constructive work of the Congress comes within the
principle of Non-co-operation, no less do these
resolutions, although they represent constructive
jrithi* the legislative bodies,
CONOSB68 AT THE CB068-BOA&B (1924) 4*1
4. To follow a definite economic policy,
based on the same principles, so as to prevent the
drain of public wealth from India by checking all
activities leading to exploitation.
To make this policy effective, we should take
and occupy every place which is open to the members
of the Central and Provincial Legislatures by
election. In our opinion, we should not only fill
elective posts, but serve on every Committee where
it is possible. We invite the attention of the
members of our Party to this important question,
And we call upon them to decide this matter as soon
as possible.
POLICV OUTSIDE COUNCILS
Our policy outside the legislative bodies should
be as follows: —
In the first place we should give our whole-
hearted support to the constructive programme of
Mahatma Gandhi and work that programme
unitedly through the Congress organisations. We are
decidecjjy of opinion that our Council work must
necessarily lose much of its strength without the
backing of the constructive work outside, for it is
not inside but outside the Legislatures that we must
look for that sanction without which the effective
•carrying out of our Council policy is impossible.
Indeed, in the matter of constructive work, the
mutual support of both inside and outside activity
must, in our opinion, give strength to the very
:etaction upon which we rely. In this connection,
*we unhesitatingly accept the suggestion of Mahatma
*Gandhi regarding Civil Disobedience. We can
assure him that the moment we find that it is
impossible to meet the selfish obstinacy of the
bureaucracy without Civil Disobedience, we will
retire from the legislative bodies and help him to
prepare the country for Civil Disobedience, if by
that time the country has not already become
prepared, and we will then unreservedly place
/ourselves under his guidance, and work through the
462 THE HZ8TOBT OF THB OONCBUBBO .
Congress organisation under his banner, in order
that we may unitedly work out a substantial pro*
gramme of Civil Disobedience.
LABOUR AND THB CONGRESS
In the second place, we must supplement the
work of the Congress by helping the labour and
peasant organisations throughout the country. The
problem of labour is always a difficult problem
to solve in every country, but in India the difficulties
are greater. On the one hand, we must find out a
way of organisation by which we can prevent
exploitation of labour by capitalists or by landlords,
but on the other hand, we moist be on our
guard to see that these very organisations may not
themselves be the source of oppression by nursing
extravagant and unreasonable demands. Labour,
undoubtedly, requires protection, but so do industrial
enterprises. Our organisation must protect both from
exploitation, and the Trade Union Congress must be
so organised as to be able to serve this useful
purpose. We hold that in the long run the real
interests of both and of the country at large are
identical.
CONCLUSION
We feel happy that we have had this opportunity
of putting our views before the country side by side
with Mahatma Gandhi's opinion, for we feel certain
that their perusal will make it obvious that, not-
withstanding some differences of view, there is an
abiding and fundamental unity amongst both parties
of the Indian National Congress. Both parties feel
the necessity of working the constructive programme
whether within or outside the legislative bodies. In
this direction, we feel confident, lies the germ of a
fruitful alliance between Mahatma Gandhi and the
Swaraj Party. Our joint effort, in the same or
different directions, will furnish a fitting answer to
the bureaucracy, unwilling to recognise the rights
and liberties of the Indian people, and we
CONG&DB8 AT THE CKOSS-BOADS (1024) 46$
emphatically assert that, in our determination to
work with the same object in the same or different
spheres, is expressed the determination of the Indian
Nation to bring the struggle for Swaraj to a
successful issue.
The Juhu conversations paved the way for the
decisions of the A.LC.C. taken at Ahmedabad on June
27, 28, and 29th. All members of elected Congress organiza-
tions were required to send in 2,000 yards of even and
well-twisted self-spun yarn every month, and a penalty
clause was attached to it, by which any default in this
behalf would automatically create a vacancy in the
position of the defaulter. When this was being dis-
cussed, a number of members walked out of the
Committee to mark their resentment of the penalty
clause. Accordingly, although it was passed by 67 to 37
votes, still, in view of the possible reversal of voting
"if the votes of the withdrawals had been given
'against/" the penalty clause was withdrawn by
Gandhi. * The Committee recommended disciplinary
action against defaulters in general.
Emphasis was laid next on the five boycotts, — of
foreign cloth, Government Law Courts, schools and
colleges, titles, and Legislatures, subject to the Cocanada
resolution, and Congress voters were strictly enjoined not
to elect to the various organizations subordinate to the
Congress those who do not believe in the principle, and
do not carry out in their own person, the said five
boycotts. The opium policy of Government was con-
demned, the Rev. C. F. Andrews being reque&isd to
conduct an enquiry into the opium habits of the
Assamese people. The Sikhs were congratulated on their
bravery and cool courage exhibited at the time of
unnecessary and cruel firing at Jaito.
464 THE HI8TOBY OF THE OONGBBS8
The resolution of the sitting that excited much
feeling was the one relating to the condemnation of the
murder of Mr. Earnest Day by Gopi Nath Saha which
the Committee regretted. It offered its condolence to
the family of the deceased, and, though deeply sensible
of the love, however misguided, of the country
prompting the murder, the A.I.C.C. strongly condemned
•this and all such political murders and was emphatically
of opinion that all such acts were inconsistent with the
non-violent policy of the Congress, and was of opinion
that such acts retard the progress towards Swaraj and
interfere with the preparations for Civil Disobedience-
There was a battle-royal over this resolution. There
was no concealing the fact that it was not to the
Deshbandhu's taste; not that he did not swear by non-
violence, but that he would change the emphasis on the
different clauses considerably. Gandhi was disappointed
to find some of his dearest and closest followers voting
against the resolution, and that was one of the few
occasions on which he wept in public. The tension of
the situation was due to the fact that at the Dinajpore
(Bengal) Provincial Conference a much stronger resolu-
tion had been passed applauding Gopinath Saha's
selflessness and sacrifice, and paying its respectful
homage to his patriotism.
The Swarajists did not secure at this meeting all
that they would have liked to, and they had to wait
till November before they consolidated their hard-won
success. So far as the no-changers were concerned, there
was a wonderful response to the Yarn-membership. In
August, there were 2,780, in September, 6,301, in
October, 7,741, and in November, 7,905 members.
But the bane of the year was the outbreak of
communal troubles in various places,— specially at Delhi,
CONGMBS AT THE CBO6S-BOAD6 (1024)
Gulbarga, Nagpur, Lucknow, Shahjahanpur, Allahabad,. <
Jubbulpore, and, worst of all, at Kohat. .The Kohat
iiote really broke the backbone of India. A Committee
was appointed to investigate the causes and conditions- *
of the riot — composed of Gandhi and Shaukat Ali. The
two produced a report, but unfortunately they differed
in respect of the parties on which they fixed the blame
for the disturbances. It is a decade since the events of
the 9th and 10th September, 1924, occurred, but a perusal
of the reports on the Kohat outrages, printed and
published for the Kohat Refugees Working Committee,,
by Lala Nandlal, Head-Master, Bhratri School, Kohat.
immediately after the riot, sends a thrill of horror
through the reader. We cannot review the events beyond
saying that after the shootings and carnage of the 9th
and 10th September, a special train had to remove 4,000-
Hindus, of whom 2,600 were living for two months after
on the charity of Rawalpindi, and 1,400 of other places.
It is <io wonder that Gandhi decided to go on
A twenty-one days' fast. He held himself responsible
for all this fury and murderousness and felt called upon
to expiate his own guilt. The fast was a critical test
to one who had just emerged from a sharp and nearly
fatal attack of appendicitis. The fast was commenced
in Maulana Mahomed Ali's house, Delhi, but later he
was removed to a house outside the city. Advantage
was taken of the fast to gather the leading Indians of
all communities at a Unity Conference, which was
attended also by the Metropolitan of Calcutta. The
Conference had prolonged sittings from September 26th
to October 2nd, 1924. The members of the Conference
pledged themselves to use their utmost endeavours to
enforce the principles (of freedom of conscience and
religion) and condemn any deviation from them eveq
under provocation. A central National Panchayat wa»>
466 THE HI8TOBY OF THE OONGRBSS
appointed, composed of Gandhi, as Chairman and Con-
vener, and Hakim Ajmal Khan, Lalaji, G. K. Nariman,
Dr. S. K. Datta and Master Sunder Singh of Lyallpore.
The Conference laid down certain fundamental rights
relating to liberty of holding and expressing religious
beliefs and following religious practice, sacredness
of places of worship, cow-slaughter, and music before
mosques, with a statement of the limitations they must
be subject to. The Press was warned to be careful in
its writings, and the people were requested to offer their
prayers during the last week of Gandhi's fast. The 8th
of October was marked out for mass meetings for
thanksgiving.
Hardly had Gandhi emerged from this fast when he
had to face an All-Parties' Conference in Bombay on
the 21st and 22nd of November, and in continuation of
it, a meeting of the A.I.C.C. on the 23rd and 24th of
November, 1924. The object of the All-Parties'
Conference was to consolidate opinion in India amongst
all parties against the growing virulence of the repressive
policy of Government in Bengal, which was directed
obviously against the Swaraj Party as well as those con-
ducting the Satyagraha at Tarakeswar. The Conference
-condemned the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance
promulgated by the Bengal Government, and urged its
withdrawal, as well as the withdrawal of Reg. Ill of
1818. It put down the unrest to the withholding of
Swaraj, and appointed a Committee of representatives of
all political parties to prepare a scheme of Swaraj
including a Communal Settlement, — to report not later
than the 31st March, 1925. There was no doubt that
the Conference was not expected to achieve much. But
very likely, Deshbandhu Das's arrest was obviated by
it. The event of the year was the surrender of Gandhi
*o Deshbandhu Das and Motilalji on the question of
CONGRESS AT THE CROSS-ROADS (1024) 467
Council-entry and the lifting of the boycott. The joint
statement issued by those three eminent men was
accepted by the AJ.C.C. Contrast this joint statement
with the separate statements published in the month of
May that very year. The substance of the statement
was that, in order to secure the co-operation of all
parties, the programme of N.C.O. should be suspended
as a National programme, except in so far as it relates
to the refusal to wear foreign cloth, and that, while
different sections should devote themselves to different
fields of constructive work, the Swaraj Party should
work in the Councils. In exchange for this, Gandhi got
a good price. In future, Congress members must give
2,000 yards of hand-spun yarn monthly, instead of the
annual subscription of annas four. Let it be marked
that it is not only the members of elected committees
that should pay the yarn subscription, but every member
of the Congress whom we ordinarily describe as the
four-anna member. The year is drawing nigh. The
Congress is»to be held at Belgaum with Gandhi in the
Chair- What an opportunity to preside over the
Congress!
THE BELGAUM CONGRESS (1924)
In the history of Non-co-operation, Belgaum is a
landmark. The revolt against Gandhism was almost
complete. The Congress stood at the parting of ways.
Should Congressmen hereafter be in rival camps or cover
up their differences by an agreement, and if the latter,
who better than Gandhi, who other than Gandhi could
achieve this formidable task of. pacifying the no-changers
while withdrawing Civil Disobedience, and assuaging
the feelings of Swarajists while resisting Council-entry?
If great • programmes can be initiated only by
great men, they can also be suspended by such
great men and none others. It was, therefore, in the
468 THE BISTORT OF THE CONGUB6
fitness of the times, though not in the fitness of
things, that Gandhi should preside over the Belgaum
Congress of 1924. At Belgaum he presented his
marvellous Presidential Address, only a summary of
which was delivered at the Congress. In it, he recapitu-
lated the progress of events since September, 1920, and
stated how the Congress had been principally an insti-
tution for developing strength from within. The
boycotts were all taken up by the parties concerned.
Though not a single boycott was anywhere near comple-
tion, every one of them tended to diminish the prestige
of the institution boycotted. The greatest of all boycotts
was the boycott of violence. Non-violence, however, did
not quite develop from a passive form of helplessness to
the enlightened form of resourcefulness. The intolerance
against those who did not non-co-opcrate became a new
violence of a subtler type. Nevertheless, non-violence,.
such as it was, kept violence under check. There was *
no mistaking the fact that the capacity for suffering for
a cause must advance it. The time, however, came for
a halt. People that had non-co-operated began to repent
in many cases. The reaction made them worse than
ever before they non-co-operated. So all the boycotts
had to be lifted. The boycott of foreign cloth alone
remained. That boycott was not merely a right but a
duty — as much as it would be to boycott foreign water
or foreign rice and wheat. Boycott is doubtless an
exertion of pressure, but pressure coming from goodwill
and gentleness, not anger and ill-will. The Lancashire
trade was immoral, because it was raised and sustained
on the ruin of millions of India's peasants, and one
immorality led to another and many of the proved
immoral acts of Britain were traceable to this one
immoral traffic. Hence we had to take to hand-spinning
and hand-weaving which brought us into direct touch
with the villagers. Gandhi, however, did not mean that
CONGRESS AT THE ,CBQ6S-BQADS (1034)
all British goods would harm >us. But cloth, whether
British or foreign, did harm us.
He was not fighting against machinery. He was not
presenting all his views on machinery, any more thuot
on non-violence. But the "wanton and wicked destruc-
tion of one cottage industry of India which kept the
wtolf from the doors of thousands" was what he resented.
An agreement in difference was reached between the
Swarajists and himself. They agreed to the spinning
franchise. He agreed to their work in Councils. Then,
he deplored the Kohat riots, gave his sympathy to the
Akalis, dwelt upon untouchability, and spoke of the
Swaraj Scheme. It is the end; we do not know it. The
spinning wheel, Hindu-Muslim unity and removal of
untouchability were the means. "For me, it is enough
to know the means; means and end are convertible terms-
in my philosophy of life." This summing up of
Gandhi's philosophy was just what men of other persua-
sions resetted. With this preface, Gandhi suggested
some points as relating to a Swaraj Scheme: —
Manual labour to be the qualification for
franchise ; the reduction of Military expenditure, the- .
cheapening of justice, the abolition of intoxicating,
liquors and drugs and revenues therefrom, reduction
of Civil and Military salaries, redistribution of
Provinces on a linguistic basis, examination of
monopolies of foreigners, guarantee of status to*
Chiefs without any hindrance from the Central
Government, repeal of arbitrary powers, abolition of
race distinction in services and religious freedom to
various denominations^ administration through
vernacular languages, . and Hindi to be the National *
language.
The subject of Independence naturally attracted hi*
Attention. His views, had softened since Ahxnedabad,.
for, tben be was hoping for .things. Now* those hop**
30
470 THE HISTORY Of1 THE CONGRESS
Wtere all blasted so far as Government's position and
.attitude were concerned. "I would strive for Swaraj
within the Empire, but would not hesitate to sever all
connection, if severance became a necessity through
Britain's own fault." He then referred to the Swaraj
Party and the constructive programme and wound up
with a statement of the position in Bengal and a
reiteration of his faith in non-violence. In Bengal, Lord
Heading had promulgated his Ordinance 1 of '24 —
establishing a summary procedure of arrest and trial,
T>efore Special Commissioners, of person? who, according
"to the Local Government, belonged to a revolutionary
association. Gandhi accepted the view that the drive
was being directed against Swarajists.
The Congress expressed its sorrow over the death
•of Bi Amma, Sir A. Chaudhuri, Sir A. Mukherji,
Bhupendra Nath Basu, Dr. Subrahmania Aiyar,
<}. M. Bhurjie and several other Congress workers and
leaders. The agreement between Gandhi, and Nehru and
Das, which was passed by the A.I.CC. in November,
was ratified. Congress franchise was likewise altered.
The exodus of Hindus from Kohat was deplored and the
Muslim residents of Kohat were exhorted to assure their
Hindu brethren of full protection of lives and property
And the Hindu Muhjarims were advised not to return
•except upon an honourable invitation from the Kohat
Muslims. Sympathy was likewise expressed for the
sufferers in Gulbarga in the Nizam's State. Untoucha-
~bility and Vaikom Satyagraha were dwelt upon. Paid
'National Service was declared to be perfectly honourable.
The Akali movement, drink and opium traffic were all
-dealt with and some necessary changes in the Constitu-
tion were effected.
On the question of Indians Abroad, Mr. Vase's and
Benarsidas Chaturvedi's services in this behalf were
IC0NGHB5S *r THE CBOS8-EOAD8 (1924) 471
^appreciated, as also Shrimati Sarojini's. Nor was
CSovernment inactive. The Government of India put up
a strong fight in the matter of Kenya, "warning the
.Secretary of State that, if the decision went against the
Indians in Kenya, there would probably arise a strong
agitation for the severance of India's connection with the
British Commonwealth and for the adoption of retalia-
tory measures against the Colonies." Moreover, it will
be remembered that as the result of the deliberations
of the Imperial Conference of 1923, at which India was
represented by Dr. Tej Bahadur Sapru and the Maharaja
of Alwar, not only was the position of equality of
rights to Indians conceded in the Conference of 1921
confirmed, but a Committee was to be set up by the
Government of India which the Dominions agreed to
consult, South Africa alone dissenting. The Colonies
^Committee consisting of Messrs. Hope Simpson, H.H. the
Aga Khan, Sir Benjamin Robertson, Dew an Bahadur
T. Rangachari and K. C. Roy, assembled in London
early in 1924 and dispersed towards the end of July.
Their deliberations covered the standing grievances <rf
Indians in Kenya, Fiji, and Tanganyika. Mr. Thomas,
•Colonial Secretary, decided in August, 1924, that on the
Question of immigration, the Ordinance framed on the
lines of restricting it should not be enacted. On the
question of franchise, and of the Highlands, there "was
no change in the position. As regards Indian Coloniza-
tion, it was proposed to set up an area in the Lowlands
for agricultural immigrants from India. In June, 1924,
an East African Committee was appointed under the
Chairmanship of Lord Southborough by His Majesty's
-Government and it was agreed that the Indian point of
view should be heard before it In South Africa the
-Class Areas Bill lapsed owing to a change of Govern-
ment, while the Natal Boroughs Ordinance, preventing
-further enrolment of Indians ae burgesses} was
CHAPTER VI
PARTITION, OB PARTNERSHIP ? .(1925)
The, politics of 1925 largely centre round Council'
work. The Swarajists were no longer harassed by the
No-changers. Gandhi was therq to keep the balance even*
between the two sections. Eminent men like Das and .
Nehru, Patel and Lalaji, did not require to live under
the shadow of others. In twb Provinces had Dyarchy
been brought to an end — C.P. and Bengal. Das refused
to form the Ministry in Bengal on Lord Lytton's invitar
tion, nor would he allow others to form one. That was the
wrecking he had all along been visualizing. Lord
Reading's Ordinance No. 1 of 1924 having expired, a
Bill was introduced into the Bengal Legislative Council
which was rejected by and through the influence of the
Swarajists, -in January, 1925. It had to be certified by
Lord Lytton,. and remitted to London for the approval of
His Majesty's Government. On the 17th February, the
Bengal Legislative Council passed a resolution recomt-
mending to Government to make provision in the Budget
for the* salaries of Ministers. This was a set-back to the
Swarajists, but soon the Party made up for its loss. On
the 23rd March, in the course of the Biidget discussion, .
the salaries of the two Ministers appointed were rejected
by 69 votes to 63. While Bengal was upholding N.C.O.
6n,<bhese declared lines, in C.P. the question was openly
tanvassefl <as to why the party should not accept'
'Ministries and "wreck ,from within." In the Central '
Legislature, the Party was merely filling the role of a
flOnstitutibnal Opposition, both in 1924 and in 1925. Thejr
sat on Select Committees and co-operated in the passage
^1 -useful legislation. They walked 'into the lobbies now
PARTITION, OB PARTNERSHIP ? (192&) 478
-with one party and now with another — and occasionally
-with Government.
When Mr. C. Doraiswami lyengar moved -a
resolution urging the supersession of the Bengal Ordinance
by an Act of the Legislature, it was passed by 58 against
• 45 votes. On February 3rd, 1925, Mr. V; J. Patel
introduced a Bill to repeal the State Prisoners7 Act of
1850, the Frontier Outrages Act of 1867, and the
'Prevention of Seditious Meetings Act of 1921, and it was
r passed except for the omission of the Frontier Outrages
.Act.
Mr. Neogy moved the consideration of his Bill to
• amend the Railway Act so as to abolish reservation of*
railway compartments for any particular community, and
it was rejected. Dr. Gour moved- a resolution for abolidh-
ing appeals to the Privy Council but it was rejected, tha
•-Swarajists voting with Government against the -resolution.
Pandit Motilal Nehru said on the occasion *hat, for A'
time, we must have appeals to the Privy Council id
'London. On Mr. Venkatapathi Raju's resolution urging:
the immediate establishment of a Military College in
'India, Government were defeated. The Swarajists and
'the Independents "turned their big guns upon each other;
rather than upon the Treasury Bench," in the debate oa
the Railway Budget (25-2- '25). Eventually, Pandit
'Motilalji's resolution for rejecting the Railway Budget
was defeated by 66 votes against 41. Thus the' Budget
and its items were dealt with on their intrinsic rants..
"There .was no question of "constant, continuous, uniform
'Obstruction," as was originally foreshadowed.* Pandit
MotilaPs motion to reject the travelling Allowances of
^Executive Councillors was passed by 63 votes against 48,
-each Party voting for its own reasons. The Kohofr
-outrages, (uon) Indianization of • the Army,
4#t THE HISTORY OF THE OONtiBBBB
Report, Round Table Conference, repression — were all
to the fore. A very queer situation arose in connection with
a Bill in the Assembly to provide for appeals to the High
Court in cases that came under the Bengal Criminal Law
Amendment Act. But the Bill had three other provisions
i elating to the suspension of the Habeas Corpus and the
detention of accused persons in custody outside Bengal.
The Swarajists and Independents wanted to support the
fiflst clause and reject the last three. This would mutilate
the Bill so far as Government were concerned, and Lord
Reading had to certify it after it was passed by the-
Council of State.
It is clear that by this time Das carved out a high
position for himself in the Halls of the Congress.
Moreover, just on the eve of the Belgaum Congress, a
statement had been published that Das had divested
himself of almost all his property — which he left as a
legacy to the Nation for some charitable purpose. And
this fact had raised Das miles high in 'the estimation of
the public. In the meantime, the National Convention
of Dr. Besant published the draft of a Commonwealth of
India Bill. The Committee appointed at the Unity
Conference was racking its brains to find a solution of
the communal tangle and Lalaji published a questionnaire
in February, '25 on behalf of the Hindu Mahasabha. The
Sub-Committee of the All-Parties' Conference held in
Bombay the previous November, which was charged
with the duty of preparing a Swaraj scheme-
did not succeed in producing any thing presentable
and adjourned its sittings sine die in March. Gandhi
visited South India and Kerala in March and April, 1925.
The Vaikom Satyagraha was at its height and Gandhi's
presence helped to bring about a settlement. The campaign
was undertaken to effect the removal of the prohibition
against certain untouchables or unapproachables passing:
PARTITION, OR PARTNERSHIP ? (1925) 475
along certain streets in Vaikom. The Travancore Govern-
ment had put up certain barricades and posted certain
pickets to prevent the entry of Satyagrahis. Government
were made to realise that this act of theirs was lending;
itself to the view that they were supporting the conservatism
of the Hindus of Travancore with their own physical force.
And when Government removed both barricades and
pickets, the only enemy remaining was public opinion and:
the point di appui for the Satyagraha disappeared for the
time being. From the South, Gandhi was to visit Bengal.
Das was then beginning to feel ill. Evening temperature
was already causing anxiety. It was arranged that he
should visit Europe for treatment.
At the same time, he was full of hope that he could
effect a settlement with the British Government. Only a
year previous to the time, when he was touring in South
India, he had declared on the sands of the Madras Beach
that Gandhi had 'bungled and mismanaged', referring to
the Gandhi-Reading negotiations on the eve of the
Ahmedabad Congress. He further declared that the terms:
came to him in the Alipore Jail then. This psychology
of 'success' is commonly met with in public workers who
have organised big movements. Mrs. Besant was over-
powered by it when Montagu visited the country in 1917 —
after she had convulsed the British Empire in India. Here
was Das who had organised in Bengal the Chittagong
strike of 1921, whose Province organised an unprecedented
boycott of the Prince, who captured the Legislative
Councils of Bengal and made the formation of Ministries:
impossible and wrecked Dyarchy. Why should not a
settlement be effected?
That was the position at the time of the Faridpur
(Bengal Provincial) Conference. His offer of co-operation
on certain conditions was made at Faridpur under this
476 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGBESS
psychology. While Gandhi believed that there was not
the change of heart' that was necessary for a composure
of the prevailing unrest, Das believed there was. "I see
signs of a real change of heart everywhere," said Das to a
representative of The Statesman. "I see signs of
reconciliation everywhere. The world is tired of conflicts
and I think I see a real desire for construction and
consolidation." This statement was made in Faridpur in
the first week of May, 1925 — and about the same
time did Gandhi say to the same representative,
"What, therefore, remains to me of non-co-operation
is, as Mr. Das would put it, a matter of mental attitude.
But it is an attitude that I personally prize because, claim-
ing, as I do, to be a friend of the British, I want to tell
them that I see no real trace yet, of any change of heart."
Das said further, addressing the British statesmen, "You
can have peace to-day on terms honourable both to you and
to us." Gandhi had at this time declared Das to be his
'attorney* and always referred to the Swaraj Party as
representing the Congress in the Councils. His self-
obliteration was wonderful and at times went to the point
of trying the patience, though not the loyalty, of his old-
-world orthodox adherents. At Faridpur, Das pronounced
!his terms of settlement. He declared violence was both
immoral and inexpedient, and referring to Government's
urge of co-operation by the Congress, Das said: —
"Provided some real responsibility is transferred to
the people, there is no reason why we should not
co-operate with the Government. But two things are
necessary — first, there should be a real change of heart,
•secondly, Swaraj in the fullest sense, must be
guaranteed to us at once, to come automatically in the
near future. I have always maintained that we should
, make a large sacrifice in order to have the opportunity
io begin our constructive work at once and I think
you will realise that a few years are nothing in the
Mstoiy of a Nation provided the foundation tf
PARTITION, OB PARTNERSHIP ? (1925) 477
-Is laid at once and there is real change of heart both
.in the rulers and in the subjects. You will tell me
that 'change of heart' is a fine phrase and that some
practical demonstration should be given of that change.
I agree. But thatj demonstration must necessarily
depend on the atmosphere created by any proposed
.settlement. An atmosphere of trust or distrust may
be easily felt and in any matter of peaceful settlement
.a great deal more depends upon the spirit behind the
terms than the actual terms themselves.
"A few suggestions may be made having regard
to what is nearest to the hearts of the people of
Bengal — (1) General amnesty of all political prisoners,
(2) a guarantee of the iullest recognition of our right
• to the establishment of Swaraj within the Common-
wealth in the near future, and in the meantime till
Swaraj comes, a sure and sufficient foundation of such
Swaraj should be laid at once, (3) we on our part
should give some sort of understanding that we shall
not, by word, deed or gesture, encourage revolutionary
propaganda and that we shall make every effort to
put an end to such a movement."
It will be seen that the proposed settlement was
linked with a National effort/ to wipe out anarchy; not
that the Faridpur Provincial Conference had ever identified
itself with revolutionary propaganda, but that a change
- of heart would transform the revolutionary into an apostle
*of real service to the people.
At this time Lord Reading was in England
'On a short leave, and this fact, coupled with
Lord Birkenhead's exhortation to the Swarajists to co-
operate and not to wreck, was largely responsible for Das's
expectations. Moreover, Colonel Wedgwood and
'Mr. Ramsay MacDonald were taking interest at the time
5n bringing about some settlement in India. Gandhi in
•one of his brief but significant revelations happened to
-flay, after Das's death, that Das had great faith in Lord
GBirkenhead and that Das believed that he would
47& THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
do great things for India. Das was a great lawyer
and so was 4F. E.' as Birkenhead was known before he was
raised to Peerage. As Mr. F. E. Smith, he was along,
with Lord Carson, — really Sir Edward Carson of those
days, the great enemy of the Irish Free State before the
settlement was effected. Das would, therefore, have
naturally thought that a formidable character like 'F.E.'
who was helpful to Ireland would be equally reasonable
with India. Das was supposed to have within him some
such ideas.
In his last letter to Pandit Motilal, which the latter
referred to as "Das's last political will and testament,"
he wrote: "The most critical time in our history is coming.
There must be solid work done at the end of the year and
the beginning of the next; all our resources will be taxed, .
and here we are both of us ill. God knows what will
happen." Shortly after, it pleased the gods in heaven to
take away Das from our midst and from his residence
'Step Aside/ Darjeeling, on the 16th June 1925. Das's
life constitutes by itself a chapter of Indian history.
Speaking of the death of Das, Gandhi spoke at Khoilna
with feeling and asked: "What shall we do to perpetuate his
memory! It is easy to shed tears, but no tears can help <
us or his nearest and dearest. Only if every one of us, .
Hindus, Muslims, Parsees and Christians, all who call
themselves Indians, pledge ourselves to do the work in
which he lived, moved and had his being, shall we have
done something. We are all believers in God. We should
know that the body is ever perishing. The soul is
imperishable. The body that held Mr. Das has perished, .
hut his soul will never perish. Not only the soul; even
the name of him who had served and sacrificed so much
will remain immortal and every one, young and old, who <
follows his example to ever so little an extent will help to -
gefpetuate his memory. We have none of his intellect;.
PARTITION, OR PARTNERSHIP ? (1825) 479*
but we can imitate the spirit in which he loved the-
Motherland/' Let *us quote Government's opinion at the-
other end: "Mr. Das had an unerring instinct for the
weak points in an adversary's position, and a tenacious
resolution in the execution of his own plans which raised
him far above the level of the ablest of his lieutenants."'
Like Gandhi he was honoured by his opponents even,
while they fought him, and amongst the numberless
tributes paid to his memory are many sincerely felt and
Irankly worded, by Europeans, including high officers of
Government. The Secretary of State and the Viceroy
were among those who sent messages of regret, and one
of the first 'act? of the Legislative Assembly, when it met
in August, was to give fitting expression to the loss which
the Nation ha<l suffered in the deaths of Mr. Das and
another veteran, Sir Surendra Nath Banerjea who died on.
6th of August, 1925.
Gandhi was ever generous, forgiving, appreciative-
and affectionate towards Das. He stayed out in Bengal
and built a great memorial in his honour. He collected
ten lacs of rupees and Das's house — 148, Russa Road —
was saved for the Nation and was converted into a
hospital for women and children in accordance with his
wishes expressed in his Trust Scheme announced before-
che Belgaum Congress. Gandhi further put forth all his
efforts in order to place the Swarajists in positions of*
power, and plant the Swaraj Party firmly in Bengal.
Thus did he strive to make Mr. J. M. Sen-Gupta, the-
leader of the Swaraj Party in the Council, Mayor of the
Corporation of Calcutta and President of the Bengal
Provincial Congress Committee. The 'triple crown' that
Das himself had been wearing was placed on Sen-Gupta's;
head.
480 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
While Gandhi was doing everything in his power
•to put the Swarajists at ease and even asked the
"'waverers' to join and join at once the Swaraj Party, the
.response of the Swaraj Party to all these gestures was
.nothing commensurate with the spirit of self-abnegation
.shown by Gandhi. The general council of the Swaraj
Party showed itself more and more hostile to the spinning
franchise which had been conceded at Belgaum, and left
it to the All-India Congress Committee, where the
:Swarajiste had a majority, to scrap it if they chose. At
the conclusion of the meeting of the Working Committee
»of the A. I. C. C. on the 15th July in Calcutta, it was
understood that Gandhi sent a note to Pandit Motilal
Nehru to the effect that since the Swarajists had a
majority in the Congress, and since the Pandit was the
President of the Swaraj Party, he should also assume the
Presidentship of the Congress Working Committee.
•Gandhi made it clear that he did not like any longer to
jemain as the President of this Body. The note created
a sensation in the Swarajist circles. It was however
•finally decided that, for at least the rest of that year,
'Gandhi would be continued to be the President of the
A.I.C.C., but if the spinning franchise was dropped at the
next meeting, he would resign and set up a separate
•spinning organisation. The Working Committee itself
considered at some length the question of revision of the
spinning franchise and ultimately decided to convene a
meeting of the A.I.C.C. on the 1st of October to consider
this question. In the meantime Gandhi did everything
to support the Swaraj Party to the extent of giving his
joint signature with Panditji to the resolutions of that
Party, associating himself with the Party in threatening to
obstruct in the Councils, in case certain conditions that
-were put forward were not agreed to. Those who were
indignant with Gandhi over these happenings understood
their meaning when they knew that he had offered his
PABTXTION, OB PABTNEBSHIP ? (1825) 48U
resignation. Things were developing rapidly. Soon after,,
the very resolution of the Congress of Belgaum and the
pact between the two main wings of the Congress were to
stand virtually annulled by one word of the mouth,
uttered by Gandhi. The spinning franchise must be
cancelled and the Congress was to become a political,
body in answer to Lord Birkenhead's recent pronounce-
ment. Slowly, then, Gandhi by a series of obiter dicta
adopted Swarajists as his attorneys and political represen-
tatives, shortly after Das's demise and Lord Birkenhead's
callous observations. Gandhi yielded more and more and,
ultimately, so much more that he effaced himself and made
a complete surrender. Gandhi wrote in August: "I must
no longer stand in the way of the Congress being
developed and guided by educated Indians rather than,
by one like myself who has thrown in his lot entirely with
the masses, and who has fundamental differences with the
mind of educated India as a body. I still want to act
upon them but not leading the Congress. The best way
in which I can help that activity is by removing myself
out of the way, and by concentrating myself solely upon
constructive work with the help of the Congress and in its
name, and that too, only so far as educated Indians will'
permit me to do so." The fact is the Swarajists on the
one hand denounced the principles of Gandhi and on the
other demanded his leadership. They wanted his co-opera-
tion on their terms. His message is only one and that
was growing stale, as Shrimati Sarojini put it at the time
to many. About this time, Pandit Motilal had accepted
a seat on the Skeen Committee. Panditji's acceptance of
the seat, being himself a Swarajist, greatly irritated some
of his own followers. He should really have accepted"
this place only on the vote of a three-fourths majority-
of the members of the Assembly belonging to the Party.
This was seriously objected to. The objection was not
merely technical; it went deeper, it attacked the
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
of policy involved in such an acceptance, which was
tantamount to positive co-operation. At the time it was
eaid in jreply that membership would afford rare opportu-
nities .of studying the Military problems of the country
from inside, but the argument remained unconvincing to
the critics.
It was shortly before the beginning of the Simla
session of the Assembly (1925-1926) that Pandit Motilal
Nehru had accepted this seat on the Indian Sandhurst
Committee, popularly known as the Skeen Committee.
The history of the Skeen Committee may shortly be told,
some years prior to 1925, a section of Indian opinion
been demanding the establishment of a Military
'College in India comparable with that at Sandhurst. The
Military Budget of 1925 comprised nine lacs for Military
^education, and that account related chiefly to the Prince
X)f Wales College at Dehra Dun and the King George's
Military .Schools, which were recently established at
. Jullunder and Jhelum in the Punjab. A resolution which
was passed in the Delhi session of the Legislative
.Assembly in 1925 called upon the authorities to establish
»«uch an institution forthwith. The Government of India,
accordingly, appointed a Committee consisting mainly of
Indian members, including Pandit Motilal Nehru,
Mr. Jinnafc and Mr. M. Hamachandra Rao, under the
Presidency t>f Lieut. General Sir Andrew Skeen, Chief of
the General 'Staff, to consider the problem of how suitable
Indian candidates for the King's Commission can be
obtained in larger numbers and of how, when they are
'forthcoming, they can be trained most efficiently. That
-is to say, the Committee was asked to consider whether
'it is desirable and practicable to start a Military College
in India then or at some later date, and if so, whether
fciich a college should be self-contained or should be
:«\it>plemented by further training in England. The
PABTTnON, OB PARTNERSHIP ? (1325)
* Committee held a number of sittings in India, and in the
.Spring of 1926 a Sub-Committee of its members went to
Europe to investigate the systems of education by which
•officers are at present produced in England, France,
1 Canada and America.
Attention must now be drawn to a debate of real
importance. The Muddiman Committee was a committee
appointed in 1924 to examine the working of the Montford
Reforms. There was a majority and a minority Report-.
The former was of course the official Report. Government
were not prepared to accept even its recommendations. A
motion was tabled in September, 1925, that it should
.accept the principle of the Report. What was the
principle broadly? It was this, — that the machinery,
wherever it was creaking, must be oiled, that the bearings
must be greased, that the gear must be smoothened.
'Thus would it be possible to appoint. Ministers without
their salaries being voted at the Budgets, to carry on
1 Government in spite of obstruction. Such things had been
visualized in the Montford Reforms, only as events
distantly possible, but now they were actualities of a near
past. The Swaraj Party had fully realized these
reactionary potentialities lying embedded in the Montford
Scheme soon after entering the Assembly, and had tabled
•a resolution in February, 1924, as follows: —
"This Assembly recommends to the Governor-
General-in-Council to take steps to have the Govern-
ment of India Act revised with a view to establish
full Responsible Government in India, and for the
•said purpose, (a) to summon at an early date a
representative Round Table Conference to recommend,
' 'with due regard to the protection of the rights and
interests of important minorities, a scheme of a Con*
etitution for India; and (b) after dissolving the
'Central Legislature, to place the paid scheme for
approval before a newly elected Indian Legislature
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
for its approval and submit the same to the British
Parliament to be embodied in a Statute."
It was as the result of this resolution that the*
Muddiman Conxmittee was appointed and it sent up a*
majority and minority Report, which were considered on
the 7th of September, 1925, by the Assembly in the form
of a proposition moved by Sir Alexander Muddiman to
which a long amendment was tabled by Pandit Motilal
Nehru, the gist of which was that immediate steps be
taken by His Majesty's Government (1) to make a
declaration in Parliament embodying such fundamental
changes in constitutional machinery and administration -
cf India as would make the Government of the country
fully responsible; further, (2) a Round Table Conference
or other suitable agency adequately representative of all
Indian, European and Anglo-Indian interests was to be
summoned to frame, with due regard to the interests of
the minorities, a detailed scheme based on the above-
principle and to place the said scheme for approval before
the Assembly, after which it would be submitted to the
British Parliament to be embodied in a Statute. This
amendment was, after two days' discussion, carried/
against the Government by 72 votes to 45. It will be
•thus seen that the 'painfully tense atmosphere' of"
February, 1924, gave place to the far friendlier spirit of
September, 1925, and the exclusive demand of an R.T.C.
in February, 1924, was relaxed in the demand of
September, 1925, for an R. T. C. or other suitable
agency.
Birkenhead had spoken of the Swaraj Party as the
"most highly organized political party in India/1 This
was gratifying to a degree. But Lord Birkenhead only
recognised the party that had recognized his Constitution
ari(j;. its organ: The Swaraj Party had not only entered1
PARTITION; OB PABTVERBHZ? .? '(1925) 48$>
the Councils and taken seats but passed budgets and sat
on select committees. It had declined a seat on the
Muddiman Committee but accepted one on the Skeeo
Committee. Lord Birkenhead himself was not without
hope, nor were Das and, later, Nehru without hope that
some kind of settlement could be effected. Sir Basil
Blackett spoke explicitly in the Assembly of Pandit
Motilal's co-operation. "What else is Panditji doing,"
he asked, "in passing the Steel Protection Bill, in passing
last year's budget, in separating the Railway Finance?"'
"What else is Mr. Patel doing," he added, "in presiding,
over this House?" And then Sir Basil profusely
complimented Mr. A. Rangaswami lyengar for the
valuable services rendered by him on the Public Accounts
Committee. The fact was that Government were sparing
no efforts to cajole the Swaraj Party into some kind of
co-operation.
Before we proceed to narrate the events of September,
1925, at Patna, we must note some of the under-currents
umongst the thoughts and programmes of the Swarajists
themselves. Gandhi's willingness to place the whole
machinery of the Congress at the disposal of Motilalji
was deeply appreciated by the Swarajist leader who wrote
to him: — "Lord Birkenhead seems to have spurned the
honourable co-operation offered by Deshbandhu and to<
have made it clear that, in our struggle for freedom, we
have still to face many unnecessary obstacles and many
ill-informed opponents. Our plain; duty at this stage is,
therefore, to go ahead along lines chalked out for us and
prepare the ground for .«b , effective challenge to
Irresponsible and insolent - auth5r5ty." >On July 25th,.
Lalaji wrote to the Press: "What is needed now is the
chalking out of a middle course;,:- We are not ready to
co-opdrate; we^iist* do^wha* •*** fcest> practical and
possible under vthe cmmnkstancea. ffbr that, we.rreqmf*
31
486 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGHBBB
vigorous thinking, thorough discussion and honest
consultation amongst all parties and determination to do
what is decided upon." In Bengal, the hold of the
Swarajists, who had made the acceptance of Ministries
impossible, was fast weakening, an Independent having
defeated a Swarajist candidate for the Presidentship of
the Bengal Council by 6 votes. Things were doubtful
enough even at the last test of strength when Das was
carried on a stretcher to the Council Chamber.
Dr. A. Suhrawardy resigned from the Swaraj Party. He
had seen the Governor of Bengal and Gandhi took strong
objection to this saying, first, that it was a most improper
act on his part, and secondly that he had thereby "sold
his country." On hearing this, the Doctor resigned, saying,
*'I deem political harikari more honourable than living
under the new tyranny." The day after the report of
Dr. Suhrawardy's interview appeared in the Press, Gandhi
gave a full statement of his attitude to a representative
of an Anglo-Indian newspaper in Calcutta and said: "I
cannot, therefore, help saying that it is a healthy rule
to prohibit1 members of the Swaraj Party from meeting
or seeing officials without the permission of the Party."
On the 22nd August, Vittalbhai was elected as the first
non-official President of the Assembly.
It was at this juncture that the A.I.C.C. met at
Patna on the 21st September, 1925. When we remember
that it was at Patna in 1934 (May) that Civil
Disobedience was withdrawn, this meeting of 1925 does
not fail to strike us as particularly interesting, because
at this meeting three outstanding changes were effected
in the position of the Congress. Khaddar was divested of
'all political significance. Yam franchise .only became
an alternative to four-anna membership of the Congress
which was once agaife restored, and finally, political work
was made over to the Swaraj Party. The Party waa no
, OB PARTNERSHIP ? (1925) 481
ilonger a wing of the Congress, — a protestant wing, — a
.minority receiving concessions or a bare majority anxious
to take the rest with it. It was the Congress itself.
Thereafter elections would be run not by the Swaraj
Party but by the Congress. The members of the Assembly
. of this persuasion would be not the 'Swarajists/ any
longer, but the Congress members in the Councils. The
Yarn franchise was to be no longer the sole franchise, not
.Because the response was inadequate, — for there were
10,000 members on the rolls, — but because the Swaraj
.Party did not like it. Gandhi made up his mind to
meet the Swarajists more than half way, as a reply to
Lords Birkenhead and Reading. When the Serajgunj
.resolution on Gopinath Saha in 1924 jeopardised the
position of Das and his liberty, and was followed up by
the Bengal Ordinance Act, Gandhi decided to stand by
Das. This year Das passed away and Birkenhcad's bluster
was in the air. Gandhi made up his mind to wind up the
remnants of N.C.O. and render all assistance to the
•Council front. He had no answer to give to the Secretary
of State and, therefore, clothed the Council Party with
the full authority of the Congress to deal with the
, political situation. Thus was the country taken through a
series of sudden and startling changes; the latter half
'(clause B) of the Patna resolution, making over the
political work to the Swaraj Party, was not before the
informal sitting of the A.I.C.C. on the 21st September,
but was sprung upon the Working Committee itself on
the morning of the 22nd September, and considered by
it for a bare five minutes. Here is clause B of the
resolution passed at Patna: —
"Whereas the Congress in the S9th session Ijeld at
Belga/um endorsed an agreement entered into between
Mahatma Gandhi on the one hand and Deehbandhu .
C. R. Das and Pandit Motilal Nehru acting on .behalf :
" «of the Swaraj Party on the other, whereby th* "
488 THE HISTOEY OF THE CONGRESS
Congress activity was restricted to the constructive
programing mentioned therein and it was provided
inter alia that the work in connection with the
Central and Provincial Legislatures should be carried
on by the Swaraj Party on behalf of the Congress
organisation, and that for such work the Swaraj
Party should make its own rules and administer its
own funds; and whereas subsequent events have*
shown that this restriction should not continue under
the altered circumstances that face the country and
that the Congress should henceforth be a pre-
dominantly political body;
"It is resolved that the Congress do now take
up and carry on all such political W>rjrnfi5s,may be
necessary in the interests of the c<ge j^ ^ f°r this
purpose do employ the whole _L ^inery and
funds of the Congress, save and Doc*or ffch funds and
assets as are specially earmarked and belong to the
All-India Khaddar Board and Provincial Khaddar
Boards, which shall be handed over with all existing
financial obligations to the All-India Spinner?7
Association started by Mahatma Gandhi as an
integral part of the Congress organisation, but with
independent existence and full powers to administer
these and other funds for the fulfilment of its -
object.
"Provided that the work in connection with the
'Indian and Provincial Legislatures shall be carried
on in accordance with the Policy and Programme
laid down by the Swaraj Party under the constitu-
tion framed by the Party and the rules made
thereunder, subject to such modifications made by the
Congress as may be found necessary from time to '
time for the purpose of carrying out the said
Policy."
When an amendment was tabled to the , main
resolution handing over the Congress to the Council*
Party, to the effect that clause B be replaced by a
clause, saying "Provided that the work in- the Indian and'
Provincial Legislatures shall be carried on in accordance
with such policy and programme laid' down by the-
OB PARTNERSHIP ? (1926) 489
Congress as may be found necessary from time to time
for the purpose," instead of allowing the Council work
to be done with the Swaraj Party as an intermediary,
the very thought of an amendment to a resolution agreed
upon, and a remark made in moving it that the Swaraj
Party had 'betrayed its trust,' set Panditji ablaze tod
there was a general conflagration in the House. Gandhi
assuaged the feelings by asking the movei of the amend-
ment not to proceed with his diatribe against the Swaraj
Party at such a juncture.
In the mood in which we found Gandhi at the time,
all that Pandit Motilal had to do was to ask and it \tias
given forthwith, and given wholesale. Gandhi as
'President of the A.I.C.C. would not allow the House
even to examine the record of the Swaraj Party in the
Assembly, — that would disturb the harmony of the
situation and deprive the gift of its grace as well as
its value. When Rajendra Babu asked Gandhi whether
there was a pact between him, and Nehru and Das,
Gandhi replied in the negative and added that with him,
personally, it was a point of honour to concede what the
other side demanded. It was a point of honour too with
his following to concede to Gandhi what he demanded of
them, for they trusted to his judgment as the instinctive
judgment of a pure-hearted person in all times of doubt
or difficulty.
The question at and after Patna was whether it was
a partition or partnership that the Patna decisions had
brought about. The Congress changes had been kaleidos-
copic in character. Each shift of the panes and pieces
in the tube had brought about during the previous two
years new dispositions, a new play of colours, new scenes
and sights* At Juhu, affairs were amorphous. When we
met at Ahmedabad in June, 1024, Gandhi was still
490 THE HISTORY OF TOT GONGUB8
trying to hold on to the fundamentals of his position. He*
\yas in a mood to assert himself. He had tightened the
rigor of khaddar and compelled the Executive to spin
everywhere. The threats of the bureaucracy against Dasr
following the Serajgunj resolutions, impelled him to close-
up the ranks of the Congress. When an inch was given,
usually an ell would be taken. So was it here. The
equities of Belgaum were set at nought at Patna, for at
Patna, the Council wing took the whole prestige of
the Congress and took away the spinning franchise as
well. It was, therefore, a partition of the Congress
between the apostles of the Councils and those of
khaddar. Whatever show of unity there was externally,
people could not fail to perceive the discontent of the
latter wing. For one thing, the demand of the Swaraj
.Party "fpr a Round Table Conference or other suitable
agency" was considered inadequate. People began to
feel that the Attorney went beyond or below the instruc-
tions of the Principal, but Gandhi would' not countenance-
such arithmetical calculations. When he gives, he gives
Unreservedly, wholly, and without regret in himself, or
generating regret in his recipient. That is what Bhishma.
of old prescribed in respect of all gifts. Accordingly, at
Cawnpore, we had only to register what at Patna he-
.bad decreed.
The Cawnpore Congress (1925) was ahead. We are-
in the month of October. Shrimati Sarojini Devi was-
elected President according to the Constitution. Gandhi
.had said at Belgaum that he was stepping in where really
Shrimati Sarojini, should have been. Early in October
the President-elect published her message for the new
year: —
"Mine; as becomes a woman, is a most modest,
domestic programme merely to restore to India he?
true position as the supreme mistress in her
PARTITION, OB PARTNERSHIP ? (1926)
home, the sole guardian of her own vast resources,
and the sole dispenser of her own hospitality- .As a
loyal daughter of Bharata Mata, therefore, it will
be my lovely though difficult task, through the coming
year, to set my mother's house in order, to reconcile
the tragic quarrels that threaten the integrity of her
old joint- family life of diverse communities and
creeds, and to find an adequate place and purpose
and recognition alike for the lowest and the mightiest
of her children, and foster-children, the guests and
the strangers within her gates."
That was a fine ideal, especially for a lady to lay
down. What should the no-changers do to bring about
such a harmony? Gandhi exhorted them to fall in with
the Patna resolution or to resign from the Congress.
They had to hibernate or extinguish themselves. Gandhi's
position was that he recanted his programme for the
time being, while reiterating his principles.
The people are there, the mass that may develop
momentum at any time as once they did, but they can
develop that momentum only on the impact of a
dynamic force, a living idea, a convulsing programme
which must be carried to them by a body of 'educated'
people. But these have failed. While, therefore, the
material remained, the momentum has disappeared.
The sparks from the centre would not explode the air
in the chamber.
The passage for the jet of petrol is occluded some-
where, and in the absence of petrol, more air and
electricity cannot cause the first explosion that starts the
motor. When a motor does not start by the ordinary
process, an ingenious method resorted to is to push it
from behind. Within a few yards, the engine begins to
work until the next halt necessitates a repetition of the.
process. Even so, when the dynamic force of CiVil
.492 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Disobedience was for the time being held in suspense, all
«orts of devices began to push themselves to the fore.
The capture of Local Bodies became more and more
attractive. Though the elders of the Congress might
have enough legitimate preoccupations and public acti-
vities, it was a problem how to divert the energies and
the enthusiasm of the younger folks. With the wine of
•elections before them, with the consciousness and con-
fidence of success in their own minds and hearts, they
could not be easily restrained. And too, the Mayoralty
of Calcutta held with such lustre by Das and later by
Sen-Gupta was captivating to a degree. Already four
•big corporations were captured by Congressmen.
Vallabhbhai J. Patel had for sometime been President
•of the Ahmedabad Municipality and was the only person
.mrho would occupy that position till 1928. Vittalbhai
was adorning the Mayoralty of Bombay, and when
interviewed on the subject as to how he would discharge
, his duties if he became the President of the Assembly,
.said in reply, with his wonted wink in the eye and
mischievous smile on the lips, "just as I have done the
Duties of the President of the Bombay Corporation."
Jawaharlal had become the President of the Allahabad
Municipality but did not take long to discover that he
"was a round man in a square hole, and that Local Bodies
were not for Congressmen. Babu Rajendra Prasad became
Chairman of the Patna Municipality and was. not over-
pleased with his experiences and cleared out after about 15
.months. But the alphabet of life, like that of letters,
should be learnt by every one and will not be taken on
trust. Most people would learn by their own experience,
•not by others'. And the lessons of Local Bodies murt
be learnt by Madras too. It was at this time, i.e«, about
May, 1925, that the Madras Congress Committee began
to take interest in the capture of seats in the Madras
•Corporation, and after an Arduous campaign in which
PARTITION, OR PARTNERSHIP ? (1925)
xtoeither energy nor expense was spared, it succeeded in
.^capturing 7 seats out of 10. The object of one and all
dn thus capturing Local Bodies, was to get power with
nvhich to push the constructive programme through those
.'bodies. It was a laudable idea and, throughout the
.campaign, we had the advantage of conceiving our ideas
. &nd planning their execution much in advance of Govern-
mental preparations to resist our plans or rebut our
ideas. The wheels of Government grind slow, but grind
•steady. Within a short time Government made it im-
, possible for the Local Bodies to engage the services, as
•teachers or otherwise, of those who had gone to jail,
lo buy khaddar, to teach Hindi, to introduce the charkha
into schools, to give addresses of welcome to' national
leaders or to raise the national flag over the corporation
-schools or offices. Anyway, there was reason for interest
in Local Bodies, and the same reason brought out
'Mr. Srinivasa lyengar in Madras from his comparative
quiet into the maelstrom of politics. He assumed
•aommand in the city, spent lavishly out of his purse,
being never a niggard in public or private life, and in a
moment installed himself as the head of the Congress
Party. New programmes bring new leaders, and must
.'bring them, when old leaders cannot trim their sails to
the new winds or disappear altogether from the winds
nand the boat alike.
Altogether, the year 1925 was a stoimy year. When
from this distance of time we survey the incidents and
'summarise the history, we cannot fail to be impressed
"by the conflicts that arose between party and party iii
*he Congress, and between section and section in a
'party. If even the no-changers with their residtlal
'legaey of khaddar, removal of untouchability and coin-
.munal unity, could present schisms and fissions, it ife
wonder that the pro-chatagers with a positively
494 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
programme, a dynamic programme as it was also belie vedi
to be, exhibited differences, too, among themselves. The-
revolt against the tenets of the Swaraj Party took origin
in C. P. and Maharashtra, which were the worthy
colleagues of Bengal, and which had kept pace with
Bengal only so long as the great Deshbandhu was alive.
Deshbandhu's was not the temper to 'stand any
nonsense'; he would put it down with a heavy hand.
He who had wrung concessions from Gandhi would not
readily yield to rebels or renegades in his party. But
the moment he passed away, unexpected happenings
took place in Maharashtra. Mr. Tambe, the Swarajist
President of the C. P. Council, accepted an Executive
Councillorship under the C. P. Government. This was
the subject of fierce warfare between the leaders in C.P.
and Berar, in Maharashtra and Bombay. Pandit Motilal
resented Tambe's, conduct and the extenuation of it by
men like Kelkar and Jayakar, and threatened to take
disciplinary action against these two offenders apparently
for being "accessories after the event." They in turn
wanted the whole Swaraj Party of Bombay to repeat .
their sentiments. Kelkar's slogan was "Back to •
Amritsar: Back to the Lokamanya." Pandit Motilal
Nehru was equally unbending. Speaking at Nagpur in
November, 1925, he declared that Mr. Tambe's acceptance
of office was not an isolated act but the culmination of
a series of attempts to take office, commencing with the
intrigue to form a Ministry, The retort came at once
that Pandit ji himself showed the way by accepting
membership of the Skeen Committee. Of course, the two -
were quite different things. When the Swarajists held
a conference in C. P., animated ahd heated discussions
took place between Abhyankar and Kftare on one side
j0nd Dr. Moonje on the other. The latter was suspected'
.to be encouraging the acceptance of Ministries.
Mr. E. Raghavendra Rao and Mr. B. G. Khaparde weate-
PABTITION, OR PARTNEB8HIP ? (1925) 49$
for acceptance. Dr. Moonje vehemently denied the-
charge and was confronted with a certain letter, after
which he admitted that, personally, he Was for
acceptance but he was loyal to the Party to which he.
belonged and to Pandit Motilalji, its leader.
Mr. N. C. Kelkar wrote to the Press, criticising the-
rigid discipline of the Swaraj Party which gave no play
to the aspirations of the different sectiors of its members.
He traced the steady deviation of the Swaraj Party
away from its original programme of 'consistent and
uniform obstruction' in the Central Legislature, and"
asked whether it would not be logical at the present
stage to allow the acceptance of office. "There was a
time," he said, "when in the Assembly we could make
no constructive proposal, say, a motion even to refer a
Bill to a select committee. Then came a time when we
were allowed to make such motions, but not to take a
seat on any of the committees. Then came a time when
we could accept only elective seats on committees. And
then came a time when we could accept nominated seats
on committees under a special dispensation of executive
authority. Now I grant that all these developments
were natural and were symptoms of a definite
new policy, that is to say, a policy of revolt:
from hidebound obstruction." On the 1st November,.
the Executive of the All-India Swaraj Party-
met at Nagpur and strongly condemned the actioni
of Mr. Sreepad Balwant Tambe as being a flagrant
breach of discipline and treachery to the Party. Now
we come to Bombay where Motilalji hastened from
Nagpur to crush the revolt of Jayakar and Kelkar.
.They had raised the cry of Responsive Co-operatiom
already. Both these scholar-politicians, so well-known itt
India for their erudition and keen political sense, resigned
their .seats on the Executive of the All-India Swaraj,
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
'Party and issued, in that connection, the following
^statement: —
"We find that Pandit Motilal is violating the
understanding arrived at at Nagpur, by openly
preaching a crusade against Responsive Co-opera-
.tion while insisting on our remaining silent. We wish
Ao exercise our right to reply to his criticisms which
.are causing great misunderstanding and prejudice in
•the public mind. We recognize the desirability of
-our ceasing to be members of the Swaraj Party
Executive Council while we reply to the Pandit's
• criticism. We are, therefore, tendering our resigna-
tion of our membership of the Council so as not to
• embarrass our colleagues thereon, and in order to be
.able to exercise our right of reply to the Pandit with
freedom and frankness."
That w'as not all. Moonje, Jayakar and Kelkar
subsequently resigned their membership of the Legisla-
ture, to which they had been elected on the Swarajist
"ticket.
Thus they disinfected themselves of Swarajist taint,
— body, soul and clothing. Pahditji, replying on the
'9th November, said that "the Swaraj Party stood for its
-own programme which included co-operation, Non-co-
operation, construction, destruction, as occasion and
•national interests demanded." Jayakar resented the
'Pandit's 'hectoring tone.' In the end, on the 4th of
"December, it was agreed that "611 public controversy on
ithe question of the Swarajist Party's policy should ceaee
••until the Congress meets."
. i' ' '! ,1. '
One other event of 1925 must be referred to here.
It is not di*e<*tly connected with the (Jongress. But
^Government themselves attributed the Rebellion in the
*Gudem Agency,— Godavtoi and Vizagapitam Districts of
PARTITION, OR PARTNERSHIP ? (1925) 49Z-"
Andhra, — under the leadership of Sitarama Raju, to the:
subversive influence of the Civil Disobedience movement.
They had made a similar mistake in regard to the-
Moplah rebellion. The Gudem rebellion also started,
some time in 1922, — but later than the Moplah revolt, —
but had nothing of the communal tension which,
characterised its predecessor. Here too, semi-military
operations were necessitated and not much progress had
been made by the end of the year 1923. In 1924, the
Assam Rifles were sent for, consisting of about 250°
officers and other ranks. The rebellion was ultimately
put down after nearly three years of Guerilla warfare
between the mighty and puissant forces of the British
Government and Sitarama Raju with a following of two-
hundred. But the saddest event was the shooting of
Raju, on his alleged attempt to flee from arrest. The
Government were challenged on many occasions to*
publish details and to produce the inquest report, but they -
would not accept the challenge.
Now we pass on to the Cawnpore Congress. There
were difficulties ahead* The Cawnpore Session was to-
confirm what Patna had decreed. It was a moot point
even at Patna ^hether such cataclysmal changes as Patna
had affected in franchise, — contrary to Belga/um's decree,
— in partition of properties, and in division of functions
could be done by au All-India Congress Committee. Then
there was -the larger question whether the Congress
dioujd endorse the Demand of the Swaraj Party in the
Assembly which was embodied in their amendment to the
resolution on the Muddiman Report, All these complex.
tiuesticins werp before the session* at Cawnpore presided"
over by -the, Poetess pf Iqdia. A uovel feature of the:
jppngreeiSrW^.the.^pBding over of, -the charge by Gandhi*
the . oYigoin^.P^sident, -to: Sarojini Devi* the incoming
jL spo^eJEor but. five n^iuuJtes and declared'
-*496 THE HISTORY OF THE
•on reviewing his five years' work, he had not one item
to retrace or one statement to take back. The more he
:saw life, he said, the more he was convinced that he was
right in every step he had taken. "To-day I would
commence Civil Disobedience," he added, "if I thought
that the fire and fervour are there in the people. But
alas! they are not. The South African question is
considered by many to be a suitable question, but I
shall be overpowered by numbers that I may not care
for." Sarojini Devi took charge with a few choice words.
Her Presidential Address was perhaps the shortest address
• delivered from the Congress rostrum, while of course it-
was the sweetest ever delivered. She emphasised unity, —
unity between the parties and unity between India and
the Indians abroad. She referred to the National Demand
as put forth from the Assembly, and pleaded for the
obliteration of fear. "In the battle for liberty fear is the
one unforgivable treachery, and despair the one
unforgivable sin." Her Address, therefore, was an
• expression of courage and hope. With this gentle hand
"to exercise discipline as well as forbearance, the
• Cawnpore Congress had an easy time, except for certain
labour demonstrations tod small troubles from certain
delegates which were brought under control by sturdier
• men like Jawaharlal.
The Cawnpore Congress naturally began with the
• expression of deep sorrow over the deaths of Deshbandhu
Chittaranjan Das, Sir Surendra Nath Banerjea,
Dr. Sir Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar and other
' leaders. There was a South African Deputation in India
at the time to which the Congress extended its welcome,
•and the Congress declared the Area-Reservation and
"Immigration Registration. (Further Provision) Bill to be
A breach of the Smuts-Gandhi Agreement pf 1014, and
an arbitration to settle the interpretation of the
PABTinON, OB fABTNEBSHIP ? (1025)
; latter. The Congress endorsed the idea of the R.T.C.
to settle the question and urged that the Imperial Govern-
ment should withhold its assent to the Bill if passed. The
Bengal Ordinance Act arid the Gumdwara prisoners were
the subjects of suitable resolutions, and the Expulsion of
Non-Burman Offenders Bill, and Tax on Sea-Passengers
Bill of Burma were regarded as new attacks on the
liberty of the citizen. Then came the resolution of the
1 Congress dealing with franchise, which confirmed Part B.
• of the resolution of Patna dated 22-9- '25 calling upon the
Congress to take up such political work as was necessary
in the interests of the country, and for this purpose
employ the whole of the machinery and funds of the
Congress except those made over to the A.I.S.A. The
Congress of course reiterated its faith in C.D. and urged
that self-reliance should be the guiding principle in
- carrying on all political work. Then the Congress adopted
.a detailed programme:
(i) The work in the country shall be directed to
the education of the people in their political rights
and training them to acquire the necessary strength
and power of resistance to win those rights by
• carrying out the constructive programme of the
•Congress, with special reference to popularising the
spinning wheel and khaddar, promoting inter-communal
unity, the removal of untouchability, ameliorating the
• conditions of the suppressed classes and the removal
of the drink and drug evil, and shall include the
• capture of Local Bodies, the organisation of villages,
the promotion of education on National lines, the
•organisation of Labour, both industrial and agri-
• cultural, the adjustment of relations between
•employers and workmen and between landlords and
tenants, and the general advancement of the national,
. • economical, industrial and commercial interests of the
country.
(ii) The work outside the country shall be
directed to the dissemination of accurate information
* :in foreign countries.
SCO THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
(iii) The Congress adopts on behalf of the country
the terms of the settlement offered to the Government
by the Independent and Swaraj Parties of the
Assembly by the resolution passed on the 18th
February, 1924, and having regard to the fact that the •
Government have so far not made any response to the
said offer, resolves that the following action shall be
taken:
1. The Swaraj Party in the Assembly shall, at
the earliest opportunity, invite the Government to -
give their final decision on the said terms, and in case
no decision is announced before the end of February,
or the decision announced is held not to be satis-
factory by a Special Committee consisting of the
Working Committee of the Congress and such other
members as may be appointed by the All-India
Congress Committee, the Party shall, by adopting the
proper procedure, intimate to the Government on the
floor of the House that the Party will no longer
continue to remain and work in the present Legis-
latures as heretofore. The Swarajist members of the
Legislative Assembly and the Council of State, shall
vote for the rejection of the Finance Bill and,
immediately after, leave their seats. The Swarajist
members of such Provincial Councils as may be in -
session at the time shall also leave their seats and all
members of such Councils as are not in session at
the time shall not attend further meetings of the said
Councils and shall likewise report themselves to the
Special Committee.
, 2. 'No member of the Swaraj Party in the Council
of State, in the Legislative Assembly, or in any of the
Provincial Councils shall thereafter attend any meeting
of any of the said Legislatures, or any of their
Cpmitiittees, except for the purpose of preventing his -
• seai from being declared vacant and of throwing out
jthe 'Provincial Budget QT, . other measure involving
fresh taxation. ,
' "/'.Provided thflt, prior, to their being -called upon
tb leave their seats, 'it shall be open" to Swarajist
jnembers of. the yaripus Legislatures,. to engage them-
' selves in such ac.tivit^es in their X^gistetures fts are
PARTITION, OB PARTNERSHIP ? (1826) 501
permissible to them under the existing rules of the
Party.
Provided also that it shall be open to the Special
Committee to allow the Swarajist members of any
Legislature to attend the said Legislature when such
attendance is in its opinion essential for some special
or unforeseen purpose.
3. The Special Committee shall, immediately on
receipt of the reports mentioned in sub-clause (i),
call a meeting of the All-India Congress Committee
to frame a programme of work which shall be carried
out by the Congress and Swaraj Party organisation
in co-operation with each other throughout the
country.
4. The said programme of work shall include
selected heads of the general work mentioned in
clauses I and II above, as also the education of the
electorates in the policy herein laid down, and shall
indicate the lines on which the next general election
is to be run by and in the name of the Congress and
state clearly the issues on which Congressmen shall
seek election.
Provided that the policy of non-acceptance of
offices in the gift of the Government shall continue to
be followed until, in the opinion of the Congress, a
satisfactory response to the terms of settlement
aforesaid is made by the Government.
5. This Congress hereby authorises the Executive
of the several Provincial Congress Committees to
select candidates for the Provincial Legislative
Councils and the Indian Legislative Assembly in their
provincial areas for the general elections next year as
early as possible.
6. In the event of the final decision of the
Government on the terms of settlement offered in the
resolution of the Assembly aforesaid being found
satisfactory and acceptable by the aforesaid Special
Committee, a meeting of the All-India Congress
Committee shall forthwith (be held to confirm or reject
the decision of the Special Committee and to determine
the future course of action.
7. Until the Swarajtrts leave the Legislatures as
herein provided, the Constitution of the Swaraj Party
32
THE HISTORY OF THE CONQBES6
and the rules made! thereunder shall be followed in the
Legislatures, subject to such changes as may be mrvde
by the Congress or the All-India Congress Committee
from time to time.
8. For the purpose of starting the work referred
to in Sub-clauses (3) and (4) , the All-India Congress
Committee shall allot such funds as it may consider
sufficient for the initial expenses of the necessary
propaganda in this behalf, but any further funds
required for the said purpose shall be raised by the
Working Committee or under its directions by contri-
butions from the public."
It was not without some bickering that the main
resolution of Cawnpore was passed. Pandit Madan Mohan
Malaviya, whose very fight against Non-co-operation from
inside the Congress endeared him to friends and opponents
alike, moved an amendment which was seconded by
Mr. Jayakar, to the effect:
"That the work in the Legislatures shall be so
carried on as to utilize them to the best possible
advantage for the early establishment of full Responsi-
ble Government, co-operation being resorted to when
it may be necessary to advance the National cause,
and obstruction when that may be necessary for the
advancement of the same cause."
It was while seconding that Jayakar announced his
own and Kelkar's and Moonje's resignations from the
Legislatures. In the course of the discussion, Motilalji
was fiercely attacked for accepting a membership of the
Indian Sandhurst or Skeen Committee. "The Assembly,"
he said, "had asked for an Indian Sandhurst and the
Government had said, 'show the way.' What they wanted
was negotiation to show the Government the way to meet
their demands, and if in the same way, the Government
aaked them to show the way to reforms, they would
certainly co-operate."
PARTITION, OB PARTNERSHIP ? (1925) SOS
Finally, Hindustani was prescribed as the language
in which the proceedings of the Congress and the A.I.C.G.
should ordinarily be conducted, and the A.I.C.C. was
.authorised to open a Foreign Department under it W
look after the interests of the Indians abroad. The next
•Congress was to meet in Assam. Dr. M. A. Ansari and
Syts. A. Rangaswami lyengar and K. Santanam were
-appointed Secretaries. Shortly after the Cawnpore
Congress, Mr. B. G. Horniman returned to India in the
2nd week of January, 1926.
One pleasant feature of the Cawnpore Congress was
the presence of the Rev. J. H. Holmes of America,
Pressed in American clothes, but wearing a Gandhi cap.
He rose in the midst of cheers and said:
"Yesterday, I heard Dr. Abdur Rahman claiming
Gandhiji as a South African. May I not claim him
to-day for the whole world? May I not say that
the Society of Friends which I represent regard him
with the same reverence and believe in his work as
you do? I ought to say that we have gone very
far wrong in our Western Civilization. We have
gone too far in the pursuit of wealth and power. It
is a deep evil in our whole Western Civilization.
'Our love of wealth has resulted in its concentration,
our longing for power has brought on war after war
and will likely plunge us in further wars until
civilization is destroyed. So we gladly turn to you
who are indicating another and better way, and we
hope that while keeping the good things in nature
and inventions, we should follow the brotherly spirit
which is represented by the great prophet among
you."
Before closing the year, we must make reference to
the unfortunate Hindu-Muslim riots which occurred from
time to time throughout 1925, and, as we shall see later,
1926 also. Speaking of Hindu-Muslim unity Gandhi said,
SM THE H1STOEY OF THE OONQBBB8
addressing a meeting at Mirzapore Park in Calcutta on
May 1st:
"I have admitted my incompetence. I have
admitted that I have been found wanting as a
physician prescribing a cure for this malady. I do not
1 find that either Hindus or Muslims are ready to
accept my cure, and therefore I simply nowadays
confine myself to a passing mention of this problem
and content myself by saying that some day or other
we Hindus and Muslims will have to come
together, if we want the deliverance of our country.
And if it is to be our lot that, before we can come
together, we must shed one another's blood, then I
say, the sooner we do so, the better it is for us. If
we propose to break one another's heads, let us do
so in a manly way. Let us not then shed crocodile
tears, let us not ask for sympathy from any quarter,
if you do not propose to give any quarter."
There was tension throughout July, 1925, the principal
places affected being Delhi, Calcutta and Allahabad.
Another riot took place during the Bakr Id celebrations at
Hiunnabad in the Nizam's Dominions, about 40 miles from
Gulbarga where like riots had occurred the previous year.
Before closing the year 1925, we have also to refer to the
Sikh question which received a sort of quietus in the year
1925. A Gurudwara Bill was introduced and passed, and
it was stated by Sir Malcolm Hailey that the Gurudwara
prisoners would be released if (they signed a condition
accepting the Act and undertaking not to engage them*
selves in campaigns similar to previous ones. This was
deeply resented by many. But in course of time feeling*
were assuaged. Many prisoners gave the undertaking to
abide by the Act. Even /the G. 8. P. C. was split on the
question. While most prisoners were released, a few
remained in jails to serve out their terms.
CHAPTER VII
THE COUNCIL FBONT (1926)
The year opened somewhat inauapiciously for the
Council programme. The charm of novelty of the year
1923 had worn off.
A perpetual fight for the sake of fight was somewhat
tiresome and signs of fatigue as well as reaction were
visible early in the year.
The cult of Responsive Co-operation was indeed
definitely in the air by the end of 1925. Before the
opening of the Assembly on January 20th, 1926, the
Bombay Council of the Swaraj Party definitely decided
to extend its full support to Responsive Co-operation in
their propaganda.
Let us turn once again to the activities of the Swaraj
Party- Pandit Motilal Nehru had crossed the threshold
of the Viceregal Lodge in the 2nd week of January
(1926) with, of course, the permission of the Executive
of the Party. With him were five other leaders including
Lalaji, and the purpose of the visit was to discuss the
South African question. Though this news raised hopes
for a time, it was soon discovered that there was no ray
of light brightening the clouds that began to lower on
the skies. What really had kindled hope in the public
breast for a time was the exceedingly conciliatory speech
made by Lord Reading in opening the Assembly on the
20th January, 1926, and an extract he gave from
Birkenhead's speech of July 7th, 1925: "We desire and
request good will; nor shall we be niggardly bargainers
506 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
if we met with that generous friendship which is near
and dear to our hearts." In the month of March, the
A.I.C.C. met on the 6th and 7th at Raisina, Delhi, and
confirmed the Cawnpore decision- Delhi declared once
again in favour of "determined resistance and obstruction
to every activity, Governmental or other, that may
impede the Nation's progress towards Swaraj. la
particular, Congressmen in the Legislatures shall refuse
to accept offices in the gift of the Government, until, in*
the opinion of the Congress, a satisfactory response i&
made by the Government." It is necessary, while we are*
on the subject of the A.I.C.C., to state that the Working:
Committee which met on March 5, voted Rs. 2,000 to
the Hindustani Seva Dal and Rs. 5.00Q for foreign
propaganda. The Dal was the body of volunteers
organised under the resolution of the Cocanada Congress-
It had held two annual sessions — one under Maulana
Shaukat All's Presidentship at Belgaum, and the second
under Mr. T. C. Goswami's at Cawnpore. Foreign pro-
paganda, hitherto only talked of, became a subject of
practical importance, and we shall have occasion to trace
the development of both these as years roll by. The
departure of Jawaharlal Nehru for Switzerland about the
time for the treatment of his wife, Kamala Nehru, as
well as the expected departure of Pandit Motilal to
England for the sittings of the Skeen Committee, must
doubtless have given a fillip to this question of foreign
propaganda which had hitherto been only in a moribund
stage. In the Assembly, when the Budget was taken up,
Pandit Motilal announced that he and his supporters
would abstain from a division. The public galleries
were crowded with visitors eager to witness the
Swarajists' withdrawal which was widely known before-
hand. Pandit Motilal showed how Government ha£
spurned Deshb&ndhoj Das's terms for honourable co-
operation. He warned the Government th^t, .unless it
THE COUNCIL FRONT (1996) 5*7
took great care, it would find the whole country honey-
combed with secret societies* With these words, ha
walked out of the Chamber accompanied by all the
members of his party.
The walk-out created a little incident which may be
briefly described. President Patel referred to the walk-
out and declared that, as the strongest Party had vacated
the Chamber, the Assembly ceased to retain the repre-
sentative character required by the Government of India
Act. It was, therefore, for Government to consider
Whether the Assembly should continue to function. He
asked Government not to introduce any controversial
legislation as, otherwise, he might be forced to use the
extraordinary powers accorded under the Act of adjourn-
ing the House sine die. The next day, he gracefully
took back these words and, in particular, he said: "I
might add further that I felt on reflection that the Chair
should not have made reference to its own powers or
have used language which might perhaps be construed as
a threat to the Government, but should have awaited
further developments before deciding any course of
action." This relieved the feelings of the Government.
The stone that began to glide down the hill of Non-
co-operation from the heights of Gaya, nearly reached
the bottom at Sabarmati early in 1926. We have seen
how the Responsivists came near being absorbed into the
fold of the Independents and Nationalists. Accordingly,
they held a conference with the leaders of other parties
on the 3rd April in Bombay, and the result was the
formation of an 'Indian National Party7 to prepare for
and accelerate the establishment of Swaraj of the
Dominion type, by all peaceful and legitimate means
(excluding Mass Disobedience and non-payment of taxes)
with liberty to resort inside the Legislature to Responsive
598 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Co-operation* Pandit Motilal regarded the formation of
the new Nationalist Party as a challenge to the
Swarajists and described it as a "conglomerate in the first
stage of geological formation." After some negotiations,
it was decided to hold a meeting of the two wings of
the Swaraj Party at Sabarmati on April 21st, to see if
reunion were possible. Amongst others present at the
meeting were SarojiniDevi,Lala LajpatRai, Syts. Kelkar,
Jayakar and Aney, and Dr. Moonje. Subject to the
confirmation of the A.I.C.C., it was agreed amongst the
signatories to the agreement arrived at at Sabarmati,
that "the response made by Government to the Swarajist
Demand of February, 1924 in the Assembly should be
considered satisfactory if, in the Provinces, the power,
responsibility and initiative necessary for the effective
discharge of their duties are secured to Ministers'"
The Congress members in the Legislative Councils of
the Provinces were to decide the question of sufficiency
of such power, but their decision was to be "subject to
confirmation by a Committee consisting of Pandit Motilal
Nehru and Mr. M. R. Jayakar." "The ink on the Pact
was, however, barely dry," says 'India, 1925-26,' "when
Mr. Prakasam, President of the Andhra Provincial
Congress Committee expressed dissent and said that the
position of the Congress had been compromised even
more at Sabarmati than at Cawnpore." Numerous other
prominent Congressmen expressed dissatisfaction likewise.
It was generally thought, though for a while, that
Swarajists would soon 'walk in* and form Ministries,
but Panditji cleared the atmosphere by declaring
that three conditions had to be satisfied before Office could
be accepted, namely,
1. that the Ministers should be made fully
responsible to the Legislature, free from
all control of Government;
THE COUNCIL FRONT (1926) 509
2. that an adequate proportion of the revenues
be allotted for the development of 'nation-
building' departments;
3. and that Ministers be given full control
of the Services in the transferred depart-
ments.
Things were once more thrown into the melting pot.
Jayakar characterised the draft placed before the
Committee as a travesty of the Pact and a complete
repudiation of the terms of the same, under the guise
and in the name of clearing doubts and differences about
the interpretation of the Pact. From this moment, the
relations between the Swaraj ists and the Responsivists
became more and more strained. The Sabarmati Pact,
however, was yet to be disposed of by the A.I.C.C. which
met on the 5th May at Ahmedabad. At this meeting,
Pandit Motilal announced that, owing to irreconcilable
differences between the signatories of tl«c Pact regarding
the interpretation of its terms, the negotiations that he
had, for the past ffcw days, been carrying on with the
Responsivists had broken down and the Pact, therefore,
had fallen through and was non-existent. A letter from
the Responsivists was read which confirmed, in the main,
Motilalji's statement. That Mr. S. Srinivasa lyengar should
have moved a vote of thanks to Panditji at this meeting
was significant. The fact was that S. India was against
the Sabarmati Pact. Motilalji was not perhaps quite
wise in not having consulted them from the outset. Very
often in feuch matters, the confidence that you can
command from others is in proportion to the confidence
you give to them, and when the latter is not forth-
coming, the former is withheld. At this meeting, Pandit
Motilal proposed a Committee to go into and report on
Dr. Besant's Commonwealth of India Bill but this was
turned down. When Sir Moropant Joshi, who attended
the meeting on behalf of the Responsivists, thanked the
£14) THE HISTORY OF THE CONGBESB
President for the invitation and urged that the Sabarmati
Fact be considered, Pandit Motilal explained the different
view-points of the two wings. Whereas the Responsivisto
held that the Reforms should be worked for all they were
worth, his own section thought that the Faridpur con-
ditions of the late Deshbandhu Das should be fulfilled
before any response by Government could be considered
satisfactory. At the end of this controversy, it cannot
be said that Pandit Motilal came out altogether
unscathed. He wanted to go to England and took two
months7 leave. Mr. S. Srinivasa lyengar took his place.
For the time being, and all too suddenly, Mr. lyengar '&
star shot up into the high heavens.
While this was so in respect of leadership, the
following everywhere began to show fissiparous tendencies.
In Bengal, there was a revolt at Krishnagar in the
middle of 1926, and although J. M. Sen-Gupta had a
sort of victory, still, rumblings of revolt were not
altogether subdued. There were really four sections of
Swarajists at the time in Bengal: Hindu Swarajists and
Swarajist^ Hindus, Muslim Swarajists and Swarajist
Muslims, the difference being the emphasis based on the
adjective or the substantive. There were secessions from
the ranks of the B.P.C.C. of men like Babu Amarendra
Nath Chatterjee and Nirmal Chander Chander. The
issue centred around the pact that was being observed in
Bengal for sometime between the Hindus and the
Muslims. Sen-Gupta's triple demand was (1) observe
the pact, (1) ignore the Krishnagar Conference, and
(3) do not accept office- The split between the two wings
goon became a wide chasm. Sen-Gupta was charged with
being given to cavalier methods, with neglecting village
reconstruction and indifference to the fund collected for
the purpose, with his rupture with the very men who
raised him aloft, and with taking powers to nominate
THE COUNCIL FRONT (1926) 511
30 members to the Executive in addition to 30 elected
ones. The Karmis took up the revolt under the leader*
ship of Babu Nirmal Chander Chander and Sarat Chandra
Bose. We have dwelt upon this at length because this
rift in the lute continues to this day in Bengal.
In the middle of the year 1926, we can pause for a
while to take a retrospect and prospect of the political
picture. Lord Irwin stepped into India on April 6thr
1926. Almost simultaneously, there were communal riote
in the streets of Calcutta of the fiercest kind ever
known, only equalled if not excelled by those of Bombay
in a later year. For six weeks the streets of Calcutta
were tho scenes of coinage and confusion. It was in
May, 1925 that Gandhi, speaking at Mirzapore Park had
said in solemn tones that if bloodshed was inevitable,
let blood be shed in a manly spirit without any mockery
of sympathy or sentiment- As if to make this state-
ment prophetic, disturbances started in an affray between
Muslims and Arya Samajists outside a mosque, and on
the 5th April fire had to be opened. Sporadic street-
fighting, incendiarism to the extent of 110 fires, attacks
on temples and mosques, — all these destroyed the fair
name of Calcutta. 44 deaths and 584 persons injured
in the first bout, and 66 deaths and 391 injured in the
second, represent the official figures. After 6 weeks of
vandalism and massacre, the riots died down. Lord
Irwin was greatly upset by these unfortunate happenings.
He put all his faith and fervour, all his religious devotion
and humanitarian instinct into his speeches, meant to
exhort people "in the name of Indian national life and
of Religion, to rescue the good name of India from the
hurt which the present discords inflict upon it."
In the month of August, the Hilton Young Commis-
sion published its report on currency and exchange, and
512 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
following it Government hurriedly introduced legislation
in favour of the 18d. ratio. Government's hurry was
adversely commented upon and they agreed to wait till
February, 1927, in order to enable people and publicists
to judge whether prices were stabilizing themselves at
the Is- 6d. ratio.
In September, differences again arose between Lala
Lajpat Rai and Pandit Motilal Nehru about the work in
the Assembly. Lalaji considered the Swarajist policy of
walk-out as distinctly harmful to the interests of the
Hindus. He was also in favour of confirming the
Sabarmati Pact on the question of the acceptance of
office. The controversy that ensued between him and
Motilal ji was vehement and very often personal. Lalaji
resigned from the Congress party in the Assembly. The
Assembly term was to be shortly over. New elections were
Ahead. President Patel was profusely complimented by
Dewan Bahadur T. Rangachariar, Sir P. S. Sivaswamy
Aiyer, Baptista, Neogy, Muhammad Yakub, Malaviya
and Muddiman. It was all praise, admiration, well-
wishing — all prophecy of a sure return in the coming
elections — all expressing an ardent wish that the Speaker's
seat should not be contested by any one else. In the new
elections, Government were not a little intrigued to know
whether the Swarajists would come in in large numbers.
Col. Wedgwood was in communication with Lalaji, and
his influence was visible in Lalaji's plumping for
Responsive Co-operation.
At this very time, Sir Abdur Rahim was employing
his good offices to secure the appointment of a Muslim
on the Government of India Executive. Lord Irwin gave
a smart reply: "The Governor-General must hold
himself free to make whatever appointment seems to bun
most in accordance with public interests." Lord Irwin
THE COUNCIL FRONT (1926) 513.
was fast infecting everybody with the virtues of communal
unity | and even the Raja of Panagal in Madras echoed
the sentiment of communal concord. It was at this time
that the Imperial Conference was sitting in London, at
which the now-famous definition of Dominion was evolved,,
and by the third week of October, a South Africaa
Deputation which was invited by the Government of
India toured from Madras to Peshawar under the leader-
ship of Mr. Bayers in order to study Indian conditions
and culture first-hand within the space of three weeks.
General elections took place in November, 1926. In.
Madras the Congress candidates, no longer 'Swarajists/
came out with flying colours. Lord Birkenhead was
waiting to see if, at Gauhati, the Congress would show
any inclination to co-operate. Mr. S. Srinivasa lyengar
had been elected President of the Gauhati Congress. And
he had an individuality all his own. That individuality
brought him later into sharp conflict with Pandit Motilal
Nehru. In fact, the germs of such a conflict had shown,
themselves earlier even at the Delhi meeting of the A.I.C.C.
Two eminent lawyers — when, in addition, they are also,
two eminent politicians — are bound to come into conflict
with each other. Panditji and Jayakar, Panditji and
Lalaji, Panditji and lyengar, — it was all a series of
conflicts for the learned Pandit with Bombay, Punjab and
Madras. A masterful personality like the Pandit could
not be all things to all men, nor could he be the same to*
himself all along. Lesser men surely could feel quite at
ease over their quarrels.
GAUHATI CONGRESS
The Gauhati Session then naturally met under a
certain tension of feeling. The tension was caused by the
warfare between Co-operation and Non-co-operation. It
314 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGBBSS
will be remembered that Non-co-operation stood for
continuous, constant and uniform obstruction. Later, it
became a statement of policy to be pursued only if the
Swarajists came in a majority. Gradually, it came
perilously near co-operation, what with acceptance of
•elected seats on Legislative Committees and of nominated
seats on Government of India Committees. Finally, it
hovered on the borderland of co-operation at Sabarmati
where it was just fighting shy of it. The Council Party
was willing to negotiate but afraid to accept. Then there
was the spirit of co-operation in the Swaraj Party itself
which would not straightway take up the position, say
of the Nationalists, the> Independents, or the Liberals, but
coquet with the idea, speaking of Responsive Co-operation,
honourable co-operation, co-operation if possible and
obstruction if necessary, and co-operation for all that the
Reforms were worth. It was these subtle but thoroughly
practical questions that created the tension of feeling at
Pragjyotishapura (Gauhati). Added to this, there was
'Government throwing out baits in the form of open praises
and veiled invitations, and indulging in all those blandish-
Tnents and arts by which wavering minds and timid hearts
are won over.
This tension, sufficiently trying in itself but by no
means tragic, was aggravated at Gauhati by the sudden
news that Swami Shraddhananda had been shot in his
sick bed by a certain Muslim who had sought and
obtained an interview with him. The news was received
at Gauhati on the day of the elephant procession of the
President. Assam, the land of elephants, was anxious to
give a remarkable and unprecedented ovation to the
President of the Congress, but the procession had neces-
sarily to be abandoned. Gloom overhung the session.
Hindus and Muslims felt the deepest grief oVef the
tragedy. Hie uraal formalities initiated the sittings of
THE COUNCIL FRONT (1926) 515
the Congress session. The unsophisticated music of the
tribal men of Assam added a romantic note to the natural
romance of the country known to our Ithihasas as
Kamarupa. Gandhi was given quarters in a small hut on
the banks of the Brahmaputra, the camp and Mandap
being a bit removed from his lodging.
When Mr. Srinivasa lyengar delivered his Address,
there was none of the unexpected element in his pronounce-
ment, his views having been well-known before-hand.
After paying a well-merited tribute to the memory of
Swaini Shraddhananda and referring in suitable terms to
the melancholy death of Omar Sobhani, some time Congress
treasurer, he dealt with the Elections, and stated how
the results had justified the policy of the Swaraj Party in
the Legislatures. The Provinces of Madras, Bengal, Bihar
and Orissa in a striking degree, and the other Provinces
including the Punjab to a lesser extent, he said, had
icsponded to the Congress mandate and come under the
Congress discipline. Dyarchy was then dissected and
anatomized, the dry bones of the Central Government
ivere exposed in the valley of the shadow of despotism.
Deshbandhu's offer was recalled, India's status was
examined, Army and Navy were dealt with, the Council
programme was discussed. "Resistance to every activity,
governmental or other, that may impede the Nation's
progress towards Swfiraj" was the basic principle laid
down at Cawnpore on which the particular duties of
Congressmen in Councils were to be framed. He
condemned acceptance of office in unequivocal terms and
with a logic that was unassailable. But at the same time
he valued the position of the Swaraj Party as forming the
^opposition whose power, though indirect, is very real and
much more effective than the power of Ministers and if we
are disciplined1 and energetic and in sufficient numbers in
any Council, we can cany out our policy and programme
516 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
more easily than the Ministers." There is a veiled
sarcasm in the statement which implied that the Ministers
have no power whatever. Then he dealt with the burning
topics of the day, namely, currency and communalism, and
the cold topics of the hour such as khaddar, untouch-
ability and prohibition, and put in a strong plea for
tolerance and unity and closed with the following
peroration: —
"Swaraj is not an intellectual but an emotional
proposition. We must cherish it in our hearts with
unquenchable faith. Neither genial humour nor
mordant sarcasm, neither the persuasion of friends
nor the wrath of foes, neither appreciation nor
calumny, should make our patriotism tepid or the
singleness of our purpose qualified."
The resolutions of Gauhati are of the usual type. The-
resolution on the late Swami Shraddhananda was moved,,
as was to be expected, by Gandhi and seconded by
Mahomed Ali. Gandhi expounded what true religion was
and explained the causes that led to the murder. "Now
you will perhaps understand why I have called Abdul
Rashid a brother and I repeat it. I do not even regard'
him as guilty of Swami's murder. Guilty indeed are those
who excited feelings of hatred against one another." Kenya
figured next on the list of resolutions. There, restrictive
legislation against the Indian settlers became more and*
more progressive, the original poll-tax of 20s. which by
currency manipulation was raised to 30s. had been raised"
to 50s. by legislation, thus conserving European interests
pgainst Indian interests, liberty and aspirations. On the
question of work in Councils, it was definitely laid down,
that Congressmen shall: —
(a) refuse to accept Ministerships or other offices
in the gift of the Government and oppose the formation
of * Ministry by other parties until, in the opinion of
THE COUNCIL FRONT (1926) SIT
the Congress or the All-India Congress Committee, a
. satisfactory response is made by the Government to
the National Demand;
(b) subject to clause (d) , refuse supplies and
throw out budgets until such response is made by the
Government or unless otherwise directed by the All-
India Congress Committee;
(c) throw out all proposals for legislative enact-
ments by which the bureaucracy proposes to consoli-
date its powers;
(d) move resolutions and introduce and support
measures and Bills which are necessary for the
healthy growth of National life and the advancement
of the economic, agricultural, industrial and commer-
: cial interests of the country, and for the protection of
the freedom of person, speech, association and of the
Press, and the consequent displacement of the
' bureaucracy;
(e) take steps to improve the condition of
agricultural tenants by introducing and supporting: •
measures to secure fixity of tenure and other advan-
tages with a view to ensure a speedy amelioration of
the condition of the tenants; and
(f) generally, protect the rights of Labour, agri-
cultural and industrial, and adjust on an equitable
basis the relations between landlords and tenants,
capitalists and workmen.
The policy of invoking emergency legislation for
dealing with the Bengal detenus was condemned; work in
and outside the country, Hindu-Muslim unity, Gurudwant
prisoners, and currency were the subjects of suitable
resolutions. The venue of the next session of the Congress
was left to be decided by the A.I.C.C.
A few interesting points relating to the Congress have
to be noted here. Two professors of Zurich were there,
deeply interested in an old Coat of Arms that formed one
of the exhibits in the Exhibition. They had a smattering
of English, and when asked how they happened to pick it
up, said, "Oh, we learn it: we have to learn m|uoh as you."
HISTORY OF THE CONGBESS
Mr. and Mrs. Pethwick Lawrence were there. The former
was a bit hard of hearing; the latter was perhaps the, more
intelligent of the two. To them, it was a discovery to
be told that India's slavery was not merely political, but
•economic and commercial as well. Gandhi was there too;
he was not a passive spectator. He took an active part in
the deliberations, so much so that two resolutions actually
passfed by the Subjects Committee had to be reversed the
next day. One of them related to Xabha and the
other to currency. Gandhi has never sympathised with
Nabha's lot to the extent of committing the Congress to
a particular position on it. A third resolution — on
Independence — was simply smothered and scorched under
the fire of Gandhi's eloquence.
Motilal n>ade a statement on the subject of Nabha.
He said at that particular moment he had been briefed
by the Maharajah and could not, therefore, commit
himself to a speech at a public meeting on a matter in
which he was briefed. Narottam Morarji and certain
economists were there at Gauhati, for the obvious reason
that the question of currency and exchange wap to be
dealt with. Neither Mr. Jayakar nor Mr. Kelkar was
present. For one thing, both were ill at the time. For
Another, the Responsivists by this time definitely cut
themselves off from the Congress. Gauhati laid emphasis
on work in the villages and made the habitual wear of
khaddar compulsory, to enable Congressmen "to vote at
the election of representatives or delegates or any
Committee or Sub-Committee of any Congress organiza-
tion whatsoever, or to be elected as such, or to take part
in any meeting of the Congress or Congress Organization
or any Committee or Sub-Committee thefeof." We take
kftVe of the Gatihati Congress and the charming country
of Kamanipa, which, despite the Mongoloid features of
the people that iohabit it, worships the same gods and
THE COUNCIL FRONT (1926)
goddesses as the Hindus in the rest of India, and observes
the same manners and customs and cheiitheu the sar^e
culture. We were shown the Kamakhya. temple, the
•Unananda that is enthroned on the height of a rock in
the midst of the Brahmaputra, and the W.ishta Ashranft
about 13 miles from Gauhati.
From the meditation of these gods ai:-l ^oddest*?, let
us descend to matters of the earth, earthy. The President
• of the Gauhati Congress had made a casual reference to
Hie election of the Swarajists at the elections of 1926.
Their election programme had been carefully drawn up
Madras gave a glorious account of itself ard Government
acknowledged it. U. P. fared badly and, to use Pandit
Motilalji's language,
"There has been a veritable unit of the
Swarajists. 'Defeat' is no word for it. But this was
not because they were Swarajists, but because they
were Nationalists. The political programmes of the
various parties had nothing to do with the elections.
It was a fight between the forces of Nationalism and
those of a low order of Communalism reinforced by •
wealth, wholesale corruption, terrorism and false-
hood. 'Religion in danger', was the cry of the ,
opponents of the Congress, both Hindu and Muslim.
I have been freely denounced as a beef-eater and
destroyer of cows, the supporter of the prohibition of
music before mosques, arid the one man responsible for
the stoppage of Ramlila processions in Allahabad.
I could only contradict these lies in public meetings,
but they penetrated hamlets and villages which >
I could not reach. Staying in Dak and Inspection
bungalows, and eating food cooked in European style, ;
was taken to confirm the lying propaganda."
The history of the Congress has by this time become
a monotonous tale of pious resolutions at the annual
sessions and perpetual strifes in the Councils. There
however, one redeeming feature brought into
^prominence than ever before. Since the formation of
520 THE HISTOEY OF THE CONGRESS
AJJ3.A. khaddar had a pure atmospBere of village uplift;
and economics. Men and women wedded to it were*
strenuously labouring in its cause without the excitement
of votes and the sensations of lobbies. The annual,
exhibitions showed how splendid was the development of.
the craft. At Gauhati, the comparative progress of six or
seven years which Bihar had been able to effect in the
production of khaddar was an object lesson to the whole
of India. 'Khokti' of Bihar and Chicacole muslin of"
Andhra were glorious, but the glory is not of modern
Revival. The ancient craft has been there in all its
splendour. Even so were the *en3i* and 'muga* silks of
Assam which were being greatly helped by the Assam
Government. The points of progress did not merely
concern the fineness of the counts, but the tension of the
yarn and its twist on which the durability of cloth depends.
But the most remarkable feature was that, in each
Province, the hidden talents of the artisans and craftsmen-
of the collateral crafts came to be revived once again, and"
the skilled workmen who were driven out of their homes
and hearths and became common, mechanical labourers,,
were restored to their traditional professions. They have
brought art and beauty to khaddar. Old blocks have
been recovered, new designs are being invented. The
printing and dyeing industry is really the right hand of
the textile industry, and when the spinner and the
weaver have been resuscitated, they have brought to life,
with them, the printer and the dyer, the dhobie, the
bleacher, the engraver and the petty trader. The exhibi-
tions which have become adjuncts of the Congress and
which, except in one or two years, are exclusively of
khaddar, — so far as the textile industry is concerned, —
have helped to concentrate interest upon the economic
rehabilitation of the country, side by side with the-
political, social and cultural, and have convinced the people-.,
thai Swaraj means food and raiment to the poor.
CHAPTER VIII
THE COUNCIL FBONT (1927) A SIALEMATE
We now pass on to a study of ^he position and
-work of the Congress Party in the various Legislatures.
It will be remembered that Dyarchy was destroyed in
Bengal and C. P. during the three previous years. In
tooth Provinces, it was restored in the year 1927. In
Bengal, the demand for the Ministers' salaries was
carried by 94 to 88 votes, and in C. P. by 55 to 16. Let
us recall a few facts of the year 1926 relating to the
Assembly. In March, 1926, the Swaraj Party walked out
«of the Council Chamber with no intention of re-entering
.it before the general election. But Government's
strategy in introducing legislation on the question of
equating the rupee to 18d. instead of 16d. drew the
•Swaraj Party barely for a minute, so to put" it, to the
Assembly just to secure the adjournment of its
•consideration till the next session (i.e. till the elections
were over). Therefore when the new Assembly met,
every one was agitated by the thought of the 18d.
ratio. Other sensational questions arose in the opening
session which set the tune for the main song of the
•drama. Panditji opened his first attack on the policy of
•Government with a motion for adjournment of the
House to discuss the non-attendanee of Satyendra
'Chandra Mitra who had been in prison and who was
•elected to the Assembly while in prison. The importance
•of the debate lay in the development of parliamentary
rpractice in the country. To anticipate events, let us
ipoint out that a similar motion was made and passed in
the Assembly in 1935 on the question of the non-
Attendance of Mr. Sarat Chandra Bose who was a State
522 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
prisoner at the time and had been elected whilst in prison..
Panditji's position was that Mitra's detention was an
encroachment on the privileges of the Legislative
Assembly and on the rights of the constituency which had
elected him. Sir Alexander Muddiman showed that the
Indian Legislatures had no such complete code of powers,
privileges and immunities as Legislatures as other parts
of the British Empire enjoyed, by virtue, generally, of a
provision in their Acts of Constitution, whereby they
were enabled to define, their own privileges, subject only
to the restriction that they should not exceed those for
the time being enjoyed by the British House of Commons.
In the end, the division went against the Government by
18. But all t':e same. ^Jr. Mitra was not released to
attend tho Assembly meeting. The question of Bengal
detenus was taken up. Panditji's demand, stated in th^>
form of an amendment to the original resolution, wa5-
that they should be released or brought to trial.
Lalaji, then a member of the Nationalist Party r
saut that he v.ould prefer the Government to try to
justify its imprisonment of these men without trial, on
grounds of necessity rather than of Law. Panditji's
amendment was passed by a majority of 13 votes. A
number of rnjotions for the adjournment of the House
followed that relating to S. C. Mitra. Despatch of troops
to China, non-publication of the Report of the Indian
Delegation to Fiji (disallowed), the adjournment of the
discussion of the currency legislation till after the disposal
of -the Railway Budget and the presentation of the
General Budget. This last one was passed by a majority
of 7 votes. The last of the series was. the strike situation
at Kh^ragpur and other places on the Bengal-Nagpur
Railway. Then a series of clashes . took place between
Government and non-officials. The first was on the .Steel
Protection Bill. A few words would not be out of place on-
THE COUNCIL FRONT (1927) A STALEMATE 523
the subject. About the year 1923, the question of protec*
tion to tiie Indian Steel and Iron Industry was raised. The
Tariff Board had recommended certain bounties and a
revision of the question in three years. The interval
passed. The question was taken up by the Board and-
the recommendation this time was in favour of an
increase of import duties, — with a basic duty on British
£oods and differentia! rates on other goods. This raised
the question of Imperial Preference and the popular view
was iieainst it, but after p keen discussion Government
proposals were upheld by the House. Mr. Jayakar,
Deputy Leader of the Nationalist Party, moved for the
refusal of the entire grant of the Budget. And the
discussion resulted in a victory for the popular opposition
by 8 or 9 votes. Then came the question of questions, —
the question of the 18d. ratio. This affected not merely
the millowners and the merchants but the people of
India, — notably the exporters of raw produce and food
material. The pound which was in the pre-war and the
war days worth Rs. 15/- is now made equivalent to-
Rs. 13-5-4. In other words, the importer is encouraged
to import more foreign goods, because they have become-
cheaper by 2d. a rupee or 2d. out of 16d., i.e., by an
eighth or 121/^> p.c. Applying the reverse reasoning to
exports of the ryots' produce, if a pound worth of
cloth which is imported into India and which formerly
cost, at the 16d. ratio, Rs. 15/- now cost only Rs. 13-5-4,.
*< pound worth of produce which formerly fetched
the cultivator Rs. 15/- would now yield him only
Rs. 13-5-4. Thus computing the total exports, say
for 1925, at 316 crores, one eighth of 316 crores
or nearly 40 crores would be lost to the ryot year
after year. If the imports of the year were 249 crorea,
the statement that the importer gained 31 crores thereby
would not be a solace to the cultivator, and granting
that it were so, the country would still be losing 40—31;.
524 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
or 9 crores annually, and a recurring loss is inevitable
with a country like India having a favourable trade
balance, i.e., whose exports are greater than her imports.
This is the reason why a battle-royal raged over the
question, but the popular view was defeated and Govern-
ment won by 68 to 65 votes. With the Steel Protection,
^Finance and Currency problems disposed of, the most
important work of the Congress at the Delhi Session of
1927 came to an end.
We pause for a moment to record a few happenings
of abiding interest. We have referred to the valedictory
scenes of the Assembly and the warm au revoir extended
to President Patel. It need hardly be said that he was
once again elected President, but what is of particular
interest is that he promised to make over to Gandhi
Us. 1,656 a month from out of his pay, keeping to
himself Us. 2,000 for his personal expenses and so as to
be able to comfort himself with befitting dignity. Gandhi
iimself did not want to take the entire responsibility for
administering the trust and invited suggestions and had
other trustees associated with him. On the 31st May,
1935, Gandhi stated in opening a girls' High School at
Has in Gujarat, that this fund amounting to Rs. 40,000
-was still with him, only Rs. 1,000 out of the interest on
it having been spent.
After a year's vow of voluntary silence and immo-
bility taken at Cawnpore, Gandhi released himself from
both. To those of us who are only acquainted with his
recent retirement from politics, this vow at Cawnpore in
December, 1925, comes as a key that explains what
otherwise might appear quaint or cranky. Whenever the
Congress has Ignored his advice, he has cleared the way
for it to march along its chosen path. He began his
work by * tour in Bihar making collections for tha
THE COUNCIL FRONT (1927) A STALEMATE 525
Deehbandhu Memorial, only the proceeds so collected
•were to go in aid of khaddar. Council programme had
:no charm for him, — had no charm even for men like Lala
Lajpat Rai who condemned work in the Assembly aa
infructuous and as a weary waste of National effort and
•energy. Lalaji's pronouncement was followed by
S. Srinivasa lyengar's that "the Assembly is not the
place, much less the Councils, to which you can look for
a policy of obstruction by the Nation."
We have already referred to Sarojini Devi's visit to
South Africa. It was in 1924, when things in S. Africa
were at their worst and General Smuts was on the point
of carrying through a Segregation Bill, that Mrs. Sarojini
Naidu went on from East Africa to South Africa at the
request of the Indian National Congress and had a" very
remarkable reception. The Bill, which was very nearly
'passed, had to be abandoned owing to the downfall of
General Smuts's Government on other issues. General
Hertzog came into power, and in 1925, an even more
-drastic Segregation Bill, called the Class Areas Bill was
drawn up, which would have immediately gained the
consent of Government and Opposition alike, if it had
been brought before the Union Parliament. Mr. Andrews
-was asked by Gandhi and the Congress leaders to go out,
and he raised at once the issue of a breach of the Gandhi-
••Smuts Agreement, if such a Bill was passed. Later on,
•the Government of India sent out the Paddison Deputa-
tion which had a very cold reception from the Union
•Government. But gradually the proposal took shape
that the Bill should be held over until a Deputation
•from the Government of India, with powers of entering
into a formal agreement with the Union Government,
should have been sent and the whole Indian position in
'.South Africa should have been discussed. This led to
first Cape Town Conference. Mr. Andrews was asked
|26 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS-
again to go out iu order to act as adviser to the South
Africa Indian Congress delegates. Though this Conference
brought little immediate gains, it had the effect of
bringing a pause to any legislation of a segregating
character. It also led to the establishment of an Agent-
General in South Africa whose duty it was to protect
Indian interests.
Now a word regarding the South African agreement.
It will be remembered that a South African Congress
Delegation had toured India in 1925-1926, and on the
16th October, 1926, an Indian Delegation to South Africa
was announced with Sir Muhammad Habibullah as the
Leader. A Conference was summoned which was opened
by the Premier of South Africa, General Hertzog, on
December 17th, 1926. The session lasted till January
13th, 1927, and a provisional agreement was arrived at
between the two Delegations on the following lines: —
Both Governments reaffirm the recognition of the
right of South Africa to use all just and legitimate
means for the maintenance of Western standards of
life.
The Union Government recognises that Indians
domiciled in the Union who are prepared to conform
to Western standards of life should be enabled to do
so.
For those Indians in the Union who may desire
to avail themselves of it. the Union Government will
organise a scheme of assisted emigration to India or
other countries where Western standards are not
required. Union domicile will be lost after three years'
continuous absence from the Union, in consonance with
the proposed revision of the law relating to domicile
which will be of general application. Emigrants under
the assisted emigration scheme, who desire to return
torfhe- Union within three years, will only be
allowed to1 dp ro ou refund to the Union Government
.jcost • «f • ' assistance , received by them. The-
THE COUNCIL FRONT (1927) A STALEMATE 52T
Government of India recogni>e their obligation to
look after such emigrants on their arrival in India.
Admission into the Union of wives and minor
children of Indian? permanently domiciled in the
Union will be regulated by paragraph 3 of Resolu-
tion XXI of the Imperial Conference of 1918, which
lays down that Indians already permanently domi-
ciled in the other British countries should be allowed
to bring in their wives and minor children on condi-
tion, (a) that not more than one wife and her
children shall be admitted for each such Indian, and
(b) that each individual so admitted shall be certified
by the Government of India as being the lawful wife
or child of such Indian
In the expectation that the difficulties with which
the Union has been confronted will be materially
lessened *by the agreement now happily reached
bet \\een the two Governments, and in order that the
agreement may come into operation under most
favourable auspices and have a fair trial, the Union
Government of South Africa have decided not to
proceed further with the Arch Reservation and
Immigration and Registration (further Provision)
Bill.
The two Governments have agreed to watch the
working of the agreement now reached and to
exchange views "from time to time concerning any ,
changes that experience may suggest.
The Union Government of South Africa have
requested the Government of India to appoint an
Agt'iu in order to secure continuous and effective
co-operation between the two Governments.
At the end of the first Cape Town Round Table-
Conference, Gandhi, who had been in favour of an Agent
being sent to South Africa, put forward in the public
Tress of India the name of the Rt. Hon. V. S. S. Sastri.
This immediately gained consent from the Government
and the people of India and his appointment proved a
very great success, as , we shall have occasion to say later
on.
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
The results of the Conference were acclaimed with
Joy on every side. Gandhi himself had characterized the
settlement as an honourable compromise. He, however,
.saw some danger to assisted immigration to other parts
of the Empire than India. The details of the settlement
.may be obtained from 'India, 1926-27.'
The formal omission of all reference to Civil Disobe-
dience in the Gauhati resolution created a new
atmosphere in the year 1927. Government, it is true,
were disappointed to find that Gauhati did not plump
for co-operation, but in actual fact, the Provinces were all
.forming Ministries and working Dyarchy. When Gandhi
began his tour, the Maharajahs were no longer afraid of
!him. He began to be invited by some of them. They
iio longer looked upon khaddar as a National uniform
.for a semi-military band of volunteers of the Congress,
but as an innocent factor in the economic regeneration cf
the country. They also saw in Gandhi a truthful and
'honest man, somewhat misguided in his political methods
and cranky in his political beliefs. After a short tour,
'Gandhi fell ill. The A.I.C.C. that met on the 15th and
16th May, wished him a speedy recovery. At this time,
Lalaji also sailed for Europe and his departure was
.adversely commented upon. The previous year also, he
had left India and occasioned adverse criticism. To his
credit, however, it must be noted that when Shraddha-
nanda was murdered, he was in Calcutta on his way
io Gauhati but returned to the Punjab without attending
'the Congress. We mention these things in order to show
-that the political atmosphere was full of bickerings. When
*the A.I.C.C. met in Bombay on the 15th and 16th May,
'there was a formula evolved by the Working Committee
•placed before it and approved of by it, which dealt witK
the Hindu-Muslim problem. Read at this distance of
-time and with a knowledge of the numerous transforms
THE COUNCIL FRONT (1927) A STALEMATE 529*
lions the question has since undergone, the formula o£
Bombay cannot fail to strike us as academic-
Mr. 8. Srinivasa lyengar was anxious to settle this,
problem, but he had not a grip of issues in all their
seriousness. It is not the evolution of a formula that,
was required, but the approximation of the hearts, a.
clearing of the minds, of the two great communities. So>
we shall not pause to give the details of this formula at
length but content ourselves with saying that it.
contemplated joint electorates, with reservation of seats-
on the basis of population in the Provinces, and, in the
Central Legislature, provided reciprocal concessions in:
favour of minorities, including Sikhs in the Punjab, by
mutual agreement so as to give them weighted represen-
tation and maintain the same proportions in the Central-
Legislature as well.
Other subjects dealt with at the meeting of the-
A.I.C.C. in Bombay were the International Congress
Against Imperialism and Colonial Oppression, and:
National Independence. Jawaharlal at this time was in
Europe and he represented India at the Congress and.
sent up a report from Brussels where it was held, and the
A.I.C.C. expressed its high appreciation of his services.
It appreciated the efforts that were being made by the
League against Imperialism and for National Indepen-
dence, and resolved to recommend to the Congress (I.N.C.)
to give support to the League as an Associate organi-
zation.
This is a rather important move, for we shall hear-
later something of foreign propaganda started a year*
previously, and continued for a couple of years. Another
resolution assured the Chinese people of India's fullest
sympathy in their struggle for freedom, condemned the-
action of the Government of India in despatching troop*-
539 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGBESS
to China and demanded their immediate withdrawal. The
A.I.C.C. appreciated the resolve of the Hindusthani Seva
Dal to send an* ambulance corps to China. Then the
British Trade Union Bill, Bengal Congress dispute*,
•organization of Labour, Nagpur Satyagraha, and the Boy-
cott of British goods were the subjects of suitable
resolutions. The last was to be seriously taken up. Tin:
Congress Party in the Madras Council came -up for severe
•comments and even a motion of censure wa.s threatened.
The fact was that when the Congress Party was returned
in good strength, — 45 out of 104 elected members, or
according to Government's admission, 38 out of 104, — the
Leader was sent for by the Governor and asked to form
a Ministry, but he declined. He himself became the
President of the Council, and it was an open secret at
the time that, with the private offer of support from the
•Congress Party, the Independents formed a Ministry.
'This was naturally objected to on strict principle. The
A.I.C.C., though there was no programme of Civil
Disobedience, was animated by a non-co-operative spirit
•and outlook. Vigorous canvassing went on in favour oi
a censure motion against the Madras Council member*
of the Congress Party moved by Mr. Gopala Menon. It
was expected that Kelkar would oppose the motion. Only,
he took the opportunity to describe in choice language, —
previously prepared and committed to writing, — the
infatuation, as he said, of Pandit Motilal Nehru for
powei* and position, authority and wealth. He content etl
himself with this piece of verbal vengeance. The South
Indians, therefore, m#de the best of a bad position by
accepting an amendment to refer the matter, as to why
the Congress Party did not vote down the salaries of
Ministers and refuse supplies, to the Working Committee
tot enquiry and report. Mr. Srinivasa lyengar was not
against the independent Ministry in Madras; so, he had
fto oppose the orthbdox Congress members of the Council
THE COUNCIL FRONT (1927) A STALEMATE 531
Party by whose co-operation he had risen to be the head
•of the political movement. The fact was that the
members of the Working Committee were tired. Statutory
enquiry, Royal Commission, Deputation to England,
were all in the air and they were hard realities which could
not be ignored. Even Motilalji, whose repugnance to
Ministry formation was pronounced and uncompromising,
did not expose or attack the South Indian procedure.
Bombay marked once again a notable change in the
outlook of the Congress, — a realignment from the
highways of X.C.O. to the much trodden rut of a Royal
Commission.
One piece of good news at the time in the fourth
week of May was the release of Subash Chandra Bose
.after four years of imprisonment. Lord Lytton had all
along been nervous and it was left to Sir Stanley Jackson
to give relief to the Bengal Detenus. Subash completely
broke down in health in his internment and this became
a source of general anxiety.
The summer of 1927, like other summers, was barren
of Legislative labours; but the country was ablaze with
'Hindu-Muslim riots. The most serious riot took place in
Lahore between the 3rd and 7th May, 1927, the toll
'being 27 killed and 272 injured. In Bihar, in Multan
(Punjab), Bareilly (U.P.) and in Nagpur (C.P.) similar
riots occurred. The Nagpur riots were easily the worst
>of these, coming only next to those of Lahore, with 19
persons killed and 123 injured. A few details may be
jgiVen here of the circumstances which led to some at any
rate of these outbreaks. Three years previously, a
pamphlet had been published, named Rangila Rasid, the
iitle itself showing how objectionable the contents would
"be. This Was the subject of a criminal prosecution which
chugged o-n for over two years, and which after
552 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
resulting in conviction, upheld in the court of appeal,,
finally ended in acquittal in the High Court. There wa&*
another case called the Riscda Vcartaman case which
however ended in conviction. The law being considered,
on the whole uncertain, a Bill was introduced into the
Assembly, in August, 1927, the operative clause of which
was as follows: —
"Whoever with deliberate and malicious
intention of outraging the religious feelings of any
class of His Majesty's subjects, by words, either
spoken or written, or by visible representations,
insults or attempts to insult religion or religious
beliefs of that class, shall be punished with 2 years'
imprisonment, or with fine, or with both.'7
The Bill was passed after 2 days' discussion..
Altogether 25 riots had broken out. Of them, 10 were in .
U.P., 6 in Bombay, 2 each in Punjab, C.P., Bengal, Bihar,
and Delhi. In less than 18 months, the toll taken was-
stated by Lord Irwin in his Address to the Indian Legis*
lature on August 29th, 1927, to be between 250 killed*
and over 2,500 injured. The Viceroy's exhortation to*
unity was followed by a Unity Conference which,
however, did not achieve much. A similar Unity
Conference was organized by the A.I.C.C. on the 27th
October, 1927, and it was opened by Mr. Srinivasa:
lyengar, whose one ambition in life, as he repeatedly
said, — an ambition which rested in a fund of self-
confidence, — was to evolve a formula for Hindu-Muslim,
unity. After a long discussion the Conference accepted]
the following resolution: —
"Whereas no community in India should impose
or seek to impose its religious obligations or religious
views upon any other community, but free profession
and practice of religion should, subject to public order -
, and morality, be guaranteed to every community "
THE COUNCIL FRONT (1027) A STALEMATE 533
r
and person, Hindus are at liberty to take processions
and play music before mosques at any time for
religious or social purposes, but there should be no
stoppage nor special demonstration in front of the
mosque, nor shall songs or music, played in front of
such mosques, be such as 'is calculated to cause
annoyance, special disturbance, or offence to
worshippers in the mosques. Muslims shall be at
liberty to sacrifice or slaughter cows in exercise of
their rights in any town or village in any place, not
being a thoroughfare, nor one in the vicinity of a
temple, nor one exposed to the gaze of Hindus. Cows
should not be led in procession or in demonstration
for sacrifice or slaughter. Having regard to the deep-
rooted sentiment of the Hindu community in the
matter of cow-killing, the Muslim community is
earnestly appealed to to so conduct cow-sacrifice as
not to cause any annoyance to Hindus of the town or
village concerned."
The Conference also condemned certain recent
murderous assaults and appealed to Hindu and Muslim
leaders to create an atmosphere of non-violence in the
country, and it empowered the All-India Congress
Committee to appoint a Committee in each Province for
propaganda work in connection with Hindu-Muslim
unity.
The All-India Congress Committee met immediately
after the Unity Conference, i.e., on the 28th, 29th, and
30th October, 1927, in Calcutta. The resolutions of the
Unity Conference on the communal relations were passed
bodily. The Bengal Detenus, naturally, were the next
to attract attention. Some of them had been in prison
for over four years. Accordingly, a Committee was
appointed to devise means of effecting their early
release. As soon as these two subjects were done with,
there was a thinning of attendance, the President himself
being absent on account of break-down of health. A
34
534. THE HISTORY OF THE OONOBBSS
resolution, moved by Mr. T. Viswanatham (Andhra),
saying that according to the Gauhati resolution it was
mandatory on Congressmen to refuse offices within the
gift of Government and to prevent the formation of
Ministries, was disallowed and this caused a measure of
discontent. The Secretary, on behalf of the President,
informed that the Resolution was out of place, since the
Committee had at the outset resolved to postpone the
consideration of the question till the Madras Session. As
a protest against this, some Bengal members moved an
adjournment sine die and it was carried.
Other subjects dealt with and disposed of by
suitable resolutions at the Calcutta meeting were Indians
in America7 and expression of gratitude to Senator
Copeland for his support of the Indian cause, refusal of
passports to Saklatwalla, and Nabha 'abdication' which
was dropped at Gauhati but revived in Calcutta. The
last subject was taken up by Mr. B. G. Horniman and
the Committee passed a resolution demanding justice to
the Maharajah.
The first week of November was rather a sensational
week. The Viceroy had cancelled his tour programme
and gone back to Delhi. Invitations were issued to the
leading politicians in India to see the Viceroy on the
5th November and succeeding days at their convenience.
It was evident that there was something important,
though not urgent, to be communicated to them. Gandhi
"was at this time in Mangalore, a thousand miles away from
Delhi. He too got an invitation and had to cancel his
tour programme and proceed to Delhi. When he saw
the Viceroy, the interview was a cold affair. Lord Irwin
placed in his hands the Secretary of State's announcement
regarding the Simon Commission, and when asked
whether that was all the business, Lord Irwin said 'Yes/
THE COUNCIL FBONT (1927) A STALEMATE 535
Gandhi felt that a one-anna envelope would have reached
it to him. Lord Irwin was, however, helpless and was
only doing a duty somewhat timidly and, therefore,
canvassing the sympathies of politicians beforehand. The
announcement itself was made in the country on the 8th
November, 1927. The Viceroy was trying to secure
friendly co-operation. "But what was behind this sudden
rush into hurried action?" asked Dr. Besant. It was the
fear of the General Election in 1929 in Great Britain.
The Simon Commission was not 'wanted' by any party
— be the reasons as they might. The omission of any
Indian from its personnel supplied the common basis of
resentment for all the political parties in India, except
the Congress. The Congress naturally felt that the idea
came nowhere near its Demand, which itself was a kind
of patchwork. Dr. Besant felt it added insult to injury.
She quoted the Maharajah of Burdwan's warning to Lord
Birkenhead and the latter's sneer on lines such as this: —
"You dare not reject anything that we offer you, and if
you dare do it, we shall, see." "Quite so," said Dr. Besant,
"all the world will see, and the world will remember that
Lord Birkenhead was one of those who entered into a
treasonable conspiracy, drilling an army and filling a
treasur3r to fight His Majesty's troops in Northern
Ireland. And now that a Commission is appointed in
which India's immediate destiny is to be fixed, and from
which Indians are boycotted, he loses his temper over a
suggestion that Indians may copy his own policy of
boycott. Surely, imitation would be the sincerest
flattery."
Pandit Motilal Nehru who was just then in England
looked upon the Commission as an eyewash. "The only
lionest course is to declare what Government wants to do
•and then to appoint a Commission to draft a scheme
giving effect to that declaration." A manifesto was
536 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
published against the Commission over the signatures of
all-India leaders like D. E. Wacha and others. The
signatories were of all political parties outside the
Congress. Miss Wilkinson stated that since the Amritsar
tragedy, there was not such a universal condemnation of
any act of the British as attended the appointment of the
Simon Commission. The Labour Party appointed
Lansbury, MacDonald and Snowden to see Lord
Birkenhead on the matter. There was a suspicion of the
Labour Party in India, for it was Lord Olivier who, as
Secretary of State in the last Labour Government, had
put his signature to the Bengal Ordinances under which
thousands had been interned. The President of the
Congress condemned the Commission and quoted
Colonel Wedgwood's view that the cause of India would
not be prejudiced by the Boycott of tho Commission.
What was this Commission to do which was being
condemned from every quarter? The Commission was
charged with the duty of "inquiring into the working of
the system of Government, the growth of education and
the development of representative institutions in British*
India and matters connected therewith, and reporting
whether and to what extent it is desirable to establish
the principle of Responsible Government or to extendr
modify or restrict the degree of Responsible Government
then existing therein, including the question whether the
establishment of Second Chambers of the Local
Legislatures is or is not desirable."
"When the Commission has reported and its
Report has been examined by the Government of
India and His Majesty's Government, it will be the
duty of the latter to present proposals to Parliament.
But it is not the intention of His Majesty's Govern-
* ment to ask Parliament to adopt these proposals
• without first giving a full opportunity for Indian-
THE COUNCIL FRONT (1927) A STALEMATE 537
opinion of different schools to contribute its view
upon them. And to this end, it is intended to invite
Parliament to refer these proposals for consideration
by a Joint Committee of both Houses, and to
facilitate the presentation to that Committee both of
the views of the Indian Central Legislature by delega-
tions who will be invited to attend and confer with
the Joint Committee, and also of any other bodies
whom the J.P.C. may desire to consult.
"The method chosen by His Majesty's
'Government will also assure to Indians a better
' opportunity, than they would have enjoyed in any
other way, of influencing the passage of these great
events. For not only will they, through represen-
tatives of the Indian Legislatures, be enabled to
* express themselves freely to the Commission itself,
but it will also be within their power to challenge in
detail or principle any of the proposals made by
His Majesty's Government before the Joint Select
Committee of Parliament and to advocate their own
solutions."
The plan outlined is a single comprehensive one and
should be so regarded.
"Above all, friends will strive to correct
differences by appeal to the many things on which
they are agreed, rather than lightly imperil friend-
ship by insistence on points in regard to which they
take conflicting views."
We now pass on to the Congress of the year 1927. It
was to be held in the city of Madras. Even at Gauhati,
people did not like the idea of the annual session being
held in some district town, as the Royal Commission
would be coming in 1927. What exactly the Congress
would be called upon to do in relation to the Commission,
no one knew. The choice of the venue was left at Gauhati
to the A.I.C.C. It is now clear that in the year 1927
Hindu-Muslim unity was in the air, while Hindu-Muslim
riots were on the terra firma. Two Unity Conferences
538 THE HISTOBY or THE CONGBESS
had been held and the A.I.C.C. endorsed the resolutions
of one of them. Who was better fitted to preside over
the Congress of such an year than a Muslim, and among
the Muslims, than Dr. Ansari? Ansari was a student of
the Madras Medical College in 1896 or '99. He
had gone to the Balkans in 1912 along with the
Red Cross Mission. In his profession, he had a
highly distinguished career. Outside it, his culture and
catholicity were well-known. Dr. Ansari accordingly
presided over the Madras Session and naturally devoted
the bulk of his Address to the question of communal
concord. He summarised the Congress policy as one of
co-operation for 35 years, Non-co-operation for an year
and a half, and obstruction within the Councils and consti-
tutional dead-locks for four years. "Non-co-operation
did not fail us," he remarked, "we failed Non-co-
operation." Then came the subject of the Statutory
Commission, the Detenus, India and Asia, and
National Health. Amongst those present at the
Congress were Mr. Mardy Jones, Labour M. P.,
Mr. Purcell and Mr. 'Spratt. There was nothing
very striking about the resolutions of the year on subjects
other than the Statutory Commission. Condolences,
League against Imperialism, China, refusal of passports
were all familiar or usual subjects. The note of 'war
danger' was sounded in one of the resolutions and the
Congress declared it would be the duty of the people of
India to refuse to take any part in such a war or to
co-operate with them (Government) in any way what-
soever. General Avari's hunger-strike had reached the
75th day. He had carried on an Arms Act Satyagraha
which consisted in leading processions carrying prohibited
weapons. The General received, in absentia, a vote of
congratulations and of sympathy. The proposed separation
of Burma from India was condemned. It will Be
remembered that its annexation with India wa§
THE COUNCIL FEONT (1827) A BTALEMAT1 539
condemned at the very first Congress (1885), and that
that Congress held that if Burma should be annexed, it
must be made a Crown Colony. And the State prisoners
received their due attention from the Congress which
demanded their immediate release. Indians in South
Africa and East Africa had two resolutions for themselves.
Their exact position was dealt with earlier in this chapter.
Hindu-Muslim unity, both in respect of religious and
political rights, was the subject of a resolution on the
lines already adopted at the A.I.C.C. Boycott of British
goods had come to be a new feature in recent years. A
Swaraj Constitution having been asked to be drawn up,
several drafts were before the House and the Working
Committee was given power to co-opt and to confer with
other bodies and draft a constitution and place it before
a Special Convention for approval. A change was
introduced in the Congress Constitution. But the
resolution of the year was the one dealing with the
Statutory Commission which we give in full: —
BOYCOTT OP THE STATUTORY COMMISSION
"Whereas the British Government have appointed
the Statutory Commission in utter disregard of
India's right of self-determination;
"This Congress resolves that the only self-
respecting course for India to adopt is to boycott
the Commission at every stage and in every form.
In particular,
(a) this Congress calls upon the people of India
and all Congress organisations in the
country:
(i) to organise mass demonstrations on the day
of the arrival of the Commission in India,
cities of India which the Commission may
visit;
(ii) to organise public opinion by vigorous
and similar demonstrations in the various
propaganda so as to persuade Indians of all
540 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
shades of political opinion effectively to
boycott the Commission.
(b) This Congress calls upon non-official members
of the Indian Legislatures and leaders of
political parties and communities of India
and all others not to give evidence before
fthe Commission nor co-operate with it in
any manner, public or private, nor attend
or participate in any social functions given
to them.
(c) This Congress calls upon the non-official
members of the Indian Legislatures ;
(i) neither to vote for nor serve on Select
Committees that may be set up in connec-
tion with this Commission;
(ii) to throw out every other proposal, motion or
demand for grant that may be moved in
connection with the work of the Commission.
(d) This Congress also calls upon the non-official
members of the Legislatures not to attend
meetings of the Legislatures except for the
purpose of preventing their seats being
declared vacant, or for the purpose of
making the boycott effective and success-
ful, or for the purpose of throwing out a
Ministry, or opposing any important measure
which, in the opinion of the Working Com-
mittee of the Congress, is detrimental to
the interests of India.
(e) This Congress authorises the Working
Committee to confer with and secure the
co-operation, wherever possible, of other
organisations and parties with a view to
make the boycott effective and complete."
This resolution speaks for itself and needs no
comiqentary. A special resolution was passed deploring
the callousness of Government in not commuting the
brutal sentences passed in the Kakori case, in spite of the
powerful public indignation aroused by the vindictive
sentences, and offering the heartfelt sympathy of the
Congress to the families of the victims.
THE COUNCIL FRONT (1927) A STALEMATE 541
Finally, the creed of the Congress was defined in a
separate resolution to the effect that "This Congress
declares the goal of the Indian people to be complete
National Independence." This resolution had for some
time become a hardy annual. It received an added
impetus by the arrival of Jawaharlal Nehru from Europe
and the espousal of the cause by him. Even Mrs. Besant
did not see much to object to in it. She said in the
Subjects Committee that it was a dignified and clear
statement of India's goal. Gandhi was absent from the
Committee at the time and heard of it after it had been
passed.
CHAPTER IX
THE RENDITION OF THE CONGRESS (1928)
In the beginning of the year 1928 the political atmo-
sphere of India was charged with feelings of resentment
against Government over the appointment of the Simon
Commission. The boycott of that Commission was the one
pre-occupation of the country. In making the announce-
xnjent of the Commission, Lord Irwin had said: "His
Majesty's Government whilst not dictating to the
Commission what procedure it should follow, were of
opinion that its task in taking evidence will be greatly
facilitated if it were to invite a Joint Select Committee
of the Central Legislature chosen from amongst its non-
official members, to convey its views to the Commission
in any manner decided upon by the latter." This
arrangement made the Indian Committee assessors or
appraisers and not Jurors, — a position which was
regarded as an affront to India. But Lord Irwin took
pains to show that it was not true that any deliberate
affront to Indian honour and to Indian pride was meant
by His Majesty's Government. At the same time, he
declared that whether Indian assistance was forthcoming
or not the inquiry would proceed and a report would be
presented to Parliament, on which the latter would take
whatever action it deemed appropriate. It was on the
2nd of February that the Viceroy made this speech and
threw out his challenge. On February 3rd, the Statutory
Commission landed in Bombay. The boycott began by
an All-India hartal observed on the day of their arrival.
The day was otherwise uneventful. In Madras, however,
the attitude of the crowds was considered threatening at
the High Court and in the end, unfortunately and perhaps
THE RENDITION OF THE CONGRESS (1928)
avoidably, the Police opened fire injuring a number of
people of whom one fell dead on the spot and two died
later. In Calcutta also there was a conflict between the
students and the Police. In Delhi, which was the first
place to be visited, the landing of the Commission was
marked by hostile demonstrations with placards and
banners bearing the words, "Go back, Simon." Except for
the South Indian Liberal Federation in South India
(popularly known as the Justice Party) and some Muslim
organisations, it may be said that the boycott was
complete.
The great success of the boycott of the Simon
Commission induced the Government to try methods of
coercion and terrorism. In Lahore a vast gathering of
people headed by Lala La j pat Rai, to demonstrate
against the Commission, was assaulted by policemen and
many respected leaders were treated to baton and lathi
blows. Lalaji was one of the sufferers, and it is believed
that his death was hastened by this cowardly assault.
But in spite of this charge being made openly, an
impartial enquiry was denied by Government.
Lucknow experienced several wanton and unprovoked
Police charges on unarmed and peaceful gatherings on
the occasion of the visit of the Commission. Even
Jawaharlal was not spared by the U.P. Police. Mounted
and foot Police displayed their skill with the baton and
the lathi on the heads and backs of well-known public
workers of all parties and injured scores of people.
Lucknow was converted into an armed camp with
thousands of mounted and foot Police and for four days
there were brutal attacks by the Police. Private houses
were invaded by the Police and respected national
workers were beaten and arrested for daring to call cut,
544 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
''Simon, go back." The citizens of Lucknow, however,
refused to be cowed down by these brutalities and
increased their demonstrations. They even added a touch
of humour to them and set the whole city laughing at
"the discomfiture of the authorities. During a party given
ty some Talukdars to the Simon Commission, the
Kaiserbagh was surrounded by thousands of Police and
none who was suspected of being a boycotter was allowed
to approach even the public roads near the Bagh. In
cpite of these precautions the harmony of the party was
marred by the arrival from the skies of numerous black
kites and balloons bearing the legends "Simon, go back,"
**India for Indians," etc.
In Patna a mammoth gathering of 50,000 people
gathered to make a hostile demonstration against the
Commission on its arrival to the city, while there were
lut a few hundred people who waited to give a welcome,
composed mostly of Chaprasis and Government servants.
Lorries of tenants whom Government had imported from
the neighbourhood walked into the boycott camp, and
Dot the welconue camp. The spectacle presented at the
"Railway Station, of monster crowds without a trace of
violence, and the study in contrast presented by the two
was an eye-opener to Government.
The Madras Congress, in pursuance of the boycott
of the Simon Commission, had restricted the work inside
the Legislative Councils to a minimum. Difficulties,
however, were experienced in carrying out this direction
and it was regretted that it was more honoured in the
breach than in the observance. Ultimately, the Working
Committee recommended to the AJ.C.C. to give greater
freedom to members of the Assembly and the Provincial
Councils. The AJ.C.C. accepted the recommendation of
the Working Committee.
THE RENDITION OF THE CONGRESS (1028) 545
The Commission left Bombay on the 31st March
after establishing, as Sir John Simon said, "personal
contact with all communities and classes in various ,
parts of India." Of course, this was a piece of
what people call 'terminological inexactitude/ forr
the official report itself admits that the leaders*
of the Assembly were "pledged to the boycott
of the Commission not only officially but also to
the length of boycotting it socially," and, therefore-,
Sir John and his colleagues were unable to come in
contact with them.
Soon after the arrival of the Commission in India,
Sir John addressed a letter to the Viceroy dated 6th
February, and published on the 7th, proposing that the
Commission would take the form of a Joint Free
Conference between the English seven and an Indian
seven, — to be chosen by the Central Legislature. All
materials would be available to the whole Conference, the
Indians sitting on it on free and equal terms.
The Provincial Councils were also to be asked to
constitute a similar body. The Indian part of the
Conference would consist, when the central subjects were
being discussed, of the Joint Committee of the Central
Legislature and when provincial subjects were discussed,
of the Committee of Provincial Council concerned. The
British Commissioners were, however, to send up their
report separately to His Majesty's Government, and the
Joint Committee to the Central Legislature. This
announcement evoked no response. Within two or three
hours of its issue, the political leaders met at Delhi anil
declared that their objection to the Commission remained
unaffected and that they could not have anything to do
with the Commission, at any stage or in any form. The
Assembly did not care to elect their representatives to
54* THE HISTORY OF TH* OONQRB88
the Central Committee. Lala Lajpat Rai moved a
resolution on February 16th in the Assembly, "that the
constitution and scheme of the Commission were wholly
unacceptable to the Assembly which should have nothing
to do with it, at any stage or in any form." Pandit
Motilal Nehru declared that "the resolution was not
negative but was a positive assertion that an equal
number of Indians must be appointed to the Commission
by His Majesty the King before Indians would co-
operate." The resolution was carried by 68 to 62 votes.
The Government had, therefore, to nominate members
from the Assembly to the Central Committee. It may
be mentioned here that when the Commission visited
Bombay, not one of the 22 belted knights of the city
cared to meet the Commission.
This was a fact which was more eloquent of the
spirit of boycott in the country than either the votes of
councils or the co-operation of communities. Incidentally,
let us note that, while the Simon Commission was
engaged in its own legitimate labours, the shrewder
members of it who were more interested in trade than
in politics were busy with a study of the Indian market.
Punjab, thought Lord Burnhaxn, offered the best
possibilities of Indo-British trade. Then Lord Burnham
emphasized the scope for export into India of British
cars, tractors and lorries. "The Indian market must be
studied in India not only by the agent," said he, "but by
the principals who should examine the problem in the
broad light of national predilections and prejudices."
The running events of the year 1928 are the marches
of the Simon Commission, the sittings of the All-Parties'
Conference and the movement in Bardoli. In accordance
with the resolution of the Congress, an All-Parties9
Conference was summoned at Delhi in February and
THE RENDITION Of THE CONGRESS (1928) 5*7
March, 1028, and it was agreed between the Congress and
other organizations present that the question of a Consti-
tution for India should be discussed on, the basis of "Full
Responsible Government." The second question was the
question of communal relations and proportions.
Altogether 25 sittings had been held in those two months
and three-fourths of the issues were settled amicably.
The third Conference of the year met on the 19th of
May, Dr. Ansari presiding, and a resolution was passed
appointing a Committee with Pandit Motilal Nehru as
President, to draft the principles of a Constitution before
the 1st July, Id28, the draft to be circulated amongst
the various associations in the country. 29 political
organizations voted in favour of the resolution. We shall
revert to it later.
In the middle of June, three events occurred which
must arrest our attention. The ensuing Congress was to
be held in Calcutta and Pandit Motilal Nehru was freely
talked of as its President. In order to make that easy,
he had also resigned his seat on the Empire Parliamentary
Delegation to which he had been elected in the March
previous by the Legislative Assembly as one of the four
representatives. The Pandit put down his resignation
to political developments. Gandhi himself said: "Bengal
wants the elder Nehru. He is a man for honourable
compromise. The country is in need of it and is in the
mood for it. Therefore have him." The second event was
the controversy in Calcutta over the character of the
exhibition to be held in connection with the Congress.
Mr. N. R. Sircar, the Secretary of the Exhibition
Committee, stated that the exhibition would be
open to all articles manufactured or produced in India,
prominence being given to khaddar. As regards Indian
mill-made cloth, and cloth made from Indian mill-yarn,
the question was for the time being left open. No foreign
THE HISTORY Of THE CONGBESS
goods or articles would be exhibited except tools,
machinery and appliances, such as were calculated to
help the development of our national resources. Swadeshi
goods made by the provincial Departments of Industries
would be permitted. No pecuniary help would be taken
from Government. This raised a hue and cry from
orthodox Non-co-operators like Babu Satish Chandra
Das-Gupta of 'Khadi Pratishtan,' (Sodepur, Calcutta),.
and his spirited brother Khitish Babu. It was fortunate
that the protests came forth in good time to save the
situation.
The third event was one of abiding interest. Ita
magnitude was only equalled by its magnificence. The
ryots of Bardoli are a splendid lot of citizens. Bardoli
was the Tehsil where Gandhi wanted to experiment Mass
Civil Disobedience. That was, after two or three post-
ponements., ultimately given up in February, 1922, and
the Bardoli resolutions of the Working Coirimittee of
February llth and 12th have associated the name of the
place with the withdrawal of the struggle, not always
appreciated. But that stigma, if stigma it was, was
destined to be wiped out. Bardoli was to have one of
the periodical re-settlements of land which occurs once
in a stated period of years, say 20 or 30, and the result
of which is generally to raise Land Revenue by about 25
per cent. The people of Bardoli felt that they did not
deserve any enhancement, as any larger or better
produce they had from their land was due to the improve-
ments they had effected at great cost of money and
labour. They did not say that the taxes should not be
raised, but only prayed that an impartial Committee
should be appointed to investigate the conditions of the
labour, roads, prices, economic outlook and taxation, to
see whether an enhancement was to be effected, and if so
how much. The usual procedure of Government is-
THE RENDITION OF THE CONGRESS (1928) 5*5*
arbitrary, secret and one-sided. They do not take the
public into confidence when they conduct economic
enquiries. They do not publish the preliminary reports
of the settlement officers to the Board of Revenue! or
the latter's recommendations to Government, and if at alt
anything is published, the publication is in English and
not the provincial languages of the area concerned. la
this particular case, the Bardoli ryots were to pay an
enhanced revenue of 25 per cent. All the customary and
constitutional methods for any inquiry were tried but in
vain. Then an ultimatum was issued and a No-tax
campaign was organised, — not for Swaraj, nor as part of a
Civil Disobedience campaign, — but for the purpose of
obtaining redress of an agrarian grievance. Government
were adamant, so were the people.
Congress did not interfere in the earlier stages. The
people had resolved not to pay taxes at their Taluka
Conference and invited Vallabhbhai J. Patel to help-
them, — virtually to lead them. It was then that he
organised the campaign, — not 'in anger, not with any
impetuosity or impulsiveness, but reluctantly, with
premeditation, and with grave and solid deliberation.
Government embarked upon their attachments of cattle
and began with a Vaisya who, they thought, would be
timid. The man was unbending. Then they pitched
upon a Muslim, but he was equally unrelenting. Neither
threats nor efforts to divide the communities succeeded.
So there was a promiscuous campaign of attachments
helped by imported Pathans. The employment of
Pathans was uncalled for. People did not resist
attachments, and Government had enough of man-power
under them and had no need to import men of a furious
temper and habits who, once they are employed, could
not be restrained. It was complained that there were 40
of these. Sir Leslie Wilson, the Governor, stated tbejr
85
550 THE HISTORY 6f$?HE OOKGBB8S
were only 25. It was not a question of numbers, but it
was a question of the Pathane.
Pathans to the right of them
Pathans to the left of them
Pathans to the front of them
Police at the tail of them
Marched the Buffalo Brigade.
That was how boys were singing the events of the
day at public meetings. Very soon, some of the elected
members of the Legislative Council of the Bombay
Presidency resigned their seats in protest and took
interest in the campaign.
•
Vittalbhai J. Patel — the President of the Assembly —
wrote a letter to the Viceroy threatening to resign and
take up the work if Government did not relent. At last,
a formula was evolved by which the excess assessment
was deposited by an intermediary. Prisoners were to be
released, property was to be restored, and the movement
was to be called off. A Court was established of which
Mr. Bloomfield, who had convicted Gandhi in 1922, was
the Judicial representative, the other being an Executive
Officer, Mr. Maxwell. The Court went into the matter
and declared that not more than 6% per cent, should be
the measure of enhancement. This was agreed to in
August, and the benefit of it was extended to Chorasai
Tehsil which had not joined the movement and had paid
the enhanced taxes, and whose good example had been
commended by Government to Bardoli saying, "If
Chorasai can pay why not Bardoli?" Bardoli did not
pay, and its fight benefited Chorasai as well in the end.
It may be of interest to note that in a speech
delivered at Poona in the Legislative Council, the
Governor ot Bombay declared that all the resources of the
THE RENDITION OF THE CONGRESS (1928) 551
lEmpire would be used to crush the No-tax campaign of
JBardoli. Shortly after, the settlement took place. There
was really no provision anywhere in the law or in the
Land Revenue Code, for the appointment of the kind of
•Court which was constituted. It rnubt be noted that
.although they recommended the increment by only
•B1^ per cent, yet when the several factors which were
•urged by the ryots and which the Court expressed itself
as not competent to go into at the time, were given due
^consideration, there was virtually no enhancement of Land
Revenue in the Bardoli Tehsil, and at the end of the
-.settlement it .stood at its former level. The credit of the
•settlement lay in the restoration of the sold out lands to
.their owners, and the Patels and the Talatis to their jobs.
Once again the All-Parties' Conference met at
X-ucknow on the 28th, 29th and 30th of August, 1928, to
•consider the Report of the Nehru Committee.
'Congratulations were offered to the Nehru Committee on
'its labours, and without restricting the liberty of action
•of those political parties, whose goal is Complete Indepen-
dence, the Conference declared in favour of Dominion
Self-Government. Those for Complete Independence,
:and not for Dominion Status, issued a statement
-which was read out at the Conference and which
made it clear that the Constitution of India should
<only be based on Complete Independence. The signatories
^wanted to take full advantage of the Preamble which gave
freedom to those who would plump for Complete
Independence. They had decided accordingly not to
.-support the resolution, but not to obstruct the work of the
Conference either. They would accordingly dissociate
themselves from the resolution and abstain from taking
•part in the discussion or moving amendments to it. Other
questions dealt with related to Sindh, redistribution of
Provinces, and joint electorates. There was some agitation
552 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
over a remark let fall by Jawaharlal saying that the
gentlemen on the platform (referring to the Talukdars like
the Maharajah of Mahmudabad and Raja Rampal Singh y
were unnecessary men in society. The result of the
remark which was deeply resented by those against whom:
it was directed, was that a resolution was passed the next
day that "All titles to private and personal property
lawfully acquired and enjoyed at the establishment of the
Commonwealth are hereby guaranteed."
Amongst those present at Lucknow were, besides the
two amiable Zamindars referred to, Dr. Sapru, Sir Alii
Imam, Sir C. Sankaran Nair, Mr. Sachchidananda Sinha1,
Sir. C. P. Ramaswanii, — all ex-Members of the CentraP
or Provincial Executive Councils. It must be owned that
the Lucknow scheme contemplated Dyarchy in Military
matters. The portion of the scheme relating to Defence
is embodied in clauses 75 to 78 of Chapter VII and also-
in the last two paragraphs of Chapter VI. "The
Governor-General-in-Council shall appoint a Committee
of Defence consisting of the Prime-Minister, the Minister
for Defence, the Commander-in-chief, the Commanders of
Air forces and Naval forces, the Chief of the GeneraP
Staff and two other experts. This Committee shall advise
the Government and the various departments concerned'
with questions of Defence and upon general questions of
policy. The estimates shall be framed according to the-
recommendations of the Committee."
Again, ."No measure affecting the discipline or
maintenance of any part of the Military, Naval and Air
forces of the Commonwealth shall be introduced in Parlia-
ment except on the recommendation of the Committee of
Defence Appointed under the Constitution." The
functions of the Committee which has a clear official
majority are -to control expenditure and estimates as welt
THE RENDITION OF THE CONGRESS (1928) 553
aas measures. What else is this but Dyarchy at the
Centre? Now let us complete this etory of the All-
Parties' Conference. Its Report was taken up by the
All-India Congress Committee at its sitting in Delhi m
•the 1st week of November, (4th and 5th) . It reiterated
Ihe goal of Complete Independence, endorsed th%
>communal solution of the Nehru Committee, and gave the
•opinion that the proposals of the Nehru Committee were
~"& great step towards political advance," and generally
.approved them, without committing itself to every detail.
Let us now turn to the Council front. We had really
•.a Council front, where the cult of resistance was gradually
melting away, and a 'Simon' front where boycott was
getting stronger and stronger. In the Assembly, a
^controversy was raging regarding the organization of the
President's Office and its separation from the Legislative
Department of the Government. Evidently, some respon-
sible members were talking at random in the lobbies about
the President. The Pioneer had brought forward a charge
"that the Home Department of the Government of Simla
-was openly abetting a plot to disparage the work and
decisions of President Patel. Leaders of Parties
strengthened those charges by bearing personal testimony
•to having heard the charges themselves in the lobbies.
Disrespect shown to the President is disrespect to Parlia-
ment, by tradition, and therefore Lord Irwin, when the
matter was brought to his notice, had no hesitation in
making the Government of India tender an apology to the
people of India. The Home Member tendered the apology
*nd Pandit Motilal Nehru accepted it.
The other big items on the agenda of the Assembly
-were the Reserve Bank Bill, and the Public Safety Bill.
The Gold Standard and Reserve Bank of India Bill battle
one of the biggest but fruitless battles fought by the
554 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Congress against Government. It was the Government's-
contention that that Bill, intended as it was to constitute
another step towards autonomy in India's progress, and.
shifting as it would do the control of the currency policy
from the Secretary of State to an indigenous banking,
institution in the country, would really be a sort of
financial and currency counterpart to the Government of
India Act, 1919. It was difficult to believe in the purity
of motive from this high constitutional standpoint. A
Government of India which had done havoc in working
the scheme of Dyarchy, such as it was, would not
suo moto divest themselves of control over currency and'
Banking. So the people's representatives smelt something
adverse to public interests in it. When the combatants
came to grips with the problem, the issues came to be*
centred round several questions, — the chief of which was
whether the Bank should be a shareholders' bank as
Government desired, or a State Bank as the people-
suggested. Then the next issue was what was to be the-
electorate for the Directorate and how many of the
Directors were to be nominated and how many elected and1
how? Once the structure of the Bank was settled, the
rest of the development would naturally follow. If it was
a shareholders' Bank, these would constitute the electo-
rate, but if it was a State Bank, then semi-public Institu-
tions would elect the Directors such as the Federated*
Chambers, Associated Chambers, Provincial Co-operative-
Banks and the Central and Provincial Legislatures. We
need not go into figures of representation. But let us
only say that Government had offered at first 9 elected'
Directors out of sixteen. To-day the Reserve Bank Act
provides for 8 only out of 16, — the same coming to be'
elected in four years. Various were the transformations*
that the Bill had undergone from stage to stage. At last,
on the motion of Mr. Srinivasa lyengar, Government-
agreed to have & stockholders' Bank—the maximum stock
THE RENDITION OF THE CONGRESS (1928) 555
that could be held by any one being Rs. 10,000, and each
stock-holder having but one vote irrespective of the stock
he held. It looked as though everything was well. When
almost every one was satisfied, Government felt apprehen-
sive of the result, and in view of the divergence in certain
important particulars, decided not to proceed any further
but bring forward a new Bill. But the President would
not allow its introduction, on a principle laid down by the
Speaker of the House of Commons that, when essential
alterations were to be made in any Bill which had come
before the House, the proper course was to ask leave to
withdraw the original Bill and re-submit it as altered. In
the circumstances, the Government decided to proceed
with the old Bill, but lost an important clause in a snap
division, as it was said. So it was decided to adjourn the
Bill sine die.
The Public Safety Bill was another measure whicb
had occasioned acute controversy and provoked the
hostility of the Congress Party. Though ostensibly it
was directed against Foreigners, yet, no doubt was left in
the minds of the people that it would be used against
Indians, as was the case with the D. O. R. A. of India.
Speaking in the Assembly on the Bill, Lala Lajpat Rai
said:
"I will break no bones by stating to this House
that this is not a measure really intended against
foreign Communists only. It is only the thin end of
the wedge. It is really directed against the Indians
themselves, Nationalists as well as Labourites. The
foreign Communist will go away, will be turned out
at the cost of the Indian tax-payer, and will be taken
to the British Isles or anywhere else, being comfortably
berthed in the P. and O. steamer, but if this House
- accepts the principle of this Bill, and accepter
Clause 2, that acceptance could at any time be
utilized for the purpose of prosecuting Nationalists
556 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
and others who want Indian economic and political '
-. freedom. This is really the motive behind this legis- ;
lation. The clause is wide. It is not Communist
action that is proposed to be punished or dealt with.
. It is the advocacy, directly or indirectly, of the
•doctrine stated in the cla/use. The words are 'directly
or indirectly advocates the overthrow by force or
violence the Government established by Law in
British India.' Messrs. Jawaharlal and Srinivasa
lyengar who advocate Complete Independence come
under the Law".
The Bill was voted upon and there was a tie. The
President voted against and it was dropped.
The Calcutta Congress was one of the important
sessions of the National gathering, in that it was destined
to show the way to future progress. It was this
importance that led to the election of Pandit Motilal
.Nehru as the President. There was the additional
circumstance of a full Convention of the All-Parties1
Conference being tacked on to the Congress. The Simon
•Commission's second visit to India had taken place and
the Commission was actually touring the country while
the Congress was sitting. Pandit Motilal Nehru's
.Address gives some details of the intensity of the boycott
of the Commission particularly at Cawnpore, Lahore and
Lucknow, and the reaction it had on the Anglo-Indian
mind and outlook. English newspapers of Calcutta were
suggesting "twenty years of resolute Government," and
threatening a resistance of the Indian demand for freedom
to the "last ounce of ammunition." Lord Irwin himself
•declared that it was the plain duty of the Government to
take whatever steps it deemed necessary to prevent the
recurrence of these discreditable incidents. But what did
Government do in their own turn? Motilalji asked
fcow any Englishman would like his house to be
broken into, his guests treated to a sound thrashing and
THE RENDITION OF THE CONGRESS (1928) 55?
"then arrested and imprisoned for the night for making a
.peaceful demonstration from his own terrace. It was a
.fact that the Maharajah of Mahmudabad and his palace
^ere surrounded with a cordon of Police while the
^Commission was being entertained in a neighbouring park.
When the Commission was touring Lahore, m<en like
Dr. Alam and Dr. Satyapal, under the leadership of
Lala Lajpat Rai, conducted processions against the
Commission. Lajpat Rai was beaten on the chest and hardly
.recovered from the effects of the injuries. Shortly after,
he passed away. Panditji declared in emphatic terms
that our destination is freedom, the form and extent of
which would depend upon the time when, and the
circumstances under which, it came. Then he dwelt upon
the All-Parties' Conference and asserted that Government
.must "begin at the point at which the All-Parties'
Conference have now arrived and push forward with
them as far as they would go." Panditji continued: "Let
us then pause and take stock of our equipment
and finally throw the strength of our whole being
into one great effort to reach the goal."
.A special feature of. the Calcutta Congress (1928)
•was the large number of messages of sympathy
and congratulations from individuals and institutions
^abroad, ranging from Mrs. Sarojini Naidu in New York,
Mrs. Sun Yat Sen and M. Remain Rolland, to the
-Persian Socialist Party, the Coimnunist Party of
New Zealand, and the League of the Rights of Man.
The resolutions dealt with were of the usual type,
-•except that an ultimatum was given to the Government,
, in regard to the destiny of India. The greetings of the
:friends in foreign countries were heartily reciprocated, and
4he A.I.C.C. was called upon to establish a contact by
opening a Foreign Department in this behalf. A pan*
Asiatic Federation was contemplated. Congratulations
558 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
were sent to China on having attained full freedom and!
greetings to Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Iraq. The
second World Congress of the League against Imperialism,
was welcomed. The Madras resolution against war-
danger was reiterated. British goods were asked to be
boycotted.
Congratulations were offered to Mr. Vallabhbhai
Patel on the success of the Bardoli struggle. Congressmen,
were asked to abstain from attending Government parties, .
Darbars, and all other official and non-official functions
held by Government officials, or in their honour. There
was a demand put forward for Responsible Government
in the Indian States. The Calcutta resolution on the
question of Indian States has since become classical, and the •
volume of agitation that has grown in the country has
largely centred round it. Accordingly we quote it in full:
"XVII. The Congress urges (on) the Ruling
Princes of the Indian States to introduce Responsible
Government based on representative institutions in
* the States, and to issue immediately Proclamations
or enact Laws guaranteeing elementary and funda-
mental rights of citizenship, such as rights of associa-
tion, free speech, free Press and security of person
and property."
The Congress once again passed a resolution expressing
sympathy with the ex-Maharajah of Nabha and also with ,
the families of five Bengalis who died in incarceration.
Certain Police raids and searches in Lahore were •
condemned. A tribute was paid to the memory of Lala
Lajpat Rai, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Andhra Ratna Gopala.
Krishnayya, Maganlal Gandhi, Gopabandhu Das and!
Lord Sinha. Regarding the ultimatum referred to already, .
the Congress passed the following resolution: —
THE RENDITION OF THE CONGRESS (1828) 559*
"This Congress having considered the Constitu-
tion recommended by the All-Parties' Committee
Report welcomes it as a great contribution towards
the solution of India's political and communal
problems and congratulates the Committee on the-
virtual unanimity of its recommendations, and,
whilst adhering to the resolution relating to Complete
Independence passed at the Madras Congress,
approves of the Constitution drawn up by the
Committee as a great step in political advance,,
specially as it represents the largest measure of agree-
ment attained among the important parties in the-
country.
"Subject to the exigencies of the political
situation, this Congress will adopt the Constitution if
it is accepted in its entirety by the British Parlia-
ment on or before the 31st December, 1929, but in the
event of its non-acceptance by the date or its earlier
rejection, the Congress will organise a campaign of
non-violent Non-co-operation by advising the
country to refuse taxation and in such other manner
as may be decided upon.
"Consistently with the above, nothing in this
resolution shall interfere with the carrying on in the
name of the Congress of the propaganda for Complete
Independence."
This was the form in which the main resolution of
the session was passed. But it had a sad and contro-
versial history behind it. The resolution as it was-
originally introduced by Gandhi in the Subjects
Committee stood thus: —
"This Congress having considered the Constitu-
tion recommended by the All-Parties' Committee
Report welcomes it as a great contribution towards
the solution of India's political and communal
problems and congratulates the Committee on the
virtual unanimity of its recommendations, and,
whilst adhering to the resolution relating to Complete
Independence passed at the Madras Congress, adopts
the Constitution drawn up by the Committee as m
-560 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGEES8
great step in political advance, specially as it
represents the largest measure of agreement attained
among the important parties in the country.
"Provided however that the Congress shall not be
bound by the Constitution if it is not accepted on or
before the 31st December, 1930, and provided further
that in the event of non-acceptance by the British
Parliament of the Constitution by that date, the
Congress will revive non- violent Non-co-operation by
advising the country to refuse taxation and every aid
to Government.
"The President is hereby authorised to send the
text of this resolution together with a copy of the
said Report to His Excellency the Viceroy for such
action as he may be pleased to take.
"Nothing in the resolution shall interfere with the
propaganda for familiarising the people with the goal
of Independence, in so far as it does not conflict with
the prosecution of the campaign for the adoption of
the said Report."
To this, amendments were moved by Jawaharlal
'Nehru and Subash Chandra Bose of an identical nature.
'Their aim was to put no time-limit, nor, even by implica-
tion, to accept for India Dominion Status as contemplated
in the Constitution drawn up by the All-Parties'
•Conference. Pandit JawaharlaPs amendment ran thus: —
"i. This Congress adheres to the decision of the
Madras Congress declaring Complete Independence
to be the goal of the Indian people and is of opinion
that there can be no true freedom till the British
connection is severed.
"ii. The Congress accepts the recommendations
of the Nehru Committee as agreed to by the Lucknow
All-Parties' Conference for the settlement of com-
munal differences.
"iii. The Congress cordially congratulates the
'Nehru Committee for their labours, patriotism and
foresightedneas, and, without prejudice to the resolu-
tion of the Congress relating to Complete Indepen-
dence, is of opinion that the recommendations of the
THE RENDITION OF THE CONGHESS (1928) 56D
Nehru Committee are a great step towards political
advance, and without committing itself to every
detail, generally approves of them."
Gandhi, who was the sponsor of the resolution,,
deprecated the omission of the clause, "the President •
is hereby authorised to send the text of this resolution:
together with a copy of the said Report to His Excellency
the Viceroy for such action as he may be pleased to take."
Gandhi held that the sending of the resolution to the-
Viceroy was only an act of necessary courtesy, and if
we were not suffering from a needless superiority complex .
and a sense of diffidence, we would not insist upon this -
clause being dropped. On the rest of the resolution, after •
a great deal of discussion a compromise was arrived at
between the members of the Independence League and!
others in the Subjects Committee. This compromise was
however not respected in the open Congress where an
amendment was moved by Subash Chandra Bose and i
seconded by Jawaharlal, — and both of them parties to the •
compromise. The repudiation of a solemn promise deeply
hurt Gandhi and others. Gandhi gave expression to his •
feelings in very strong terms, when he moved the com--
promise resolution in the open session which was carried?
by a majority.
"You may take the name of Independence on
your, lips, as the Muslims utter the name of Allah
or the pious Hindu utters the name of Krishna or
Ram, but all that muttering will be an empty formula
if there is no honour behind it. If. you are not
prepared to stand by your own words, where will
Independence be? Independence is a 'thing, after all,
made of sterner stuff. It is not m£de by the juggling
of words."
The Congress also laid down the future programme -
in the following Resolution:—
:Stt THE HI8TOBT OF THB CONGRESS
"XIV. Meanwhile the Congress shall engage in
the following activities: —
(1) In the Legislatures and outeide, every
.attempt will be made to bring ,about total prohibition
-of intoxicating drugs and drinks; picketing of liquor
and drug shops shall be organised wherever desirable
and possible;
(2) Inside and outside the Legislatures, methods
suited to respective environments shall be imme-
diately adopted to bring about boycott of foreign
• cloth by advocating and stimulating production and
.adoption of hand-spun and hand-woven khaddar;
(3) Specific grievances wherever discovered and
-where people are ready shall be sought to be
redressed by non-violent action as was done recently
.at Bardoli;
(4) Members of Legislatures returned on the
f Congress ticket shall devote the bulk of their time
to the constructive work settled from time to time
by the Congress Committee;
(5) The Congress organisation shall be
perfected by enlisting members and enforcing stricter
« discipline;
(6) Measures shall be taken to remove the
-disabilities of women and they will be invited and
• encouraged to take their due share in national up-
building;
(7) Measures shall be taken to rid the country
• of social abuses;
(8) It will be the duty of all Congressmen,
being Hindus, to do all they can to remove untoucha-
bility and help the so-called untouchables in every
possible way in their attempt to remove their dis-
abilities and better their condition;
(9) Volunteers shall be enlisted to take up
•work among the city labourers and village recon-
struction, in addition to what is being done through
the spinning wheel and khaddar;
(10) Such other work as may be deemed
•advisable in order to advance nation-building in all
'its departments and in order to enable the Congress
-to secure the co-operation in the national effort of the
•people engaged in different pursuits.
THE BENDITION OF THE CONGRESS (1028) 563
In order to finance the activities mentioned in
the foregoing programme, the Congress expects every
Congressman to contribute to the Congress coffers a
certain percentage of his or her income according to
his or her ability."
Amongst the more important resolutions of Calcutta
•was one "condemning the action of Government in
.arresting and deporting without trial of Mr. W. J.
Johnstonc, the fraternal delegate to the Congress from
the League Against Imperialism, and considers this as
i a deliberate attempt to prevent Congress from developing
international contacts."
The Calcutta Session will be remembered for a
demonstration in which the labourers numbering over
.£0,000 men from neighbouring mill areas marched in an
•orderly fashion and saluted the National Flag hoisted in
the Congress grounds, occupied the Panda! for nearly two
ioiirs, and passed their resolution deciding for Indepen-
dence for India and then walked out.
An outstanding feature of the year was the rise of
the Youth movement in the country. Youth Leagues and
students' organisations had been formed all over the
-country and were specially strong in Bombay and Bengal.
Delegates were sent by some of these organisations to the
"World Youth Congress held at Eerde in Holland in the
previous August. Young men had also taken a very
prominent part in the Simon Boycott demonstrations. In
Lucknow they were the chief sufferers from police lathis
.and baton blows.
The Working Committee earlier in the yew had
•decided to appoint research scholars to cany on research
^ork on behalf of the Congress. This was an important
decision whieh should have been of great help in bringing
564 THE HISTORY OF THE CO9GBBSS
together useful information on public questions and afc
the same time in training competent young men for
national service. But research work could only be done
properly in a permanent office with a good library attached
to it and in an atmosphere free from political excitement.
The Hindustani Seva Dal had started a physical
culture institution at Bagalkot in the Karnatak. They
had held several training camps in various parts of the
country and they had added to their reputation for
doing rough work.
We must now tell the reader how Gandhi was drawn
to Calcutta from his comparative retirement. It may
be remembered that he was imprisoned soon after the
Ahmedabad Congress in March, 1922, and was absent front
the Congress at Gaya, 1922, the Special Session at Delhi
(September, 1923,) and the Annual Session at Cocanada,
1923. He was released on the 5th of February, 1924 and'
presided over the Belgaum Congress. He attended the
Cawnpore Congress only to ratify the Patna decisions of
partition, or partnership, — whatever you may call it, —
with the Swaraj Party. Then he took a vow of a year's
political silence which he broke at Gauhati. At Gauhati
his participation in the Congress deliberations was-
active. But in Madras he was absolutely unconcerned'
and did not even attend the sittings of the Subjects
Committee. It was doubtful whether he would have
taken any interest in the Calcutta Session. For some
years previously he had been spending a month at the*
Wardha Ashram on the eve of the annual sessions of the
Congress. This year too when the Calcutta Session was
about to meet in December, 1928, he was at Wardha, and
Pandit Motilal Nehru, who was given a grand reception4
in. a carriage drawn by 36 horses, found himself in the-
midst of a somewhat intricate situation. Hie protestant*
THE RENDITION OF THE CONGfcESS (1028) S<5>
who had signed a letter at Lucknow
Conference) advocating Independence as against the-
Dominion Status on which the Conference had framed a
Constitution were there, (Jawaharlal being one of them)
having formed an Independence League. The Bengal
friends had a league of their own. Subash Chandra Bone
was at its head.
A word now requires to be said about the
All-Parties' Conference itself. It became a sad failure;
except the Muslims, the other minorities, one after
another, deprecated communal representation. On the
ether hand, Mr. Jinnah who had just come from England
and who had, ever since he arrived, been falling foul of
the Nehru Report, began to oppose it. Some Muslims-
had even earlier evinced hostility to it.
From the supplementary Report of the Committee
of the All-Parties' Conference, we learn that the Report
published by the Conference had been subject to various*
kinds of criticisms. Says the supplementary Report: —
"The ranks of our critics have been joined
recently, we regret to say, by the Aga Khan. He
tells us that the British people could never honour-
ably agree to leave an armed force, or even civil
administrators, in a country for the good govern-
ment of which it was no longer responsible ... if the
British did this in a fit of madness, of which there
has been no parallel in history, they would go down
not only in the estimation of the whole world, but
. in history for all time, for supplying armed force to
a country wherein their responsibility had come to
an end, to be administered at the beck and call
of other people."
The Aga Khan advocated independence for
Indian Province and said, that the position of
36
S06 Tte HISTORY OF THE CONGKBSS
must be akin to that of Bavaria in the former
•German Confederation,— rather than that of an American
State or * Swiss Canton. The Committee combated
botb these positions in their supplementary Report. At
1h» Convention itself in Calcutta, Mahomed Ali moved a
number of amendments which, however, were rejected.
Jinnah summarily adjourned the Muslim League for
want ,of a quorum. The All-Parties' Convention was
really lying in Calcutta on its sick bed, one might say,
its death bed. The longer it lived, the more numerous
became the demands of the poor relations that gathered
round it. Like the calf at Sab anna ti, it could not live
but would not die. It was therefore necessary to
smoothen its way to heaven. Who else could have the
courage to do this last act of service to the dying friend
than Gandhi? His shoulders are broad enough to bear
the obloquy of doing to death the Convention. He
moved that the Convention do adjourn sine die and the
motion was passed. At this time the Congress was
definitely coming back to Gandhi; but it came back
burdened with its own new loads. Gandhi was yet to see
what the Congress Party in the Council would do to
shake itself off from the charm of the Councils. Already
the AI.C.C. had passed in Delhi, in October, 1928, the
following resolution on Councils: —
"The Committee notes with regret that various
Congress Council Parties havei not been following
the instructions contained in the Madras Congress
resolution on Council work. While giving therefore
greater latitude to the Congress Parties in view
,pf the difficult situation, the Committee hopes that
the spirit of the Congress resolution would be
adhered to."
contradictory positions were delineated there.
§Srtt a condemnation, then a condonation, nm the urge
THE -'KENDITION OF THE CONGRESS (1028) 567
. for a certain latitude, and finally the demand " for not
.abandoning the longitude.
Gandhi having gone to Calcutta, remained there to
take active part hi the Congress deliberations, shaped
the resolution of the session and sponsored it. The
.political situation was very dark at the time. The
rumour of the impending prosecutions of the advocates
of Independence, the provoking speech of the Viceroy
in Calcutta, the conviction of the Editor of Forward, and
the orgy of prosecutions in Madras, made a deep
impression upon hi& mind. Disquieting as all these
happenings were, Gandhi was greatly disturbed by all
that lie had seen in Calcutta, — a compromise deliberately
•entered into and the breaking of it first by Bengal, then
by U.P., and finally by Madras. As against these two
sets of conditions, he had an invitation from Europe and,
circumstances permitting, he had hilly intended to
undertake the European tour early in 3929. Strangely,
•enough, he had Pandit Motilal Nehru's permission for it.
But after the most careful consideration, and consulta-
tion with friends, he had come to the conclusion that
circumstances compelled him. to give up the tour, for that
year at any rate. "I dare not think of next year," wrote
he. "A Danish friend writes to me sayng that I could
usefully go to Europe only as a representative of Free
India. I feel the truth of the remark." Gandhi
"instinctively came to the right decision and wrote:
"I have no voice from within prompting me to
go. On the contrary, having put a constructive
resolution before the Congress and having received
universal support, I feel that I will be guilty of
desertion if I now went away to Europe. It may be
that those who voted for the resolution nevjer meant
to carry it out. It may be that I shall have nothing
Tto do during the year in respect of the programme,
568 THE 818*9087 OF THE CONGRB8*
but I feel that it is not for me to reason tfius. If
must not loee faith in the workers. A voice from-
within tells me that I must not only hold myself in
readiness to do what comes my way, but I must even
think out and suggest means for working out what, to
me, is a great programme. Above all, I must prepare
myself for the .next year's struggle whatever shape it
, may take."
This was uttered in the 1st week of February, 1929.*
We shall presently see what remained in store for the?
country in February, 1930.
Sir Henry Cotton
1904: Bombay
G. K. Gokhale
1905 : Benares
Rash Beh an Ghose
1907 • Surat
1908 : Madras
Madan Mohan Malaviya
1909: Lahore
1918 : Delhi
Part IV
SYNOPSIS
CHAPTER I
THE PREPARATION (1929)
Early situation — Public Safety Bill re-introduced —
^Auxiliary Committees — Legislative Front — President
PateVs Statement — Working Committee's resolution —
Jteports of Sub-Committee of Volunteers — Foreign doth
— Prohibition — Untouchability — Congress organization-*-*
Jtepression — Gandhi's Burma tour — A. I. C.'C. meets m
£ombay — Working Committee's instructions — Rs. 1,600
voted in aid of the Meerut prisoners on their Trial—*
Working Committee meets in Delhi — Adjourned — Advises
•Council Party to resign seats till A. L C. C. meets-—
Congressmvn to pay a quota to Congress — Repression
again — Jatindra Xath Das's hunger-strike — Hunger
-Strikers' Bill — Lahore Congress Presidentship — Th&
.National train — Phongy Wizaya and Jatindas succumb —
A. I. C. C. meets at Lucknow — African situation — Lord
Irun'n's Announcement re: Reforms — Leaders9 Manifesto—
The terms — Gandhi's Reply — Uproar in Parliament —
Change of policy — All-Parties9 Conference — Pandit
Motilal unrelenting — Interview with the Viceroy arranged
for Leaders — Bomb under the Viceregal train^-The inter-
view — Embassy leaves Viceregal lodge empty-handed —
The Lahore Congress — Intense cold — The Congress in a
Cauldron — Issues — Presidential Address — Independence
end the Congress Creed — The main Resolution — Congress
dates altered— Other resolutions — East Africa — The States
— Comwijutial question—Financial Burdens — Gandhi fails
sto carry Decentralization of the three Committee* and
570 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
reduction of delegates — Labour Strikes — Foreign Propa-
ganda-—Foreign Department — Pan-Asiatic Federation —
Labour Research Department — Volunteers — One year's
time, passes — Flag of Complete Independence hoisted —
General observations — The formation of the) new Working'
Committee — Congress Democratic Party formed — A rough
voyage — But a safe haven.
CHAPTER II
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH U930)
The year of action — The key to the situation —
Declaration re: Independence — The Purna Swaraj Day —
The celebrations— Tht object of the London Confer 'encb
•i — Viceroy speaks before the Assembly — Gandhi's reply ~
His eleven points— Textile Industry Bill — Civil Disobe-
dience— -The resignations — Working Committee meets at
Sabarmati-~lU Resolution on C. D. — C. D., how begun —
Fears re: U. D.— Story of Salt — History of Salt Duties —
The Philosophy of the Satyagraha Campaign — Theodore
Parker's, example — Gandhi sees by instinct — Gandhi's
Letter to the Viceroy — Viceroy's reply — Gandhis rejoinder
—Preparation for Gandhi's March — Vallabhbhai's arrest —
The Sabarmati Meeting — The given vow — Some speeches
of VallabJibhai — Dandi March begins — New expressions-^-
Sdtyagrahi's pledfir — "When I am arrested" — Sicarajya
Shavan — Truly a royal gift — Progress o/ Movement — The -
Birth of Puma Swaraj — India's miracles — The March
begins — A.I.U.C. confirms the Satyagraha movement*-*
Gandhi reaches^ Dandi — Gandhi's Statement — What
twwien should do-^Sc&t Satyagraha begun on 6th April-±
Firing 6ft Karachi — Bengal Ordinance — Press Ordinance —
Wavajwaft Freds1 -, to he forfeited-^-Gandhi's second letter
** , the 'Vie^oy^— Certain barbarous acts—rGandhi's arrest'
Message— Sarojini Devi's * 8tdtern,ent~-A\
SYNOPSIS 571
voluntary and complete 'hartal' — World-wide interest in
Gandhi's Arrest — Viceroy prepares for the 1st R. T. C —
Working Committee resolutions — Tyabji . arrested —
Sarojini Devi leads — Effect of Boycott — Salt Raids —
Wadala Raids — Some details — Lathi Charge — An
European eye-icitnew — Slocombe's Despatch — Philosophy
of Non-violence — Power behind the bars — Viceroy tightens
thv screw — Government on treatment of prisoners —
Dr. Bcsant on Gandhi — Movement generalized — Boycott
of foreign cloth — The Working Commitee meets in June —
Urges Boycott of foreign cloth and British goods — Control
of Mills — Mr. Bradford's testimony — Interpellations in
the Assembly — Kholapur — In Peshawar on 23rd April —
On Ganga Singh's family — The Working Committee meets
m July in Bombay — Lokamanya Tilak's Anniversary —
Some members of the W. C. arrested — Also a hundred
ladies — Lathi Charge — And yet more severe lathi charges
— A novel type of Unlawful Assembly — Vallabhbhai and
Gujarat — No-tax campaign in Gujarat — Lathi Charges
all over— Another testimony by Mr. Brailsford — A
strange migration — The Gharwali soldiers — The heroism
of Borsad women — Early peace negotiations — The
Conference in Yerarada fails — The First R. T. C. — The
Premier's Announcement — Privileged Resolution of -the
Working Committee — Cablegram from Sapru and Sastri
— The Viceroy's orders of release of Members of the
Working Committee.
Part IV
CHAPTER I
THE PREPARATION (1929)
Early in 1929, life situation in India was really of
;a trying character. It will be remembered that the
Public Safety Bill introduced in the Assembly in
•September, 1928, was rejected by the casting vote of the
President. The Bill was again introduced in January,
1929, and became the centre of a minor storm. The
Central Committee, composed of four members of the
Council of State elected to it and of five members pf the
Assembly nominated by Government, was touring the
•country along with the Simon Commission. There were
auxiliary committees also at work. The Indian States'
•Committee presided over by Sir Harcourt Butler
presented its Report to Parliament in April, 1929. The
Education Committee under the Chairmanship of
:Sir Philip Hortogg was touring up and down the country
to review the growtH of education in British India and
was to publish its Report in September, 1929. The Simon
•Commission itself concluded its labours in India on the
14th April, 1929. Hardly did they reach England when
the Conservative Government was defeated in the general
election in May, 1929, yielding place to a Labour
Ministry with Mr. MacDonald as Premier and
Mr. Wedgwood Benn as Secretary of State for India.
Lord Irwin had taken four months' leave and gone to
England at the end of June "to devise some means
whereby the constitutional question might be clarified,
and a greater degree of, co-operation obtained from all
sections of Indian political opinion before Parliament
574 THE HISTORV OP THE CONGRESS
was asked to pronounce upon whatever scheme of"
Reforms nvght be laid before it as a result of the
Statutory enquiry."
We shall in due course study the statement of policy
made by him on his return. In the meantime, let us
study the developments on the Legislative front of the
Congress.
The Public Safety Bill which was reintroduced in
January, 1929, was taken up in April, but was disallowed'
by the President on the llth April. On the 2nd of April,,
the President made the following statement: —
"Before I ask the House to resume the debate
on the motion that the Public Safety Bill, as
reported by the Select Committee, be taken into
consideration, I should like to make a few observa-
tions. Since we met last, I have been at pains to
examine the speeches made by the Leader of the
House from time to time on the Public Safety Bill
on the one hand, and the complaint lodged by the
Crown against the 31 persons in the Meerut Court.
As a result of my labours, I have found that the-
fundamental basis of the Public ' Safety Bill is
virtually identical with that of the case against the
31 accused. Honourable members are aware that
the rules of business of this House provide that no
question shall be asked nor any resolution moved in
regard to any matter which is under adjudication by
a<3ourt of Law having jurisdiction in any part of
His Majesty's Dominions. The question therefore
arises, whether it is possible for this House to discuss'
-the motion that the Public Safety Bill be taken into'-
consideration without referring to any of the matters
which are $ub judice in the Meerut trial. I think
there can jbe no two opinions that real debate on the
Bill is ,ncrt possible. Besides, acceptance of the Bill
woiiRf mean practically the acceptance of the funda-
of tto^aae for it, and rejection of'the-
THE PREPARATION (1929) 575 •
Bill would mean the rejection of that basis, and in
either case such a course is bound to effect prejudi-
cially the case for the prosecution or for the defence
in the Meerut trial as the case may be. I do not
see how in these circumstances I can legitimately
allow the Government to proceed further with this
Bill at this stage. I have decided, instead of giving
any Ruling, to advise the Government themselves in
the first instance to consider the observations I have
made and postpone the Bill pending the Meerut trial,
or, if they attach greater importance to the passing
of the Bill at this juncture, to withdraw the Meerut
Case and then proceed with the Bill."
Government expiessed themselves as unable to •
accept either of the two alternative suggestions put
before them and the President finally gave his verdict,
ruling out the motion on the ground that it "involved an
abuse of the forms and procedure of this House." The
next day the Viceroy addressed the two Houses and
declared that it was imperative for Government to
obtain the powers proposed in the Public Safety Bill
without further delay. Accordingly he issued an
Ordinance giving to the Executive the arbitrary power
they needed. Mr. Patel thereupon wrote a letter to the
Viceroy protesting against what he considered to have
been the criticisms passed on his Ruling in the Viceroy's
Address. But the Viceroy's Private Secretary answered
stating that "His Excellency desires m,e to say that it
was no part of his intention either to criticise the Ruling
you had given or pass censure upon you for it, and that
he fully shares your anxiety to maintain the dignity of
the House and the authority of the Chair."
have referred to the Trades Disputes Bill. It
only remains to state that the Bill was ^passed on the 8th •
of April and its passage was rendered memorable by the -
fact that, at the moment when the House was re- •
-r5?6 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
assembling after the division and while the President was
.announcing his intention of proceeding to other business,
two bombs flung from the visitors' gallery burst amongst
"the benches occupied by the official members and some
-persons were slightly injured.
Immediately after the Congress session in Calcutta,
~the Working Committee appointed a number of sub-
committees tq give effect to the Congress programme.
Committees were formed for the boycott of foreign cloth ^
^prohibition, removal of untouchability, Congress organi-
sation, volunteers, and the removal of disabilities of
women. The last named 8iib-committee has apparently
• done no work and has submitted no report.
The Volunteers Sub-Committee made various
recommendations, in particular recommending that the
Hindustani Seva Dal be strengthened and should be fully
> utilized for training volunteers for national work.
The Foreign Cloth Boycott Committee under the
•-chairmanship of Gandhi and with Mr. Jairamdas
Doulatram as its able and effective Secretary, functioned
throughout the year and carried on ceaseless activity in
favour of the boycott. Mr. Jairamdas resigned his
•membership of the Bombay Council in order to devote
'himself wholly to the work of the boycott and fixed the
head-quarters of his committee in Bombay. The
Committee developed direct contacts with Provincial and
pistrict Congress Committees and issued numerous
pamphlets and leaflets. Early in the year, numerous
'bonfires of foreign cloth took place. One of these in
Calcutta resulted in the prosecution by Government of
*<3andhi as already refewed to.
THE PREPARATION (1929) 577:
The Prohibition Committee had been in the charge
of Syt. C. Rajagopalachari, who made the subject of.
prohibition his very own and had brought his great
abilities to bear on the furtherance of this campaign..
Work was carried on largely in South India and in
Gujarat and the results achieved have been considerable*.
The campaign had attracted international attention. The
Madras Government had been induced to allot four lakhs
of rupees for carrying on an official propaganda against
the drink and drug evil. The U.P. Government appeared
likely to take a similar step. Mr. Rajagopalachari/
became the Secretary of the Prohibition League of India
and was editing their quarterly magazine, Prohibition.
The Campaign for the removal of untouchability
wa? in the charge of Syt. Jamnalal Bajaj who had worked
strenuously in its behalf. Public opinion was everywhere
being roused in favour of the removal of the disabilities
of the classes which have for long been suppressed. Many
well-known temples, which would not admit these classes,
were thrown open to them. The Committee has also
succeeded in opening numerous wells and schools to these
suppressed classes. Many Municipalities are co-operating
in this work. The Secretary of the Committee,
Syt. Jamnalal Bajaj, toured extensively in Madras)
Central Provinces, Rajputana, Sindh, Kashmir, Punjab
and the N.-W. Frontier Province.
The effect of the propaganda for the removal of
untouchability was two-fold. The so-called higher castes
have been induced in some measure to give up the
exclusiveness which they had for long jealously kept, and
the suppressed classes have become self-conscious and
assertive of their rights. In some places, where the
demand from the latter for a removal of their disabilities
has not met with an adequate response, friction has
578 THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
arisen and 'Satyagraha' or some kind of Passive
Resistance has been threatened. The tension that
prevailed for some time during the year has eased a
little now. It is clear that untouchability and other
social disabilities which certain classes have suffered from
are doomed and cannot last much longer.
The Committee for Congress re-organisation
submitted its Report early in the year. In view of the
action contemplated next year, great importance was
attached to the question of organisation and the subject
was fully considered by the Working Committee and the
A.I.C.C.
Before we continue the story of Legislative activity
in the September session, we must describe one or two
events connected with Gandhi. Gandhi was making a
tour in India and passed Calcutta on his way to Burma.
There a bonfire of foreign cloth took place and in that
connection he was charged in the second week of March,
1929, with committing nuisance, in that he chose to
disobey or abetted disobeying an order designed to
prohibit the burning in public of straw and such other
articles. Sir Charles Tegart, the Police Commissioner of
Calcutta, had exhumed Section 66 (2) of the Calcultta
Police Act. It is said that a drowning man catches at a
straw. But it is not known why this living bureaucracy
should have clutched at this 'straw' section of the City
Police Act. To make a long story short, the Police tried
to shunt the engine off the main line of F.C.B. (Foreign
Cloth' Boycott) to the side track of the C.D. (Civil
Disobedience). But this proved a failure. Gandhi
proceeded to Bunn,a and returned shortly after. He was
tried fend fined Re. 1. Thereafter he made his memorable
tour in Andhra Besa in which he collected for khaddar
o lacs and seventy thousand rupees in six weeks. Soon
THE PfeEPARATION (1929) 579
.-after, the All-India Congress Committee met in the
month of May, 1929, in Bombay.
The Bombay meeting was rather an important one.
-Government had announced that the life of the Assembly
would be extended. This alone called for action from the
'Congress. The large number of arrests all over the
• country including that of Mr. Sambamurti, a member of
the Working Committee, the ruthless repression going on
in the Punjab lending itself to the suspicion that it was
being done with the view inter alia of interfering with
'preparations for the forthcoming session of the Congress
in Lahore, — these called for vigorous action from the
'Congress organisations in every Province. It was decided
at Bombay that Provincial Congress Committees should
have not less than a quarter per cent, of the total
population of the Province as original members, and
should have not less than 50 per cent, of the districts
represented on the Province. District ajid Tehsil organisa-
tions should have not less than 3/4 per cent, of the popula-
tion as original members and soon. A village organisation
was to have not less than 1 per cent, of its population as
original members. It would be open to the Working
Committee to disaffiliate any organisation that did not
cany 6ut the instructions. Power was given to the
Working Committee to adopt such measures as it might
consider fit in the interests of the country as regards
the action to be taken by the members of the Congress
Parties in the Assembly and the Provincial Councils.
East Africa was the sub'ject of a resolution that it should
receive the full support of the Congress in its struggle
for political and economic equality. The Committee
further resolved that a Congress Manual be prepared,
^embodying authoritative chapters cm the various political,
administrative, economic' and cailtirfal problems
580 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
comprised by the Swaraj movement, and that the A.I.C.C.
office do incur the necessary expenditure therefor.
The Working Committee confirmed the deputation,,
by the President, of the Rev. Ottama to represent the
Congress at the State funeral of Dr. Sun Yat Sen, and
Mr. Shiva Prasad Gupta was elected to represent India,
at the Congress of the League Against Imperialism. In
regard to the Council Party in the Legislatures, the
Working Committee resolved that "all Congress members
of the Central Legislature or of any of the Provincial
Councils, excepting Bengal and Assam, shall abstain,
from attending any meeting of the said Legislatures or
Councils or any of the Committees appointed by them
or by the Government till such time as the A.I.C.C. or
the Working Committee decides otherwise, and that the
Congress members shall henceforth devote all their
available time to the carrying out of the Congress
programme, provided that the Congress members of
Bengal and Assam Councils shall, after being elected,,
attend only one meeting for the sole purpose of registering
their names-" It was in the sitting of the A.I.C.C. held in
May that the Committee resolved it to be essential to'
make revolutionary changes in the present economic and
social structure of society and to remove the gross
inequalities in order to remove poverty and misery and'
to ameliorate the condition of the Indian masses. A sum
of Rs. 1,500 was voted in aid of the Meerut prisoners.
On March 20th, 1929, in Bombay, Punjab and the
United Provinces, under Sec. 121 A of the Indian Penal
Code, hundreds of houses were searched. Those arrested1
included eight members of the All-India Congress Com-
mittee. All the arrested persons were brought to Meerut
where their trial began in what has come to be known ap
the Meerut Conspiracy Case, the charge being that they-
THJB PREPARATION (1929)
were spreading Communistic propaganda. Mr. H. L.
Hutchinson, Editor of New Spark, was later added to the
accused. A Central Defence Committee, chiefly consisting
of prominent Congressmen, was formed to help the
accused. As already stated, the Working Committee,
contrary to its usual practice, made a grant of Rs. 1,50ft
towards thq defence. The preliminary enquiry in the
Case dragged on for many months and was concluded a
few days prior to the close of the year. The trial
attracted great attention in India and England. The
Director of Government Publicity was present at the
trial to supervise personally the publicity and propaganda,
arrangements in the Case.
The Working Committee met soon after once again,
on July 15th, in Delhi and was of opinion that it would
be in the interest of the Swaraj movement to advise the-
members of the various Legislatures to resign their seats.
In view, however, of the importance of the question, the-
Committee considered that the final decision should be
taken by the A.I.C.C. It therefore resolved that a special
meeting of the A.I.C.C. be convened for the purpose at
Allahabad on Friday, the 26th July, 1929. It will be
remembered that the last clause of the main resolution,
of Calcutta called upon the people to finance the
Congress movement by paying a particular percentage of
their income to the national cause. At first 5 per cent,
was proposed, later 2% per cent., but it was considered
wise, judging from the timidity and nervousness exhibited
at the meeting by some of the richer members of the
Congress, to leave the matter to their discretion. A list
was published in the July Bulletin showing some of the5
collections so made. Altogether the response was poof-
The period was one of much repression in the:
country. At this time Government .had - banned:
37
Stt1 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Dr. Sunderland's book, India in Bondage, and Babu
Baroananda Chatterjee, Editor of The Modern Review,
was arrested for publishing the book.
Bhagat Singh and Dutt who had been arrested in
connection with the Delhi {Assembly) Bomb Case were
sentenced to transportation for life. They had declared
that they had thrown the bomb for demonstrative
purposes.
We have already dwelt at length upon the hunger-
strike in the Lahore Conspiracy Case.
Another group Case was going on in Calcutta in which
Syt. Subash Chandra Bose, a member of the
Working Committee, and several other prominent
Congressmen were being tried.
Arrests of Indians for political reasons were also
reported from Shanghai and the Malay States.
Apart from numerous trials and convictions of
political and labour workers, methods of repression were
used by the Police which were described by the A.I.C.C.as
'barbarous.' On one occasion seven young men collecting
funds for the defence of the Lahore under-trial prisoners
were beaten by the Police, in the presence of the District
Magistrate, till some of them were senseless and all had
received severe injuries. Their offence was their crying
"Down with Imperialism!" and "Long Live Revolution!*1
Even more barbarous treatment was resorted to in
Lahore in the ca&e of the under-trial prisoners in the
Conspiracy Cade. They were beaten in the open court
in the presence of the trying Magistrate and, it was
stated, they were ill-treated in a variety of ways, outside
the*
THE PEEPARATION (1929) 583
Apart from them and the later trials and
<convictiong, it should be remembered that there were a
large number of long-term political prisoners in various
Jails in India and the Andaman Islands. These included
'detenus under Regulation III of 1818, and Martial
Law prisoners who were sentenced by special tribunals
during the Martial Law regime in the Punjab in 1919.
Besides these, there were twenty-seven political prisoners
in jails who were sentenced to transportation for life in
1914-15 during war time. They were tried and
sentenced by special commissions and not by the ordinary
Law Courts. They had been in prison for 15 years by
this time.
Labour troubles and strikes continued during the
year and came to a head. There was a big general strike
in the Bombay textile mills involving 150,000 workers.
The strike demonstrated that Indian Labour was
developing a new outlook. The strike was a great success
to begin with, and showed that there was considerable
organising ability behind it. But after six months or
•more it failed. Another general strike took place in the
Jute areas in Bengal, involving about 25,000 workers.
The Jute workers were badly organised but they
succeeded. Sporadic strikes however continued and partly
undid the work of the general strike.
Still another strike which had attracted widespread
attention and sympathy was the strike of the tin-plate
workers in Golmuri near Jamshedpur. This strike
involved 3,000 workers, mostly skilled, and it continued
for eight and a half months. The demands of the strikers
were very moderate but the employers and the Bihar
'Government persistently refused even an enquiry. The
Legislative Assembly censured the attitude of Govern-
:ment and passed a resolution for the withdrawal «f tfa*
$84 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
protection given to the tin-plate industry. But, as oftem
happens with the resolutions of the Assembly, this resolu-
tion also was ignored by Government. No enquiry took
place and the strike continued. Sympathetic strikes took
place in Budge Budge and elsewhere.
The South Indian Railway strike of 1928 was followed i
by the arrest and trial for conspiracy of many persons.
The Judge of Trichinopoly sentenced fifteen of these to-
ten years' rigorous imprisonment in April.
Two of the members of our Working Committee
were absent in foreign countries for the greater part of
the year. Shrimati Sarojini Naidu returned from.
America after a very successful tour in August. In
November, she went to East Africa to preside over the
East African Indian Congress. One of the Congress
Treasurers, Syt. Shiva Prasad Gupta, had been in
Europe for many months.
Mr. Shiva Prasad Gupta attended the second World
Congress of the League Against Imperialism at Frankfurt
in July on behalf of the National Congress. His report
of this Congress was placed before the Working
Committee.
Immediately after the Calcutta Congress, the
Working Committee made a grant of £30 per month for
the establishment of a Students' Information Bureau in*
Berlin. This Bureau was opened soon after under the
supervision of A. C. N. Nambiar, and it fully justified'
itself by the help it gave to numerous Indian students
and visitors. Mr. Shiva Prasad Gupta inspected it
during his European tour and he wrote in terms of highr
appreciation of its work. On his recommendation the-
Working .Committee, increased the grant by £2 per month*
THE PBEPAKATION (1929) 585
rfor a reading room. TKe Bureau was run efficiently and
*ent full reports and accounts monthly. Its success was
.largely due to the honorary service of Mr. Nambiar.
The Calcutta Congress directed the A.I.C.C. to open
..a Foreign Department and the Working Committee
-authorised the working Secretary to take the necessary
•steps in this behalf. The Secretary had been in personal
• charge of the foreign work of the A.-I.C.C. and had
•endeavoured to develop contacts with organisations and
individuals in other countries. This was not particularly
-easy, as numerous difficulties were placed in the way of
•foreign correspondence by the Government censorship.
The Calcutta Congress also directed the Working Com-
-mitee to take steps to summon a meeting of a Pan-Asiatic
Federation hi 1930 in India. The Committee called upon
Mr. S. Satyamurti and tfae Secretary to take the necessary
.steps and to report. In this report it was pointed out
that, if the meeting was to be held in 1930, it should take
place at thq time of the Congress in December 1930.
Further, various difficulties in the way of holding such a
Tan-Asiatic Conference were pointed out.
In compliance with the decision of the A. I. C. C., a
Labour Research Department was opened, as a branch of
•the A. I. C. C. Office.
The Hindustani Seva Dal carried on their work of
•training volunteers in various parts, of the country. Most
'Of this work was done in Karnataka, a Province where the
Head Office of the Dal and their Academy of Physical
'•Culture were situated. But many camps were held m
other parts of the country and the demand for trainers had
t>een. greater than the supply. The Dal helped greatly in
«eproljing membera for the Congress and in the boycott of
586 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
foreign cloth. They fully co-operated in organising am
efficient volunteer corps for the Lahore Congress.
The Hindustani Seva Dal succeeded beyond expecta-
tion in organising a National Flag Day every month. At,
Calcutta they decided that the National Flag be hoisted
all over the country at 8 A.M. on the last sunday of every
month. This monthly Flag unfurling became very
popular. Buildings and many Municipalities had it
unfurled with solemn ceremony. The H. S. Dal was
reorganized and a Constitution was framed.
The month of August was no better than the previous
months. Leading men were being arrested everywhere,
feirdar Mangal Singh, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, Master
Mota Singh who had served out his 7 years' term, and
Dr. Satyapal, in the Punjab, Mr. Annapoornayya in
Andhra, were all placed under arrest. Dr. Satyapal was
sentenced to two years' R. I. Repression in the Punjab-
was particularly ruthless. AVhile free men were thus
being arrested, those inside the jails were being treated
with undue .severity. Bhagat Singh and Dutt and several
other prisoners had been by this time for 6 weeks on-
hunger-strike. Bhagat Singh and Dutt were just them
sentenced to transportation for life, in the Assembly
Bomb Case. But Bhagat Singh and Dutt were also
among the accused in the case known as the Lahore-
Conspiracy Case, although Dutt was later discharged in*
that Case. That Case arose out of the murder at 4 p.m.
on the 17th September, 1928, of the Superintendent of
Police of Lahore, named Mr. Saunders. The prisoners
went on hunger-strike to secure redress of their grievances,
notably to secure humane treatment to prisoners in jails,,
and the famous Jatindra Nath Das was one of the batch. .
J aim's contention was that the treatment accorded to
Indians was different to that of Europeans. He did not.
THE PREPARATION (1929) 5*1
care for special facilities accorded to them. And he was
the solitary individual who, like Mac Swiney, continued
his hunger-strike to death on the 64th day, as we shall
feec later on.
During this year contact was established with various
rationl and international organisations, in England and
the Continent. A Congress Muslim Party was formed in
Bombay, and an All-India Nationalist Muslim Party was
organised on the occasion of the A. I. C. C. meeting at
Allahabad. At this meeting, the Committee endorsed the
opinion of the Working Committee that Congress
members of Councils should resign their seats, but deemed
it proper, in view of the letters received on the subject,,
to hold over the matter till after the Lahore Congress.
But that did not mean that those who were willing to
resign earlier should not do so.
We have, in passing, referred to the hunger-strike in
the Punjab. Government felt embarrassed by these
strikes. They thought that the strikes were particularly
designed to embarrass the Police in its prosecution of the
Lahore Conspiracy Case. They therefore brought up a
Bill before the Assembly on the 12th September, 1929, to
enable the magistracy to go on with cases in spite of the
absence of the accused, when such absence is due to the
f aet of their having by their own acts disabled themselves.
On the 16th of September, however, Government agreed,
in view of the controversial character of the Bill, to
circulate it for further opinion, but reserved to themselves
the right to take such action in the future as lay within
their powers, should urgent necessity arise. As a matter
of fact, the Governor-General did pass an Ordinance in
this behalf shortly after, known as the* Lahore Conspiracy
Trial Ordinance.
588 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGUESS
Great events were ahead. The Lahore Congress,
-which has since become a historic session, required
* President like any other. In the provincial voting,
ten Provinces voted for Gandhi, five for Vallabhbhai
J. Patel, and three for Jawaharlal Nehru. Gandhi was
declared duly elected, but he resigned and it became
necessary under the Constitution to elect a substitute.
Accordingly, a meeting of the AJLC.C. was held in
Lucknow, on the 28th September, 1929. The President-
Ship of the Congress was a source of concern to the
Nation.
All eyes had turned to Gandhi as the man who
'would rescue the Congress once again and lead it on to
the path of victory. The disgust felt with Councils and
&ome Council members, by men like Motilalji, was hardly
concealed. The clear indication was given that Council
members should resign. What next? Nothing but Civil
Disobedience would be the logical consequence of such
•a course. And who could lead the Nation to victory
-along this untrodden path? — who else but Gandhi? That
•was why he was thought of. Gandhi was pressed hard
at Lucknow, even as he had been pressed earlier, to re-
consider his refusal. But he saw the wisdom of installing
•on the Gadi of the Congress a younger man who would
inspire confidence in the younger folk of the country.
This national train had to run from one station to
.another, from Ahmedabad, via Gaya, Delhi, Cocanada,
Belgaum, Cawnpore, Gauhati, Madras a!nd Calcutta, to
Xahore. It carried all grades of men, — the older elements
•who held the Sag aloft, the middle-aged who were willing
to work along under the leadership of the old, and the
younger elements who kicked against the pricks and
Yesented certain methods as too slow, but were not able
to formulate quicker methods themselves. If the train
flhould move in time, free from dangers, and if it should
THE PBEPABATION (1029)
«carry all its passengers, it is better that the engine
should be in the charge of a young man full of
-enthusiasm, daring and confidence, though the brakes
should be in the charge of older and more seasoned and
sedate politicians. It was, doubtless, this line of
reasoning that made Gandhi adhere to his decision.
Vallabhbhai did not choose to intervene between Gandhi
and Jawaharlal. The attendance at Lucknow was not
large and the majority of friends present voted for
.Jawaharlal, who was to be one of the youngest Presidents
of the Congress. Bengal, strangely enough, had plumped
for Gandhi, and even sent circulars to sister Provinces
to vote for him.
The next subject that engaged the Congress
'Committee at Lucknow was the death of Jatindra Nath
Das after 64 days' starvation in a Punjab jail and the
.Rev. Wizaya after 164 days in Burma. Both laid their
lives at the feet of the Mother. The latter had not
attracted much attention, but the former did. A word
is due on Phongy Wizaya's death. The Rev. Wizaya
was a Buddhist monk who was released from jail on
February 28, 1929, after serving 21 months' R.I. for
sedition. He was re-arrested for a seditious speech on
April 4, just 5 weeks after his release, and sentenced to
•6 years' transportation which was later reduced to three
years. Soon after his - arrest, he started a hunger-strike,
demanding better treatment and the right to wear his
yellow monk's robe on special days, and! continued it
till his death on the 164th day on 19-9-1929.
Jatindra Nath Das's death had occurred just 6 days
earlier, i.e., on the 13th September, 1929. Thus in two
successive weeks did these two patriots lay down their
'dives voluntarily and wholeheartedly to preserve national
^elf-respect. The death of Das evoked the deep distress
590 THE jHJOTOBY. OF THE . CONGRESS
and deeper admiration of his countrymen in India,-
occasioning big demonstrations and a vast procession in.
Calcutta. But that was not all; messages of sympathy
came forth from several foreign countries, and amongst'
these was one from the family of Terence Mac Swiney
of Ireland.
Before we pass on, let us add that the All-India
Congress Committee that met at Lucknow on September
28th passed a resolution on hunger-strikes in jails which,,
while deeply appreciating the motive of the prisoners,
expressed the opinion that a hunger-strike should not be
undertaken except upon the gravest emergencies. The
Committee advibed those who had imposed the sacrifice
on themselves to end their strike, specially in view of the
self-immolation of Das and Wizaya and the fact that
Government had at the eleventh hour yielded to most of
the demands of the hunger-strikers and an effort was
being made to secure full redress.
The situation in East Africa and the Government of
India's confession that they were only advocates and not
high contracting parties, were the subject of a resolution.
Just then a Deputation from East Africa was touring
India and the A.I.C.C. had the advantage of hearing
Mr. J. B. Pandya at Lucknow. While this was so, the
South African Government imposed unfair restrictions
upon the Ali Brothers who wanted to visit the Union, .
and the Committee passed a suitable resolution on the-
subject.
The month of October was an eventful month. .
Lord Irwin who had gone to England returned on the
25th October and made an announcement to the country.
In view of the announcement, Pandit Motilal Nehru
eutnttwmed an emergent meeting of .the Working Com-
THE PREPABATION (1929) 591
mittee to Delhi an the 1st November, and besides the
members of the Committee there were leaders of other
schools of thought at the Metropolis to receive the
expected announcement and concert measures for
common action thereupon. On the eve of Lord Irwin's
departure for England at the end of June, 1929, he had
said: "When I go to England I shall seek opportunities
of discussion with His Majesty's Government on these
grave matters. It will be my duty, as I have said else-
where, to represent to His Majesty's Government/ the
different standpoints of those who can speak for Indian
political opinion." Then he had referred to the two«
governing pronouncements of August, 1917 and his own
Instrument of Instructions from the King,-Emperor
wherein His Majesty affirms that, "Above all things it
is our will and pleasure that the plans laid by our
Parliament for the progressive realisation of Responsible
Government in British India, as an integral part of our
Empire, may come to fruition, to the end that British
India may attain its due place among our Dominions."
In the statement Lord Trwin made on the 31st-
October, His Excellency said: —
"The Chairman of the Commission has pointed
out in his correspondence with the Prime-Minister,
which, I understand, is being published in England,
that as their investigation has proceeded, he and his
colleagues have been greatly impressed, in
considering the direction which the future consti-
tutional development of India is likely to take, with
the importance of bearing in mind the relations which
may, at some future time, develop between British
India and Indian States. In his judgment it is
essential that the methods, by which this future
relationship between these two constituent parts of
Greater India may be adjusted, should be fully- .
examined. He has further expressed the opinion that;
if the Commission's Report and the proposals sub-
3592 THE HISTORY OF . THE CONGRESS
sequently to be framed by the Government take this
wider range, it would appear necessary for the
Government to revise the scheme of procedure as at
present proposed. He suggested that what might
be required, after the Reports of the Statutory
Commission and the Indian Central Committee ha-ve
been made, considered and published, but before the
stage is reached of the Joint Parliamentary Com-
mittee, would be the setting up of a Conference in
which His Majesty's Government should meet
representatives both of British India and of the
States, for the purpose of seeking the greatest
possible measure of agreement for the final
proposals which it irould later be the duty of His
Majesty's Government to submit to Parliament.
The procedure by Joint Parliamentary Committee
-conferring with delegations from the Indian Legisla-
ture and other bodies, which was previously
•contemplated and is referred to in Sir John Simon's
letter to myself of 6th February, 1928, would
still be appropriate for the examination of the Bill
when it is subsequently placed before Parliament,
but would, in the opinion of the Commission,
-obviously have to be preceded by some such
Conference as they have suggested.
"With these views I understand tliatl His
Majesty's Government are in complete accord. For,
while they will greatly desire, when the time comes,
•to be able to deal with the question of British Indian
political development under conditions the most
favourable to its successful treatment, they are,
with the Commission, deeply sensible of the
importance of bringing under comprehensive review
the whole problem of the relations of British India,
in their view essential for the complete fulfilment of
"what they consider to be the underlying purpose of
British policy, whatever may be the method for its
furtherance which Parliament may decide to adopt.
"The goal of British policy was stated in the
declaration of August, 1917 to be that of providing
for the gradual development of self-governing
-institutions, with a view to the progressive realisa-
tion of Responsible Government in India as an
THE PREPARATION (1929) 59$-
integral part of the British Empire. As I recently
pointed out, my own Instrument of Instructions
; frofh the King-Emperor expressly states that iti is His
Majesty's will and pleasure that the plans laid by
Parliament in 1919 should be the means by which
British India may attain its due place among his
Dominions. Ministers of the Crown, moreover, have
more than once publicly declared that it is the desire
of the British Government that India should, in the
fullness of time, take her place in the Empire in equal
partnership with the Dominions. But in view of the
doubts which have been expressed both in Great
Britain and India regarding the interpretation to be
placed on the intentions of the British Government
in enacting the Statute of 1919, / am authorised on
behalf of His Majesty's Government to state clearly
that in their judgment it is implicit in the declara-
tion of 1917 that the natural issue of India's
constitutional progress, as there contemplated, is
the attainment of Dominion Status."
This announcement was made on the 31st of October,,
nnd in less than 24 hours, the leading personages were in
Delhi, including Pandit Malaviya, Sir T. B. Sapru and
Dr. Besant. The Working Committee of the Congress
was of course there. After deep consideration, the mixed
gathering came to conclusions which were embodied in
a Manifesto, in which the signatories expressed their
appreciation of the sincerity underlying the declaration,
as also the desire of the British Government to placate
Indian opinion. They proceeded: —
"We hope to be able to tender our co-operation
to His Majesty's Government in their effort to evolve
a scheme of Dominion Constitution suitable to
India's needs, but we deem it necessary that certain
acts should be done and that certain points should
be cleared so as to inspire trust and to ensure the
co-operation of the principal political organisations, .
in the country.
THB HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
"We consider it vital for the success of the
proposed Conference that,
(a) a policy of general conciliation should be
adopted to induce a calmer atmosphere,
(b) political prisoners should be granted an
amnesty,
(c) the representation of progressive political
organisations should be effectively secured, and the
Indian National Congress, as the largest amongst
them, should have a predominant representation.
"Some doubt has been expressed about the
interpretation of the paragraph in the statement-
made by the Viceroy on behalf of His Majesty's
Government regarding Dominion Status. We
understand, however, that the Conference is to meet
not to discuss when Dominion Status is to be
established, but to frame a scheme of Dominion
•Constitution for India. We hope we are not mis-
taken in thus interpreting the import and implica-
tions of the weighty pronouncement of His
Excellency the Viceroy. Until the new Consti-
tion comes into existence, we think it necessary that
.a more liberal spirit should be infused in the
Government of the* country, that the relations of
the Executive and the Legislature should be brought
more in harmony with the object of the proposed
Conference and that greater regard should be paid
to constitutional methods and practices. We hold it
to be absolutely essential that the public should be
made to feel that a new era has comjmenced even
from to-day, and that the new Constitution is to
be but a register of that fact.
"Lastly, we deem it as an essential factor for
the success of the Conference that it should be
convened as expeditiously as possible."
There is no doubt that it was the wider outlook of
-the Labour Party that was responsible for the new
--alignment. Sir John Simon had written a letter to the
Premier, to which reference had been made in the
Ticeroy's statement, and in which he advocated some
rsort of Conference after his Report had been published,
THE PEEPABATION (1929) 595
'"for the purpose of seeking the greatest possible measure
•of agreement for the final proposals which it would be
.later the duty of His Majesty's Government * to submit
to Parliament." When we remember that these words
were written on the 16th of October, 1929, and how the
Viceroy repeated those words not only in his statement
• but time after time in his subsequent important
pronouncements, we shall be able to understand that it
was not the G.C.M. of Indian opinion that was ultimately
accepted but the least common measure which had formed
the basis of the proposals made by the Cabinet to
Parliament. When, therefore, the leaders demanded that
the public should be made to feel that a new era had
-commenced even from that day and that the new
Constitution was to be but a register of that fact, the
leaders' Manifesto was only giving expression to their
inner apprehensions. The Congress members present at
the meeting did not expect the minimum straightway
from the Conference. Nothing was done really regarding
the release of the prisoners. The release of the Martial
Law prisoners of 1919 had been recommended by the
Punjab Jails Committee, as also the Lahore Conspiracy
prisoners of 1915. Mr. Fenner Brockway had raised the
question of the release of Mr. Sambamurti in the House
of Commons, but nothing was done. In the meantime,
English friends had been sending cables to Gandhi to
reciprocate the efforts of the Labour Government to help
India. In answer, Gandhi stated that he was 'dying for
•co-operation' : —
.VI have, therefore, responded on the very first
opportunity that offered itself, but I have meant
every word of the joint Manifesto, as I have of the
now-famous Calcutta resolution of the Congress. The
two are in no sense contradictory. The letter, of a
document ia nothing, if the spirit of it is preserved in
-effect. I can wait for a Dominion Constitution if I
S96 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
can get real Dominion Status in action.
That is to say, if there is a real change of
heart, a real desire on the part of the
British people to see India a free and self-
respecting Nation, and on the part of the officials in
India a true spirit of service. But this means substi-
tution of the steel b&yonet by the goodwill of the
people. Are Englishmen and English women prepared
to rely for the safety of their lives and property upon
the goodwill of the people rather than upon the gun-
mounted forts? If they are not yet ready, there is
no Dominion Status that would satisfy me. My con-
ception of Dominion Status implies present ability to
sever the British connection if I wish to. Therefore,
there can be no such thing as compulsion in the
regulation of the relations between Britain and India.
"If I choose to remain in the Empire, it is to
make a partnership of power for promoting peace
and goodwill in the world, never to promote exploita-
tion or what is known as Britain's imperialistic
creed.
"It is likely that the Labour Government has
never meant all the implications mentioned by me.
In my opinion, I have not stretched the meaning of
the Manifesto in stating the implications, but
whether the Manifesto can bear the weight of
these implications or not, it is due to the friends in
England nnd in India that they should clearly
realise my own fundamental position.
"I am fully aware that India has not developed
strength enough to assert the position here
adumbrated. If, therefore, it is realised now, it will
* be largely through the good grace of the British
people. It will be nothing si/range, if they exhibit it
at the present juncture and it will be some repara-
tion for past wrongs done to India.
"But if the time is not yet ripe for India to
come to her own, I have patience enough to wait. I
ean work and live for no other goal. I recognise that
mine is but the voice of an individual. How far it
is representative of India's millions, no one can say-
I certainly cannot."
THE PREPARATION (1929) S9Z
Small as the offer made to the Indian people ife
the Viceroy's statement was, there was nevertheleee aa
uproar in Parliament. The House of Commons was oa
the defensive. Baldwin took the responsibility on himself
ior agreeing to what Mr. Benn and Lord Irwin had
buggested. Sir John Simon was hard put to it to defend
himself and his Commission. Captain Benn spared no
pains to defend himself and his Government. The Premier
took up the task of defending the whole policy of
conciliating India and pacifying those amongst the
Indians who had till then been stroked the wrong way.
The Lords were on the offensive. Lord Birkenhead
unrolled the map of despotism. But as Captain Benn.
had pointed out in the Commons, he held no official,
position in the Empire and had desired that he should
be divorced from politics. "He is engaged in some kind!
of trade or commerce, though I have no personal
knowledge of it," — added Benn. The reference was to
Lord Birkenhead having taken up the Managing
Directorship of the Greater London and Country Trust
Limited, on £15,000 a year, soon after he had laid down
the reigns of office as Secretary of State on account of
the change of Government. Lord Reading was the
Chairman of a South African mining syndicate on
£15,000 a year. It may be remembered here that it was
elicited in 1934-35 that he became the Chairman of the
Imperial Chemicals, — a company secretly formed in
England to explore the mineral wealth, of India without a
single Indian knowing aught about its formation. This-
is only by the way. Captain Benn announced that there
was a change of Policy, that is to say, a change of spirit,
and the Conference was to meet next. Mr. Lloyd George
asked whether Captain Benn accepted the interpretation
of the joint Manifesto. Mr. Lansbury exhorted people
to accept the Viceroy's statement at its ffcce valufe. Of
course the Indians would take it at its market value and
$98 THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
found it to b^ a transaction under discount. The Liberals
in India were only keen on the Conference which they
chose to term as the Round Table Conference, but which,
as we shall see, was always described by Lord Irwin as
the London Conference. The Congressmen interpreted
the joint Manifesto in the light of the four conditions
embodied in it. Captain Benn was announcing to the
Indians a change of policy and allaying the alarms of
members of Parliament by saying that the Policy is not
•changed, because it is in the Preamble, the Preamble is
in the Act and the Act is in the Laws of England. This
kind of feeling discouraged the younger Congressmen. A
fresh meeting of all Parties was summoned in Allahabad
on the 16th November, and the Working Committee met
simultaneously. Every effort was made to maintain
"unity of spirit. We had to 'confound our enemies' and
consolidate our friends. We had to leaven the Moderates
and temper the Extremists. Jawaharlal and Subash Babu
had tendered their resignations of the membership of
the Working Committee even before the Committee
itself had given any Considered verdict. Pandit Motilal
"Nehru was more unrelenting than even his younger
colleagues. It required much cajoling and coaxing to
keep the Pandit to the lines of the All-Parties' gathering.
He was fulminating over the artifice and duplicity
practised in the Commons, the double-faced Janus that
we saw in Captain Benn, the picture that the Cabinet
was paibting, which made it look like Swaraj to India
Twit British Raj to England. Yet patience had to be exer-
cised. We had formed a train at Delhi, with Independence
as the engine and the Moderates as the brake, and the
'Congress with its several shades of opinion forming the
•several bogey carriages of the train. Gandhi was there
in a saloon. The train had travelled from Delhi to
Allahabad, and should it be derailed before it returned
to Delhi?
THE PREPARATION (1920) 599
Mr. Wilson, formerly of The Pioneer, was writing a
'•series of letters to the Press and urging Lord Irwin to
itnake a gesture before the Lahore Congress, so that the
leaders of Indian politics might not have to go to Lahore
^empty-handed. Lord Irwin had sent an invitation through
Dr. Sapru to Pandit Motilal Nehru to meet him "on the
15th inst." But Panditji could not extricate himself from
'his professional engagement in Lucknow by the 15th.
Mr. Wilson wrote to the Press that the Viceroy would
shortly be meeting Gandhi, Pandit Nehru and Pandit
.Malaviya. The Viceroy himself was leaving for South
India on the 15th and therefore he vnote to Dr. Sapru
that he would see Gandhi and Nehru on the 23rd
December at Delhi, if not earlier at Hyderabad
•(Deccan), — and in any case before the Christmas. Lord
Irwin returned to Delhi in time on the 23rd December,
and his train met with a bomb accident within a mile
of New Delhi at the site of the old iort, the bomb
being worked by .a fuse connected with a clock-work
mechanism. He narrowly escaped, but his dining saloon
was damaged and one of his servants was hurt. The
accident should really have told upon Lord Irwin deeply.
The 23rd December, 1929, was the day on which the
'Viceroy's House' was occupied. On that day Gandhi
and Motilal ji were to see the Viceroy on behalf of the
Congress. There were also Jinnah and Sapru and
Vittalbhai Patel to represent other views. What was
expected to be a heart-to-heart talk among friends
'became a formal deputation. Yet Lord Irwin was jovial,
unperturbed by the accident of the morning. His
equipoise was only excelled by his cordiality towards the
guests. There was nothing of the coldness that was
noticed when in November, 1927, the Simon Commission
was announced to Gandhi. For 45 minutes the bomb
and its effects -occupied their time. Then Lord Irwiu
*took up the subject on hand. "Where shall we begin?"
600 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
enquired he. "Here is your Manifesto. Shall' we begin •
with the political prisoners?" He was anxious to make
a good beginning and 'political prisoners' would easily
lend iteelf to a tangible proof of goodwill. But Gandhi
wanted to take the Viceroy through the question of
Dominion Status. Gandhi wanted an assurance on this
point, that the Round Table Conference would proceed
on the basis of full Dominion Status. The Viceroy's
answer was that the Government view was explained in
their Communique and he could make no further
promise. He was not in a position to extend an invitation
to the R.T.C. with any definite promise of Dominion
Status.
We had the news on our way to Lahore, both of the
bomb that burst under the Viceroy's train and the hopes
that burst in the Viceregal lodge. "Every one to his
place, and all for their life," we thought. Thus began
the determination for a grim struggle in the near future.
The Lahore Congress was the last session that met in
the midst of the bleak winds of Northern India in mid-
winter. The arrangements at Lahore did not include
any house accommodation for those unaccustomed to -
North Indian cold. The lodging in the tents made life
hard. In the Working Committee we had to warm our
feet every now and then. It was intolerably cold outside,
but the warmth of feeling, the heat of passion and
excitement, the resentment at the failure of negotiation,
ifhe flushing of face on hearing the beat' of the war drums,
— oh, it was 'all in marked contrast with the conditions of
the wealther. 'Pandit Jawaharlal was undoubtedly the most
popular young politician of the hour, even as he was
th^ youngest statesman of the day. His speech poured
ftirib his soul to his countrymen, — his wrath and indigna-
tion over' 'the' insults heaped on India, his plans of"
THE PREPARATION (1929) 601
a emancipation, his distinct socialistic ideals and his
• determination to win.
The Congress was in a cauldron in Lahore. Ideas and
ideals were boiling on the fires of national patriotism
kindled by the ever increasing arrests. Mr. Benn's
statement in the 3rd week of December, that "the freest
- expression of opinion in India is not only desirable but
. at the present time is a most helpful thing," neither
helped to assuage public feeling in India nor abate the
policy of repression. As for Dominion Status, he had
been assuring the world that Dominion Status w*as
already in action for a decade. India's signature to the
Treaty of Versailles, the appointment of an Indian High
Commissioner, an Indian at the head of the Indian
delegation at the League, a separate vote at the Inter-
national Navigation Commission, participation in the
Conference of Dominion Legislatures, and in the Five-
Power Xaval Conference, a seat for India on the
1 Governing Body of the International Labour Conference,
— all these were cited as proofs of the millennium df
Dominion Status, already in action.
But people were not deceived by such a toy shew.
They had to face hard realities, and settle issues of an
immediate present.
The points of dispute at Lahore centred round these
questions: Shall we endorse the Delhi Manifesto? Shall
we appreciate the good intentions of the Viceroy? Shall
we retain the words 'under the existing, circumstances'
' in the resolution? Shall we not alter the 'Creed* instead
<tf merely saying that 'Swaraj' in the Creed means this
or that? Shall we boycott the Legislatures? If so, shall
-we not also add University bodies, Port Trusts, School^,.
* Colleges and Courts? Shall we include Local Bodies 41
602 THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
Shall we draw up a Republican Constitution? Shall!
we attend the Round Table Conference on the material
before us, or shall we wait for two months before we-
declare Independence as the Creed of the Congress?
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in his Presidential Address
thanked the country for putting him in charge of the-
glorious heritage which we had all received, — and which
he had described at some length, — and he spoke of the-
rapidly changing world, a world which is in labour and
out of her travail will give birth to a new order. India
to-day, he said, is a part of a \vOTld-movement alongside
of other Eastern nations, but suffers because she is
unable to effect that social adjustment based on equality
which stability and permanence always demand. Her
religious liberty was her redeeming feature, though
to-day it has yielded place to fear, distrust' and mutual'
suspicion. Attempts are being made to readjust the-
communal and political relations between the Hindus,
Muslims and Sikhs , but the scheme evolved at the All-
Parties' Conference has not satisfied the Parties
concerned. The Viceroy's announcement is a seeming;
offer of peace. The Viceroy meant well and his-
language was the language of peace, but courteous
phrases are a poor substitute for the hard facts around'
us. We have not precipitated a terrible national struggle.
No, — the door of negotiation is all kept open. 'Dominion'
Status in action' of Captain Wedgwood Benn has been a
snare for us. For us the Calcutta resolution holds andv
we have but one goal to-day; that of Independence. The
President spoke of British Imperialism and frankly-
stated that he was a socialist and a republican and was--
no believer in Kings and Princes. Then he described'
the three major problems before us, — the Minorities,,
the Indian States, and Labour and Peasantry..
Then be dealt with the question of non-violence. .
THE PREPARATION (1929) 6Q3>
"Violence too often brings reaction and demoralization
in its train, and in our country especially it may lead to-
disruption. It is perfectly true that organised violence*
jules the world to-day and it may be that we could profit
by its use. But we have not the material or the
training for organised violence, and individual or sporadic-
violence is a confession of despair. The great majority
of us, I take it, judge the issue not on moral but on prac-
tical grounds and if we reject the way of violence, it is
because it promises no substantial results. Any great
movement for liberation must necessarily be a mass move-
ment, and a mass movement must essentially be peaceful,
except in times of organised revolt." After this lucid
exposition of non-violence by 'policy' as opposed to
'creed' or 'faith/ the President spoke of the boycott
of Legislatures, the question of debts and the
necessity to overhaul the machinery of the Congress
and make it really efficient, by making it a! compact
jnd disciplined body. Finally he concluded with a
plea for a supreme endeavour in these words : "None of us
can say what and when we can achieve. We cannot
command success. But success often comes to those who-'
dare and act; it seldom goes to the timid who are ever
pfraid of the consequences. We play for high stakes;
and if we seek 'to achieve great things, it can only be-
through great dangers."
The question before the Lahore Congress was whether
the resolution passed at the Madras Congress (1927)
relating to Independence should be incorporated as part
of our Creed in Art. I of the Constitution or only as an
explanation to it. On this subject the Presidential speech,
has some interesting observations: "Independence for us
means complete freedom from British domination and
British Imperialism. Having attained our freedom, CI
have no doubt that India will welcome all attempts at
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
world co-operation and federation, and will even agree to
:give up part of her own independence to a larger group
•of which she is an equal member." The President pro-
ceeded to observe: "India could never be an equal member
•of the Commonwealth, unless Imperialism and all that
it implies is discarded." Other excerpts from the Presi-
dential speech which may be helpful in understanding
4he real position, may be quoted here: —
"The real thing is the conquest of power, by
whatever name it may be called. I do not think that
any form of Dominion Status applicable to India
will give us real power. A test of this power would
be the entire withdrawal of the alien Army of occu-
pation and Economic control. Let us therefore
vconcentrate on these and the rest will follow."
•In these views Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, the
leader of India and the President of the year, agreed.
There was therefore no difficulty whatever in conducting
Hie transactions of the Lahore Congress. After an
expression of appreciation of the supreme self-sacrifice
»of Jatindas and Phongy U. Wizaya, and of condolences
in connection with the death of Pandit Gokarnath Misra,
Trof. S. M. Paranjpe, Syts. Bhaktavatsala Naidu,
•Rohini Kanta Hatibarua, B. K. Lahiri and Byomakesh
'Chakravarti, the following resolution was passed about
ihe recent -bomb outrage:—
"This Congress deplores the bomb outrage
* perpetrated on the Viceroy's train, and reiterates its
conviction that. such action is not only contrary to
ihe Creed of the Congress but results in harm being
• done to the national cause. It congratulates the •>
i Viceroy arid Lady Irwin and their party, including ;
, the poor servants, on their fortunate and narrow
•escape." H -.
THE PBEPABATION (1929) 60S
The main resolution of the Congress was about
.Independence.
COMPLETE INDEPENDENCE
"This Congress endorses the action of the
Working Committee in connection with the Manifesto
signed by party leaders, including Congressmen, on
the Viceregal pronouncement of the 31st October
relating to Dominion Status, and appreciates the
efforts of the Viceroy towards a settlement of the
national movement for Swaraj. The Congress,
however, having considered all that has since
happened and the result of the meeting between
Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Motilal Nehru and other
leaders, and the Viceroy, is of opinion that nothing
is to be gained in the existing circumstances by the
Congress being represented at the proposed Round
Table Conference. This Congress, therefore, in
pursuance of the resolution passed at its session at
Calcutta last year, declares that the word 'Swaraj*
in Art. I of the Congress Constitution shall mean
Complete Independence, and further declares the
entire scheme of the Nehru Committee's Report to
have lapsed, and hopes that all Congressmen will
henceforth devote their exclusive attention to the
attainment of Complete Independence for India. As
a preliminary step towards organising a campaign
for Independence,, and in order to make the Congress
policy as consistent as possible with the change of
Creed, this Congress calls upon Congressmen and
others taking part in the national movement to
abstain from participating directly or indirectly in
' future elections, and directs the present Congress
- members of the Legislatures and Committees to resign
their seats. This Congress appeals to the Nation
zealously to prosecute the constructive programme of
the Congress, and authorises the All-India Congress
Committee, whenever it deems fit, tp launch, upon a
programme of Civil Disobedience including non-pay-
ment of taxes, whether in selected areas or otherwise, •
and under such safeguards as it may consider
necessary." I
606 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Next the season for the folding of the annual Sessiom
of the Congress was altered :
"Inasmuch as the Congress is intended to be
representative of the poor masses, and inasmuch as the
holding of the Congress at the end of December
involves very considerable expense to the poor people
in providing for extra clothing for themselves and
is otherwise inconvenient to them, the date of holding
the Congress session is hereby altered to some date
in February or March, to be fixed by the Working
Committee in consultation with the Provincial
Committee of the Province concerned."
The Congress authorised the Working Committee to
make all necessary consequential changes in the
Constitution.
East Africa had a resolution as usual. The Congress
congratulated Shrimati Sarojini Devi who went to East
Africa at considerable inconvenience to herself, and also
the Indians in East Africa on the national stand they
took upon the Indian problem in that sub-continent. No •
solution of the question, it was said, that accepts
communal electorates and is based on a discriminate
franchise, or that imposes disqualification on Indians
holding property, could satisfy the Nation.
An important subject taken up was the Indian States,
and the Congress thought it was time the Ruling Princes
of India granted Responsible Government to their people
and enacted laws or issued proclamations safeguarding the
elementary and fundamental rights of the people such as-
freedom of movement, freedom of speech, freedom to
hold public meetings, and security of person and!
property.
THE PREPARATION (1929) 607*
The communal question had to be taken up afresh*
in view of the lapse of the Nehru Report. It was felt
necessary to declare the policy of the Congress regarding
communal questions. The Congress believed that in an
Independent India communal questions can only be*
solved on strictly National lines. But as the Sikhs ra
particular, and the Muslims and the other Minorities in
general, had expressed dissatisfaction over the solution of
communal questions proposed in the Nehru Report, this
Congress assured the Sikhs, the Muslims and other
Minorities, that "no solution thereof in any future
Constitution would be acceptable to the Congress that
did not give full satisfaction to the parties concerned.""
On the question of the refusal of passports, the Congress
condemned the refusal of these for return to India,
to Syt. Shapurji J. Saklatwalla ex-M. P. and others -
who were living in England and other foreign countries.
The subject of Financial burdens and their repudia--
tion was taken up after a long interval since Gaya.
(1922):—
"This Congress is of opinion that the financial
burdens directly or indirectly imposed on India by
the foreign administration were such as a Free India
cannot bear and cannot be expected to bear. The
Congress whilst re-affirming the resolution passed at
the Gaya Congress in 1922, therefore, records itfi
opinion for the information of all concerned that
every obligation and concession to be inherited by
Independent India would be strictly subject to
investigation by an independent tribunal, and every
obligation, every concession, no matter how incurred
or given, would be repudiated, if it is not found by
such tribunal to be just and justifiable."
It was not without some difficulty that the resolution*
on the bomb outrage was passed. The resolution was*
"60S THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
.stoutly opposed by a certain section of the delegates and
it was only by a narrow majority that it could be passed.
On the cardinal resolution also, there was considerable
objection to the incorporation of the idea of "appreciating
the efforts of the Viceroy towards a settlement of the
national movement for Swaraj." Again, when the Congress
fcaid that "nothing is to be gained under the existing
•circumstances by the Congress being represented at the
Jlound Table Conference," serious objection was taken
to the words "under the existing circumstances." The
fear was that the Round Table Conference, like King
• Charles's head, might turn up every now and then under
the pretext of circumstances having changed. But it was
• obvious, as Gandhi had repeatedly explained, that all his
"Non-co-operation was for co-operation and all his figjit
was for a settlement. Finally Gandhi was not able to
• carry the House with him when he wanted to decentralize
the work of the Congress by making the Foreign Cloth
.'Boycott Committee, the Prohibition Committee, and the
•Committee for the Removal of Untouchability somewhat
•.autonomous, and also when he wanted to reduce the
•.strength of the Congress and render the organisation less
< cumbersome.
' It is necessary to state that these several Committees
"had been brought into existence after the Calcutta
•Congress, since the month of February, 1929. Work was
^entrusted to experts. The organisation of vplunt<?crs had
been entrusted to Jawaharlal and Subash Bos£. For the
first time, Congress work was divided into departments
•and entrusted to particular members of the Working
'Committee. But Gandhi wanted to place these
•Committees on a par with the All-India Spinners' Associa-
tion, so that they might be functioning independently. His
proposals were however viewed with suspicion, for a leader
is always in advance of his following and his proposals
THE PREPARATION (1929) 609*
of yesterday are only accepted by them to-day. This
was what happened. To-day (1935) the work of
untouchability is being conducted apart from the dust and
din of high politics by an independent organisation
unaffected by the political vicissitudes of the Nation.
To-day again, the strength of the Congress delegates -
stands cut down to a third of its former strength in
Bombay, and what Gandhi could not achieve at Lahore
he achieved partly while he was in jail and partly after •
his release.
In Calcutta a year's time was given to Government
to comply with the National Demand, and it was at 12,
mid-night, on the 31st December that the poll on the
most controversial clause was finished. The whole •
Congress proceeded at that hour to unfurl the flag of "
Complete Independence.
Altogether the Lahore Session was as strenuous a
session as it was critical. The alternative resolutions put
forward against Gandhi were either academic or •
destructive. Men who wanted to stick to "Independence
and no damned nonsense," were keen on not resigning
from Councils. Their attempt was to behead the main
resolution or amputate its limbs and thus truncate it
altogether. Amongst the ranks of the opposition some
were opposed to Independence itself, and were plumping
for the Round Table Conference, while others would have
Independence, but would not tolerate the conventional
courtesies of the Working Committee on the one hand or
the Viceroy on the other, and under cover of this
iconoclasm, would serve the country through Legislatures.
The debates, therefore, round the mlain resolution ceased
to be single-pointed or well-meaning. Each opponent had
his own issue and his own object in combating the-
cardinal proposition of the House. But in the open*
THE HISTORY OP THE CONGRESS
.session, there were only 15 hands raised against the main
.proposition. A really close division took place on the
-question of appreciating the Viceroy's efforts. Even on
.this issue, the difference in voting was 180, while on the
-question of condemning the bomb outrage the majority
*was only 84 in favour of the condemnation. In all these
differences the common bond was common antipathies,
not community of sympathies, convictions, or
programmes.
The internal differences in Bengal which had led to
long-standing election disputes, became the cause of an
'exchange of hot words between Subash Babu and
Motilalji, and exhibited themselves markedly in the
'Congress week at Lahore. The leadership of the Province
•Toeing the bone of contention between Syts. J. M. Sen-Gupta
and Subash Chandra Bose, the differences came to a head
• on the issue of Council-entry on which there were sharp
• divergences of views. Again, while considered and
•thoughtful opinion asked for an examination of the
'financial commitments of the Nation by an Independent
iribunal, an extremist view did not fail to express itself
that all debts should be repudiated outright. Gandhi
'earnestly endeavoured to secure the change of "peaceful
and legitimate means" in the Creed into "truthful and
•non-violent means" but did not succeed.
That question is still hanging fire, being adjourned at
"the last Bombay Congress (1934 October). In any case,
-the success of Gandhi and Jawaharlal at the Lahore
rfiession was undeniable, in spite of the fact that almost
immediately after the conclusion of the plenary session,
"Mr. Srinivasa lyengar and Mr. Subash Chandra Bose
.-announced the formation of a new organisation known as
-the Congress Democratic Party, which was supposed by
"Government at the time to indicate that the attempt to
THE PREPARATION (1929). 611
^placate the left wing had not really succeeded and that
.a split was, after all, imminent. These friends had
' desired that the Working Committee should be formed by
•a process of election, and when it was defeated, they
"walked out along with certain South Indian friends.
<3andhi's practice was to ask the retiring members of the
Working Committee as to who would cut himself or
: herself out from it. In Lahore, the Working Committee
ifor the next year was farmed by preparing two indepen-
dent lists, one by Pandit Motilalji in consultation with
Gandhi, and one by Seth Jamnalal Bajaj. There was only
one name which did not coincide in the two lists. That
difference was adjusted, and the W. C. was formed. But
these friends wanted election. That was thrown out, with
the result that there was a dramatic exit. In less than
ten minutes, the news was broadcast that a new Party
was formed, and as soon as this new Party, which was
known as the Congress Democratic Party, was organised
in Lahore, Syt. Subash Chandra Bose sent the following
telegram to Mrs. C. R. Das: "Circumstances and
tyranny of majority forced us to form separate Party,
as at Gaya, named Congress Democratic Party. Pray
spirit of Deshbandhu may guide us and your blessings
may inspire us."
In the official declaration of its policy, the
1 Secretaries stated that : —
"The new Party will, without prejudice to the
Party's objective of Complete Independence for India,
endeavour to the best of its ability to co-operate as
far as possible with the other Parties in the country
in such programmes, policies and activities as the
Party may accept for the purpose of attaining its
objective."
The opponents of the cardinal resolution, doubtless,
• endorsed Council resignations, but supported a copteet
612 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
and a re-entry. At Lahore, we witnessed strange combina-
tions and a fear in some, at any rate, of Gandhiji's firm,
hand. We knew we had a rough voyage ahead, the bark
was frail, the seas were boisterous, the clouds were
overhanging, there was fog all round, and the sailors were
undisciplined and new to their work. Our safety, however,
lay in but one circumstance, namely, the pilot knew his
course. He was a seasoned captain and had his chart and
his compass. If the crew obeyed him, success was in
sight. Else, we had a Court Martiail by the Nation j
looming before us.
Bishan Xarayin Dhar
1911 : Calcutta
R.N. Mudholkar
1912 : Bankipore
Nawnb Syed Md. Bahadur
1913: Karachi
Bhupendra Nath Basu
1914 : Madras
CHAPTER II
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930)
The year of waiting was over, the year of action
began for Congressmen; but before three weeks passed,
there appeared a revolt in Maharashtra. We have seen
how in the early years of N.C.O., Maharashtra paired
with Bengal in resisting the new movement. Now the
Maharashtra P.C.C. asked the Working Committee of
the Congress not to urge Council boycott and asked the
country to hasten to the R.T.C. on the Delhi conditions
and on the basis of Independence. These questions had
been settled really once for all. What were the Delhi
conditions if they did not mean the change of heart
indicated by the release of prisoners and the Dominion
Status at work even from that day? Gandhi had
refused to discuss the release of prisoners in his interview
with the Viceroy on the 23rd December, 1929. The
prisoners could afford to wait a while in the jails, said
he; he had concentrated on the question of Dominion'
Status. On this the Viceroy refused to give his
(Viceregal) assurances. It may be advantageous to
know why Gandhi insisted on getting such assurances
from the Viceroy. In 1925 Earl Winterton (Under-
secretary for India) replying to an enquiry by
Mr. Lansbury as to whether Lord Birkenhead (Secretary
of State) intended to invite Das and Gandhi and others-
to London for a negotiation of the conditions of co-
operation, answered the question in the negative and
stated his reasons thus: —
"Firstly, the direct conduct of the policy and
the administration in India was entrusted to the
; Government of India and the Local Governments.
89
614 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Therefore it was with these authorities that such i
discussions must take place and no useful purpose i
would be served by the Government's intervention
and participation at this stage in matters which must
ultimately come before them for decision, and for
the decision of which they were responsible to
Parliament. Secondly, though the Viceroy was
about to visit this country for the purpose inter alia
of discussing the political situation in India, it would
be placing him and the Government of India entirely
in a false position if his presence here was made the
occasion for negotiations with Indian political
parties."
The Viceroy held the key to the situation and
Gandhi wanted to get possession of that key in Delhi on
the 23rd December, 1929.
The new Working Committee met on the 2nd
January, 1930. The old Committee had disposed of all
outstanding questions including the appointment of a
permanent Secretary to the Congress. When the new
Committee met, the first thing it did was to take steps
to implement the Congress resolution on the boycott of
Councils urging the registered voters to compel the
resignation of those who may not respond to the
Congress appeal for resignation, as well as to refrain
from participating in the ensuing elections to the Legis-
latures. As the result of this, 27 members of the
Assembly resigned. It was decided to observe a day all
over India as the Puma Swarajya Day and the 26th
Jalnuary, 1930, was fixed for the purpose.
A declaration to be issued was to be read to the
people in the villages and towns all over the country,
and the assent of, the audience was to be taken by a show
of hands. A Committee was appointed to enquire into
certain obnoxious measures and ,Urap in force in the
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 615
~N. W. F. Province. The several Sub-Committees were
.tasked to prosecute their work vigorously, and an equally
vigorous enrolment of the Congress members was urged
-on the Nation. The declaration to be read on the 26th
January, was as follows: —
The following resolution has been issued on
behalf of the Working Committee for adoption by
public meetings all over the country on Purna
• Swarajya Day, Sunday, January 26th, 1930:
''We believe that it is the inalienable right of
the Indian people, as of any other people, to have
freedom and to enjoy the fruits of their toil and have
necosities of life, M> that they may have full
opportunities of growth. We believe also that if any
Government deprives a people of these rights and
oppresses them, the people have a further right to
alter it or to abolish it. The British Government in
India ha* not only deprived the Indian people of
their freedom but has based itself on the exploitation
of the masses, and has ruined India economically,
politically, culturally and spiritually. We believe
therefore that India must sever the British connec-
tion and attain Purna Swaraj or Complete Inde-
pendence.
"India has been ruined economically. The
revenue derived from our people is out of all pro-
portion to our income. Our average income is seven
pice (less than two pence) per day, and of the heavy
taxes we pay 20% are raised from the Land Revenue
derived from the peasantry, and 3% from the Salt
Tax, which falls most heavily on the poor.
"Village industries, such as hand-spinning, have
been destroyed, leaving the peasantry idle for at least
four months in the year, and dulling their intellect
for want of handicrafts, and nothing has been sub-
stituted, as in other countries, for the crafts thus
destroyed.
"Customs and currency have been so manipula-
ted as to heap further burdens on the peasantry.
British manufactured goods constitute the bulk of
«our imports. Customs duties betray clear partiality
616 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRBBS
for British manufactures, and revenue from them is •
used not to lessen the burden on the masses but for
sustaining a highly extravagant administration.
Still more arbitrary has been the manipulation of
' exchange ratio which has resulted in millions being1
drained away from the country.
"Politically, India's status has never been so
reduced as under the British regime. Na reforms
have given real political power to the people. The
tallest of us have to bend before foreign authority.
The rights of free expression of opinion and free
association have been denied to us, and many of our
countrymen are 'compelled to live in exile abroad
and cannot return to their homes. All administrative
talent is killed and the masses have to be satisfied
with petty village offices and clerkships.
"Culturally, the system of education has torn us
from our moorings and our training has made us hug
the very chains that bind us.
"Spiritually, compulsory disarmament has made
us unmanly and the presence of an alien army of
occupation, employed with deadly effect to crush in
us the spirit of resistance, has made us think that
we cannot look after ourselves or put up a defence
against foreign aggression, or even defend our homes
and families from the attacks of thieves, robbers and
miscreants.
"We hold it to be a crime against man and God
to submit any longer to a rule that has caused this
four-fold disaster to our country. We recognise,
however, that the most effective way of gaining our
freedom is not through violence. We will, therefore,
prepare ourselves by withdrawing, so far as we can,
all voluntary association from the British Govern-
ment, and will prepare for Civil Disobedience,
including non-payment of taxes. We are convinced
that if we can but withdraw our voluntary help and
stop payment of taxes without doing violence, even
under provocation, the end of this inhuman rule is
assured. We, therefore, hereby solemnly resolve to
cany out the Congress instructions issued from time
to time for the purpose of establishing Puma
Swaraj."
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 617
The Independence Day celebrations revealed what a
dfund of pent-up feeling, enthusiasm and readiness of
sacrifice there lay beneath the seeming torpor and despair
• of the people. The fires of patriotism and sacrifice were
covered by the embers of loyalty or submission to Law
. and Order. All that had to be done was to blow off the
. ashes covering the red-hot cinders of emotion and fervour.
Hardly had the celebrations been concluded when the
Viceroy's speech before the Legislature on the 25th
.January became available to the country. It blasted
whatever little hope might be lingering in the minds of
the optimistic or credulous section of the Indian politi-
cians. We have already seen how Sir John Simon in
his letter, Ramsay MacDonald in his reply, Lord Irwin
in his statement, and Wedgwood Benn in his debates,
had been studiously using the same language in describ-
ing the object as being "to explore means by which the
greatest possible measure of agreement or the widest
measure of general assent amongst the various classes
and communities and from all parties and interests
concerned may be secured in India for the proposals,
which it will later be the duty of the Cabinet to place
before Parliament." The Viceroy denied that he had
• ever "sought to delude Indian opinion into the belief
that a definition of the purpose, however plainly stated,
would of itself, by the enunciation of a phrase, have
provided a solution for the problems which have to be
solved before that purpose is fully realised." It was
up to the Viceroy when the leaders raised an issue
within 24 hours of his statement, and up to the Secretary
of State when Lloyd George heckled Mr. Benn in the
Commons, to say that the Round Table Conference was
meant only to elucidate the definition of Dominion Status
and not to offer a solution of the problems that lay on
'the way to its attainment, and India would have felt
\highly grateful. The Viceroy, in one word, stated that
618 THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGBESS
the assertion of a goal, however precise its terms, is of"
necessity a different thing from the goal's attainment.
"No sensible 'traveller would," he added, "feel that a
clear definition of his destination was the same thing as
the completion of his journey, hut it is an assurance of
direction." Thus he contrasted definition with solution,
assertion with attainment, and direction witli destination.
Then he disillusioned India about Benn's statement
regarding Dominion Status beins at work for ton years.
Lord Irwin said: —
"Although it is true that, in her external relations
with the other parts of the Empire, India exhibits
already several of the attribute? of a Self-Governing
Dominion, it is also true that Indian political
opinion is not at present disposed to attach full
value to these attributes of status, for the reascm
that their practical exercise is for the most part,
subject to the control or concurrence of His
Majesty's Government."
"The Conference which His Majesty's Govern-
ment will convene is not indeed the Conference that
those have demanded who claimed that its duty
should be to proceed by way of a majority vote
to the fashioning of the Indian Constitution which
should thereafter be accepted unchanged by
Parliament."
"The Conference will Le convened for the*
purpose of elucidating and harmonizing opinion and'
so affording guidance to His Majesty's Government
on whom the responsibility must subsequently
devolve of drafting proposals for the consideration
of Parliament."
Thus did the Viceroy make it clear
self-determination was out of the question, that jointe
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 619
deliberation or determination was only to enable
Government to perform their duty. Altogether, it waa
evident that what India should expect was neither self-
determination nor joint determination, but 'other
determination.'
In answer to this speech, Gandhi wrote in Young
India as follows:—
Excellency the Viceroy deserves thanks
from every Congressman for having cleared the
atmosphere and let us know exactly where he and
we stand.
"The Viceroy would not mind waiting for the
grant of Dominion Status till every millionaire was
reduced to the level of a wage-earner getting seven
pice per day. The Congress will to-day, if it had
power, raise every starving peasant to the state in
which he at least will get a living, even equal to the
millionaire's. And when the peasant is fully awaken-
ed to a sense of his plight and knows that it is not
the 'kismet' that brought him to the helpless state
but the existing rule, unaided, he will in his
impatience abolish all distinctions between the
constitutional and the unconstitutional, even the
violent and non-violent means. The Congress
expects to guide the peasants in the right direction."
Proceeding, Gandhi made the following offer to Lord
Irwin: —
(1) Total prohibition.
(2) Reduction of ratio to Is. 4d.
(3) Reduction of Land Revenue at least by 50
per cent, and making it subject to
Legislative control.
(4) Abolition of the Salt Tax.
(5) Reduction of Military expenditure at least by
: 50 per cent, to begin with.
4620 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
(6) Reduction of salaries of the highest grade r
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, withdrawal of all political
prosecutions, abrogation of Sec. 124-A and
Regulation III of 1818, and giving permis-
sion to all Indian exiles to return.
(10) Abolition of the C.I.D., or its popular
control.
(11) To issue license to use fire-arms for self-
defence, subject to popular control.
In fact, these were Ihe terms, we are told, which
Mr. Gandhi communicated to Mr. Bomanji who under-
took to negotiate with Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, the
Prime-Minister, as early as January, 1930.
"This is by no means an exhaustive list of the
pressing needs," wrote Mabatma Gandhi, "but let the
Ticeroy satisfy us with regard to these very simple but
vital needs of India. He will then hear no talk of Civil
Disobedience; and the Congress will heartily participate
in any Conference where there is a perfect freedom of
expression and demand." That is to say, non-compliance
with these simple and vital demands would mean Civil
Disobedience.
"Other nations," said Mr. Gandhi, "might have
different and other means for getting their country's
freedom, but for India there is no way but non-violent
"Non-co-operation. May you be the exponents of this
mantra of Swaraj, and may God give you strength and
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 621
.Courage enough to give all that you have in India's fight
.for Independence! a fight which is drawing very near."
The Legislative Assembly before which the Viceroy's
speech was delivered was in its spring session. The
'atmosphere of the time was by no means genial, on
-account of the passing of the Textile Industry
(Protection) Bill which was believed by many of its
• opponents to represent the enforcement upon India of
Imperial Preference, in violation of the spirit of the
Fiscal Convention. This led to the resignation of
Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and some members of
•his Nationalist group. Really it was providential that
help should have come to the Congress movement from
unexpected quarters, and so often it was Government
and its unimaginativencss thnt brought this help.
Malaviyaji was no non-co-operator. At this time,
however, his position was that he would not resile even
from Civil Disobedience, but that he did not endorse
" Independence. At this juncture, when he was still
•continuing as a member of the Assembly whose term had
1 been extended, the Textile Industry Bill forced his hands.
It is necessary to state what this Bill was, and, for
* that, to state the history of the Excise and import duties
on cotton textiles. By the time the war ended, the
position was that there was an Excise duty of &/%% on
cotton yarn and cloth of above 19 counts, manufactured
^by Indian mills, payable to Government for the very
manufacture, not on sales or profits. The import duties
which were purely Revenue duties stood at 7% ad
valorem. The mill-owners, merchants and Moderates
recited their services to Government in the war and
•pointed out that the import of foreign cloth after the war
' hit the Indian mills badly. In 1925, Government agreed
to raise the import duties from 7 to 11%, thus making
622 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
foreign cloth 4% dearer and to abolish the Excise duties, .
thus making Indian cloth 3^% cheaper than the former.
While the Indian public were thus rejoicing over the gains
to the Indian mill-cloth, Government introduced and.
carried the Ratio Bill early in 1927, making the foreign
cloth — always sold to India in prices reckoned in pounds
and shillings — cheaper by I2l/z% by raising the exchange
from 16d. (pre-war ratio) to 18d., that is, by 2d. out of
16d., i.e-, by 1/8 or \2^%j so that a packet of cloth
(Lancashire) costing £ 1 formerly cost the Indian importer
Rs. 15 /- at 16d. ratio but now only Rs. 13-5-4. at 18d.
ratio. So that the gains of 7%% to the Indian mill-
owner, of 1925, were more than counter-balanced two •
years later by a gain to the foreigner of ¥&fa%. Now
the Indians were agitated over the problem and demanded
a revision of the Tariff. Government agreed to raise the
import duties by the Textile Protection Bill to 20% on
cotton textiles imported from all countries except
England, which was to be charged only 15%. This was
objected to by Pandit Malaviya as a violation of the
Fiscal Convention. To anticipate events, Japan, whose
competition with Lancashire this enhancement was
designed to check, gave a rebate of 5% in the shipping
rates on all cotton textiles brought to India and thus
combated successfully the Indian tariffs, the Japanese
Government in turn giving a 5% bounty to the shipping
companies. Later on, a surcharge of 5 p.c. was made on
these rates by the Government of India, but the extra
five per cent, charged on Lancashire goods was virtually
annulled by levying an import duty of % anna per Ib.
on cotton imported into India. Such cotton as is generally
imported from Egypt and America is intended for the
manufacture of cloth of higher counts which compete
with Lancashire cloth. Thus what Lancashire had lost
in a five per cent, surcharge in India on Import duties,
has been made up for by the Indian Government for her,
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 62$
by making dearer by 5 per cent, or % anna on the pound
the cotton imported by Indian mills for manufacturing,
cloth which competes with Lancashire cloth. This is only
by the way. When the Cotton Textiles Protection Bill
was before the Assembly and two amendments were put
forward, one being Pandit Malaviyai's which proposed^ a
flat rate for all countries without any preference for
England, President Patel, on the 31st March, the last day
of the session, urged that "the Government should
reconsider its position and tell the House if it had not
finally decided to drop the Bill in the event of the House
amending it> proposals.'' The Government, however, was
of opinion that such action on its part would amount
to an abdication of its responsibilities, and at the
conclusion of the debate the House rejected Malaviyaji's
amendment and accepted Mr. Chetty's amendment. But
before the Bill, las amended, was finally vdted upon,
Pandit Malaviya and his followers and then Diwan
Chamanlal and other members of the new Swaraj Party
rose and left the House. At the end of the day, before
adjourning the House, the President asked each member
to shake hands with him, saying, "we do not know how ~
many of us will be here.'7 Really, these events since
February, 1930, of the Assembly do not concern the fight.
But we have given this small episode in order to give -
completion to the events of the season and to explain -
how Pandit Malaviya and others resigned their seats in .
the wake of the Congress Party.
Now we pass on to a study of the great movement
inaugurated in 1930. We have already stated that the
Independence Day celebrations were a great success,
being held all over the country. Arreste were going on
briskly in India for one reason or another. In the-
Meerut Case, of the 32 accused, all but one were-
committed to trial in the sessions. In Calcutta, Subasht
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
-Chandra Bose and eleven others were convicted and
.sentenced to a year's rigorous imprisonment. In
• obedience to the Congress mandate, 172 members of the
Legislatures had resigned by February, 1930, the
.Assembly contributing 21 and the Council of State 9
A»ong the Provincial Councils, Bengal led with 34,
.Bihar and Orissa coming next with 31, C. P. 20, Madras
:20, U. P. 16, Assam 12, Bombay 6, Punjab 2, Burma 1.
The Working Committee met at Sabarmati on the
14th, 15th and 16th February. Members of Legislatures
ivho had not resigned, or who resigned and immediately
sought re-election, were asked to resign their membership
• of any elective Congress Committee that they might hold,
• on pain of disciplinary action being taken against them.
Regret was expressed that the assurances given by
• Government for the better treatment of political
• prisoners which induced the A.I.C.C. to pass a resolution
on the 28th September, 1929, in Lucknow, advising those
"who were imposing the sacrifice on themselves to give up
the hunger-strike, had not been fulfilled and that the
" Lahore prisoners had felt impelled in protest to resort to
"hunger-strike in jail. But the cardinal resolution of the
•sitting was the one relating to Civil Disobedience which
: ran as follows : —
"In the opinion of the Working Committee,
Civil Disobedience should be initiated and controlled
by those who believe in non-violence for the purpose
of achieving Purna Swaraj, as an article of faith,
and as the Congress contains in its organisation not
merely such men and women but also those who
accept non-violence as a policy essential in the
•existing circumstances in the country, the Working
'Committee welcomes the proposal of Mahatma
Gandhi and authorises him and those working with
him who believe in non-violence as an article of faith •
a 'to the extent above indicated, to start Civil Disobe- •
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 625-
dience as and when they desire and in the manner and
to the extent they decide. The Working Committee
trusts that when the campaign is actually in action,,
all Congressmen and others will extend to the civil1
resisters their full co-operation in every way possible
and that they will observe and preserve complete-
non-violence notwithstanding any provocation that
• may be offered. The Working Committee further
hopes that, in the event of a mass movement
taking place, all those who are rendering voluntary
co-operation to the Government, such as lawyers,
and those who are receiving so-cajlled benefits from
it, such as students, will withdraw their co-operation,
or renounce benefits as the case may be and throw
themselves into the final struggle for freedom.
"The Working Committee trusts that in the
event of the leaders being arrested and imprisoned,
those who are left behind and have the spirit of
sacrifice and service in them will carry on the
Congress organisation and guide the movement to the
best of their ability."
The resolution authorised Gandhi and his followers
in faith, to start Civil Disobedience. This was
generalized Inter by the All-India Congress Committee
that met shortly after at Ahmedabad, into a campaign
of Civil Disobedience. We mention this point in
particular to show how, when in May, 1934, the
movement was withdrawn, an exception was still
made in favour of Gandhi, so that the Civil Disobe-
dience campaign that started with permission to Gandhi
was suspended with that permission intact. More
important than the formal resolution passed by the
Working Committee at Sabarmati, were the informal
talks given at the time by Gandhi to a number of
friends who had been invited for the occasion. They
centred round salt, how to break the salt laws, by
manufacturing salt, by collecting it from deposits and by
raiding salt depots.
'626 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGfcESS
At this meeting, fears were expressed by some that
the country was not prepared for Mass Civil Disobe-
dience. The question of preparedness and preparation
lay in the answer to the question whether they would be
* civil in their disobedience, invite suffering, not inflict,
. bear sorrows and strife in a spirit of composure and
cheerfulness. Amongst those who expressed such fears
• were candid friends, who had a decade's notice of Mass
' Civil Disobedience. But if they were carping critics,
they needed no answer. By postponing Mass Civil
Disobedience, would they prepare themselves for action
on a day to be fixed by themselves? Really the best
preparation for swimming is to swim, even as the best test
•of a country's fitness for Self-Governmentwas, according
to Lord Ripon, to give it Self -Government. Lcalrning by
doing applies to this moral discipline equally with the
physical training of the hand and the eye.
If Civil Disobedience was to be embarked upon,
what should we do? Gandhi had already indicated what
he intended to do. The news had travelled to Bombay
that he would raid salt depots, even before the Sabarmati
.meeting of the Working Committee began its sittings.
Propaganda was started then and there in Bombajy before
the 14th February. The genesis of salt duties was
unearthed. It was pointed out that a Salt Commission
had sat in 1836 and recommended that Indian salt
should be taxed in order to enable English salt
to sell in India. The ships in Liverpool were lying idle
in the dockyard for want of cargo, and without cargo to
the extent of supplying at least the keel ballast, they
•could not sail safely on the high seas. So they had to
carry some cargo, some load, some weight. For some
time they had brought earth to India, from the Strand
in London, with which the Chowringee Road in Calcutta,
-which was once a canal running from the Hughli to the
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) $27
.Kalighat Temple, was filled up. The fact is that the
•exports of India have alwayn been greater than her
imports. In 1925, the exports were 316 crores and the
imports were 249 crores. That was not all. The exports
are more voluminous, being largely food products and
raw materials. Thus the volume of shipping to take the
Indian exports abroad would, all things considered, be at
least four to five times greater than the volume required
for the import of the manufactured articles resulting from
those imports. Therefore, the in-coming ships to India
must be much more numerous than is justified by the
imports only, as they have to take the exports on their
way back. That is, they must come empty. British
shipping takes 72 per cent, or roughly three-fourths of
the total shipping of the Indian trade and, therefore,
some British products must be carried to India by the
in-coming ships to serve as keel ballast. What else could
be thought of than Cheshire salt? Of course, there are
other articles being brought to India such as old news-
paper bales and broken porcelain chips. The Italian ships
would bring Italian marbles and Italian potatoes under
similar conditions as keel ballast. That is why they are
able to beat the Indian articles in prices.
Shortly after the Sabarmati meeting, the atmosphere
was surcharged with salt. People asked whether it
would be paying to manufacture salt. Government
officers went the length of computing the cost of manu-
facturing salt from sea water, the cost of fuel and labour,
and showing that the manufactured salt would be thrice
as much expensive as duty salt. The pity of it all was
that they did not see that the struggle was a moral, not
a material one.
Those gathered at Sabarmati inquired of Gandhi
; about his plans. It was but right that they should do
'626 THE HISTORY OF THIS CONGRESS
At this meeting, fears were expressed by some that
the country was not prepared for Mass Civil Disobe-
dience. The question of preparedness and preparation
lay in the answer to the question whether they would be
• civil in their disobedience, invite suffering, not inflict,
bear sorrows and strife in a spirit of composure and
cheerfulness. Amongst those who expressed such fears
•were candid friends, who had a decade's notice of Mass
• Civil Disobedience. But if they were carping critics,
they needed no answer. By postponing Mass Civil
Disobedience, would they prepare themselves for action
on a day to be fixed by themselves? Really the best
preparation for swimming is to swim, even as the best test
'Of a country's fitness for Self-Government was, according
to Lord Ripon, to give it Self-Government. Lealrning by
doing applies to this moral discipline equally with the
physical training of the hand and the eye.
If Civil Disobedience was to be embarked upon,
what should we do? Gandhi had already indicated what
he intended to do. The news had travelled to Bombay
that he would raid salt depote, even before the Sabarmati
.meeting of the Working Committee began its sittings.
Propaganda was started then and there in Bombaiy before
the 14th February. The genesis of salt duties was
unearthed. It was pointed out that a Salt Commission
had sat in 1836 and recommended that Indian salt
.should be taxed in order to enable English salt
to sell in India. The ships in Liverpool were lying idle
in the dockyard for want of cargo, and without cargo to
the extent of supplying at least the keel ballast, they
•could not sail safely on the high seas. So they had to
carry some cargo, some load, some weight. For some
time they had brought earth to India, from the Strand
in London, with which the Chowringee Road in Calcutta,
-which was once a canal running from the Hughli to the
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1030) 627
Kalighat Temple, was filled up. The fact is that the
• exports of India have always been greater than her
imports. In 1925, the exports were 316 crores and the
imports were 249 crores. That was not all. The exports
are more voluminous, being largely food products and
raw materials. Thus the volume of shipping to take the
Indian exports abroad would, all things considered, be at
least four to five times greater than the volume required
for the import of the manufactured articles resulting from
those imports. Therefore, the in-coming ships to India
must be much more numerous than is justified by the
imports only, as they have to take the exports on their
way back. That is, they must come empty. British
shipping takes 72 per cent, or roughly three-fooirths of
the total shipping of the Indian trade and, therefore,
some British products must be carried to India by the
in-coming ships to serve as keel ballast. What else could
be thought of than Cheshire salt? Of course, there are
other articles being brought to India such as old news-
paper bales and broken porcelain chips. The Italian ships
would bring Italian marbles and Italian potatoes under
similar conditions as keel ballast. That is why they are
able to beat the Indian articles in prices.
Shortly after the Sabarmati meeting, the atmosphere
was surcharged with salt. People asked whether it
would be paying to manufacture salt. Government
officers went the length of computing the cost of manu-
facturing salt from sea water, the cost of fuel and labour,
and showing that the manufactured salt would be thrice
as much expensive as duty salt. The pity of it all was
that they did not see that the struggle was a moral, not
a material one.
Those gathered at Sabarmati inquired of Gandhi
--about his plans. It was but right that they should do
628 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
so, although nobody would have asked Lord Kitchener
or Marshal Foch or Von Hindenberg to unfold their
plans on the eve of the Great War. Plans they had,
but they might not reveal them. It was not so with
Satyagraha. There was no privacy about our plans.
But they were not clear-cut cither. They would unfold
themselves, much as the path on a misty morning reveals
itself to a fast-moving motor, almost from yard to yard.
The Satyagrahi carries a searchlight on his forehead.
It shows the way for the next step.
The present Salt Satyagraha was to evolve thus.
Gandhi would go and pick up salt in some salt area.
Others should not. If they asked him whether they
should remain idle, the answer was 'yes/ but 'idle for
action/ He expected an immediate reaction. Even
Vallabhbhai was not to march with him. Gaaidhi
would confine himself to tin* members of the Ashram as
his companions. Even the \Vardha Ashram might only
make preparations, but mii>t wait till he was arrested.
Then there will be simultaneous reaction all over India.
After his arrest he would leave people to their own-
counsel and do what they might think proper. After
him, he expected the movement to spread to all places
find in all directions an<l in the intensest form. We must
conquer or be wiped off. But it was impossible for the
opponents to wipe out a Nation which has never wished
ill to Englishmen. If they are wiped out, that very act
would shake the Empire. That is the logical and
relentless working out of non-violence. If people ask
what should happen if the Government should shower
bombs, the answer was, if innocent men, women and
children should be thus reduced to ashes, from out of-
those very ashes would rise a fire which would react
on the Empire.
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930)
They committed Civil Disobedience in South Africa,
and when they were arrested support came from all
quarters, food, provisions and what not. In South)
Africa there was a general strike, — labourers downed
tools, factory hands did not work, markets closed down.
That is the kind of response that they had in Southi
Africa. South Africa might be a limited compact
country, while ours was extensive. Therefore the task
would be harder.
There might not be manufacture of salt everywhere,
but there were depots. We could take possession of the
depots. "But is this not loot?" people might ask- No.
Because you did not want a grain for yourselves. Salt
is necessary for life. Our duty was not to egg on mass
action. If it came, we should control it and regulate it.
We need not invite it, but were to provide for it if it
came. In the event of mass action, the lawyers were
to give up their courts and the students to give up their
studies. Gandhi was no longer a spent bullet that he
felt himself to be, the previous year.
Gandhi held that we were getting mixed up with
violence all round- It was growing up because of want
of resistance. Therefore, our duty was to offer resistance
to violence by practising non-violence. It was some such*
line of thought that inspired the Congress in 1930.
History is indeed replete with many stories of
heroism. Theodore Parker was a great American Theist
who became a world character in the emancipation of
slavery in America. The Theologians of the timer
challenged Parker to a public debate. His friends
advised him to absent himself from the proposed meeting.
He was locked up. in his place. His enemies threatened
40
THE HISTOEY OF THE CONQBESS
to kill him if he was there, and charged him with
-cowardice. Suddenly, Parker appeared on the scene,
fose like a rocket and leaped to the platform and cried:
"Kill me if you can! From every drop of blood that
you draw, a thousand Parkers will rise and emancipate
the slaves." The accusers were paralysed and the con-
vocation was dissolved.
Gandhi's plans have all along been revealed to him
by his own instinct, not evolved by the cold, calculating
logic of the mind. His inner voice is his mentor and
monitor, his friend, philosopher and guide. It was thus
that he condensed the progress of centuries in a decade,
4ts Lloyd George would say. In India, one might have
said, the progress of a thousand years was encompassed
within the events of a year. The purity of Gandhi's
vision and view was universally conceded, and even the
Moderates who held the Salt Satyagraha to be fantastic
•or dangerous, would not deny the exalted character of
his motives. Gandhi lost no time in appraising the
Viceroy of his pans. As is usual with him, he sent a
letter' to Lord Irwin, the full text of which is given
below: —
Satyagraha Ashram.
Sabarmati, March 2nd, 193ft
"Dear Friend,
"Before embarking on Civil Disobedience, and
taking the risk I have dreaded to take all these
years, I would fain approach you and find a way
out.
"My personal faith is absolutely clear. I
•cannot intentionally hurt anything that lives, much
less fellow human beings, even though they may do
the greatest wrong to me and mine. Whilst, there-
fore, I hold the British rule to be a curse, I do not
intend harm to a single Englishman or to any legi-
timate interest he may have in India.
A FIGHT .TO THE FINISH (1930) 631
"I must not be misunderstood. Though I hold
the British rule in India to be a curse, I do not,
therefore, consider Englishmen in general to be worse
than any other people on earth. I have the privi-
lege of claiming many Englishmen as dearest friends.
Indeed much that I have learnt ol the evil of
British rule is due to the writing.- of frank arid
courageous Englishmen who have not hesitated to
tell the unpalatable truth about that rule.
"And why do I regard the British rule as a
curse?
''It has impoverished the dumb millions by a
system of progressive exploitation and by a ruinously
expensive military and civil administration which
the country can never afford.
"It has reduced us politically to serfdom. It has
sapped the foundations of our culture. And, by the
policy of disarmament, it has degraded us spiritually.
Lacking the inward strength, we hav«_ been reduced,
by all but universal disarmament, to a state
bordering on cowardly "helplessness.
"In common with many of my countrymen, I
had hugged the fond hope that the proposed Round
Table Conference might furnish a solution. But,
when you said plainly that you could not give any
assurance that yoit or the British Cabinet would
• pledge yourselves to support a scheme of full Domin-
ion Status, the Round Table Conference could not
possibly furnish the solution for which vocal India
is consciously, and the dumb millions are uncon-
sciously, thirsting. Needless to say there never was
any question of Parliament's verdict being antici-;
pated. Instances are not wanting of the British
Cabinet, in anticipation of the Parliamentary-
verdict, having pledged itself to a particular policy.
"The Delhi interview having miscarried, there
was no option for Pandit Motilal Nehru and me
but to take steps to carry out the solemn resolution
of the Congress arrived at in Calcutta, at its session
in 1928*
."But the resolution of Independence should
cause no alarm, if the wfcrd Dominion Status
632 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
mentioned in your announcement had been used in
its accepted sense. For, has it not been admitted
by responsible British statesmen that Dominion
Status is virtual Independence? What, however, I
fear is that there never has been any intention of
granting such Dominion Status to India in the
immediate future.
"But tliis is all past history. Since the
announcement, many events have happened which
show unmistakably the trend of British policy.
"It seem,- a- clear as daylight that responsible
British statesmen do not contemplate any alteration
in British policy that might adversely affect Britain's
commerce will. India or require an impartial and
close scrutiny of Britain's transactions with India.
If nothing is clone to end the process of exploitation,
India must be bled with an ever increasing speed.
The Finance Member regards as a settled fact the
Is. 6d. ratio which, by a stroke of the pen, drains
India of a few crores. And when a serious attempt
is being made, through a civil form of direct action,
to unsettle tin.- fact, among many others, even you
cannot help appealing to the wealthy landed classes
to help you to misli that attempt in the name of
an order that grinds India to atoms.
"Unless thofc-e who work in the name of the
Nation understand, and keep before all concerned,
the motive that lies behind the craving for Inde-
pendence, there is every danger of Independence
itself coming to us so changed as to he of no value
to those toiling, voiceless millions for whom it is
sought and for whom it is worth taking. It is for
that I have been recently telling the public what
Independence should really mean.
. "Let me put before you some of the salient
points.
"The terrific pressure of Land Revenue, which
furnishes a large part of the total, must undergo
considerable modification in an Independent India.
Even the much vaunted Permanent Settlement
benefits the few rich Zamindars, not the ryots. The
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 633
ryot has remained as helpless as ever. He is a mere
tenant-at-will.
"Not only, then, has the Land Revenue to be
considerably reduced, but the whole revenue system
has to be so revised as to make the ryot's good
it> primary concern. But the British system seems
to be designed to crush the very life out of him.
Even the salt he nm*t use to live is so taxed as to
make the burden fall heaviest on him, if only
because of the heartless impartiality of its
incidence. The tax shows itself still more burden-
some on the poor man, when it is* remembered that
>alt is the one thing he mu^t eat more than
the rich man, both individually and collectively.
The drink and drug revenue, too, ic derived from
the poor. It saps the foundations both of their
health and morals. It is defended under the false •
plea of individual freedom, but, in leality, is main-
tained for its own >ake. The ingenuity of the
authors of the Reforms of 1919 transferred this
revenue to the so-called responsible part of Dyarchy,
so as to throw the burden of prohibition on it, thus,
from the very beginning, rendering it powerless for
good. If the unhappy Minister wipes out this
revenue, he must starve education, since in the exist-
ing circumstances he has no new source of replacing
that revenue. If the weight of taxation has crushed
the poor from above, the destruction of the central
supplementary industry, i.e., hand-spinning, has
undermined their capacity for producing wealth.
"The tale of India's ruination is not complete
without reference to the liabilities incurred in her
name. Sufficient has been recently said about these
in the public Press. It must be the duty of a Free
India to subject all! the liabilities to the strictest
investigation, and repudiate tho<e that may be
adjudged by an impartial tribunal to be unjust and
unfair.
"The inequities sampled above arc maintained
in order to cany on a foreign administration,
demonstrably the most expensive in the world. Take
your own salary. It is over Rs. 21.000 per month,
634 THE HISTORY OF TOT CONGRESS
besides many other indirect additions. The British?
Prime-Minister gets £ 5,000 per year, i.e., over •
Rs. 5,400 per month at the present rate of exchange.
You are getting over Rs. 70)0 per day, against
India's average income of less than 2 annas per
day. The Prime-Minister gets Rs. 180 per day
against Great Britain's average income of nearly
Rs. 2 per day. Tims, you are getting much over
five thousand times India's average income. The
British Prime-Minister is getting only ninety times
Britain's average income. On bended knee, I ask
you to ponder over this phenomenon. I have taken •
a personal illustration to drive home a painful truth.
I have too great a regard for you as a man to wish
to hurt your feelings. I know that you do not need '
the salary you get. Probably the whole of your
•salary goes for charity. But a system that provides
for such an arrangement deserves to be summarily
scrapped. What is true of the Viceregal salary is -
•true generally of the whole administration.
"A radical cutting down of the revenue, there-
fore, depends upon an equally radical reduction in
the expenses of the administration. This means a
•transformation of the scheme of government. This
transformation is impossible without Independence.
Hence, in my opinion, the spontaneous demonstra-
tion of 26th January, in which hundreds of thousands
of villagers instinctively participated. To them -
•Independence means deliverance from the killing:
weight.
"Not one 'of the great British political Parties,
it seems to me, is prepared to give up the Indian
spoils to which Great Britain helps herself from day
to day, often, in spite of the unanimous opposition \
of Indian 'opinion.
"Nevertheless, if India is to live as a Nation,
if the slow death by starvation of her people is>
to stop, some remedy must be found for immediate
relief. The proposed Conference is certainly not the -
remedy. It is not a matter of carrying conviction
by argument. The matter resolves itself into one*
of matching forces. Conviction or PO conviction,*.
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 635)
Great Britain would defend her Indian commerce and
interests by all the forces at her command. India
must consequently evolve force enough to free herself
from that embrace of death.
"It is common cause that, however disorganised,,
and, for the time being, insignificant it may be, the-
party of violence is gaining ground and making
itself felt. Its end is the same as mine. But I am.
convinced that it cannot bring the desired relief to«
the dumb millions. And the conviction is growing:
deeper and deeper in me that nothing but
unadulterated non-violence can check the organised'
violence of the British Government. My experience,.
limited though it undoubtedly is, shows that non-
violence can be an intensely active force. It is my
purpose to set in motion that force, as well against
the organised violent force of the British rule as*
the unorganised violent force of the growing party
of violence. To sit still would be to give reign to
both the forces above-mentioned. Having art
unquestioning and immovable faith in the efficacy
of non-violence, as I know it, it would be sinful on:
my part to wait any longer.
"The non-violence will be expressed through
Civil Disobedience, for the moment confined to the-
inmates of the Satyagraha Ashram, but ultimately
designed to cover all those who choose to join the-
movement with its obvious limitations.
UI know that in embarking on non-violence, I"
j&hall be running what might fairly be termed a mad'
ris»k. But the victories of Truth have never been
won without risks, often of the bravest character.
Conversion of a Nation that has consciously or
unconsciously preyed upon another far more
numerous, far more ancient and no less cultured thani
itself, is worth any amount of risk.
"I have deliberately used the word 'conversion*.
For my ambition is no less than to convert th$-
British people, through non-violence, and thus make-
them see the wrong they have done to India. I do-
not seek to harm your people. I want to servQ-
them, even as I want to serve my own. I believq?
436 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
that I have always served them. I served them up
to 1919 blindly. But when my eyes were opened
and I conceived Non-co-operation, the object still
was to serve them. I employed the same weapon
that I have, in all humility, successfully used against
-the dearest members of my family. If I have equal
love for your people with mine, it will not long
remain hidden. It will be acknowledged by thorn,
•even as the members of my family acknowledged it
after they had tried me for several years. If the
people join me, as I expect they will, the sufferings
they will undergo, unless the British Nation soonor
retraces its steps, will be enough to melt the stoniest
hearts.
"The plan through Civil Disobedience will be
to combat such evils as I have sampled out. If
•we want to sever the British connection, it is because
•of such evils. When they are removed; the path
becomes easy. Then the way to friendly negotia-
tion will be open. If the British commerce with
India is purified of greed, you will have no difficulty
in recognising our Independence. T respectfully
invite you then to pave the way for an immediate
removal of those evils, and thus open a way for a
real conference between equals, interested only in
promoting the common good of mankind through
voluntary fellowship and in arranging terms of
mutual help and commerce equally suited to both.
"You have unnecessarily laid stress upon the
•communal problems that unhappily affect this land.
Important though they undoubtedly arc for the
Consideration of any scheme of government, they
have little bearing on the greater problems which
•are above communities and which affect them all
equally. But if you cannot see your way to deal
-with these evils and my letter makes no appeal to
your heart, on the llth day of this month, I shall
proceed, with such co-workers of the Ashram as I
can take, to disregard the provisions of the Salt
"Laws. I regard this tax to be the most iniquitous
rof all from the poor man's standpoint. As the Inde-
pendence movement is essentially for the poorest in
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 637
• the land, the bediming will be made with this evil.
The wonder is that we have submitted to the cruel
monopoly for so long. It is, I know, open to you to
frustrate my design by arresting me. I hope that
there will be tens of thousands ready!, in a dis-
- oiplined manner, to take up the Work after me, and,
in the act of disobeying the Salt Act, ta lay
themselves open to the penalties of a Law that
should never have disfigured the Statute Book.
"I have no desire to cause you unnecessary
embarrassment, or any at all, so far as I can help.
If you think that there is any substance in my letter,
and if yoit will rare to discuss matters with me,
. and if to that end you would like me to postpone
publication of this letter, I shall gladly refrain, on
receipt of a telegram to that effect soon after this
reaches you. You will, however, do me the favour
not to deflect me from my course, unless you can
see your way to conform to the substance of this
letter.
"This letter is not in any \va> intended as
a threat but is a simple and sacred duty peremptory
on a civil register. Therefore, I am having it
specially delivered by a young English friend who
believes in the Indian cause and is a full believer in
non-violence, and whom Providence seems to have •
sent to me, as it were, for the very purpose.
I remain,
Your sincere friend,
M. K. Gandhi"
To
H. E. Lord Irwin,
Viceroy's House,
New Delhi.
This letter was taken to Delhi by Mr. Reginald
Reynolds, a young Englishman, who had been in the
Ashram for some time. Lord Irwin's answer to this
letter of Gandhi,— which people and the Press described as
an ultimatum, — came back quick and was unequivocal.
His Excellency expressed his regret that Mr. Gandhi
638 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
should have been "contemplating a course of action*
which was clearly bound to involve violation of the Law
and danger to the public peace." Gandhi's rejoinder to-
this was characteristic of him and was abounding in
that spirit of humility and courage which make up the
equipment of every honest Satyagrahi.
"On bended knees," he wrote, "I asked for bread and .
received a stone instead. The English Nation responds
only to force, and I am not surprised by the Viceregal
reply. The only public peace the Nation knows is the
peace of the public prison. India is a vast prison-
house. I repudiate this (British) Law and regard it as
my sacred duty to break the mournful monotony of com-
pulsory peace that is choking the heart of the Nation
for want of free vent."
Gandhi's march had thus become inevitable. All
necessary preparations had been already made, nor did-
they need to be elaborate. His seventy-one followers
who were picked and chosen from among the members
of the Ashram and the students of the Vidya Pith who
had offered themselves as volunteers, were soldiers who
had been steeled to the disciplines and hardships which
a two hundred miles' march on foot would necessarily
entail on them. Villages on the way to Dandi, a seaside
village which was Gandhi's destination, were strictly
warned not to give any rich fare to the pilgrims in their
progress. While yet Gandhi was making these prepara-
tions, which were purely of a moral nature, Vallabhbhai
went before his master, to prime up the villagers for the
coming ordeals. It did not take long for Government to
strike the first blow. When Vallabhbhai was moving lit
advance as Gandhi's forerunner, Government saw in him
John 'the Baptist that was the forerunner of Jesus,,
nineteen hundred years ago, and forthwith they laid
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 639"
hands on him in the first week of March at Ras and
sentenced him to three months' imprisonment. With his-
arrest and conviction, the whole of Gujarat rose to a
man against Government. 75,000 people gathered on the-
sands of Sabarmati and passed the following resolu-
tion:—
"We the citizens of Ahmedabad, determine
hereby that we shall go the same path where-
Vallabhbhai has gone, and we shall attain full'
Independence while attempting to do so. Without
achieving freedom for our country, we shall not rest
in peace, nor will we give Government peace. We
>olcmnly declare that India's emancipation lies in-
truth and non-violence."
Gandhi ji then asked the gathering to raise their -
hands if they meant to take the vow, and the whole of
that throng raised their hands. Vallabhbhai's speeches to*
the people of Gujarat had been soul-stirring. He warned
them about the seizure of their dear ca,ttle before their-
very eyes.
"Give up your wedding festivities," said he, "a
people at war with a mighty Government cannot
afford to indulge in these pastimes. From tomorrow, .
you might have to keep your doors closed and locked,
and betake to the fields, only to return home in the-
evening. You have earned a reputation that you
have yet to do much to deserve. Now the die is
cast, and there is no turning back; you have to
vindicate Gandhi's choice of your Taluka as the-
j^cene of his first experiment in Mass Civil Disobe-
dience I know some of you are afraid '
of your lands being confiscated. What is confisca--
tion? Will they take away the lands to England?"
Rest assured, when you allow all your lands to be- .
confiscated, the whole of your Gujarat will be at-
I your back.
v640 THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
"Organise your village and set an example to
others. Every village must now be an armed camj).
Discipline and organisation infean half the battle.
Government at least have one Patel and one Talati
to every village; for us, every adult in the village
must be a volunteer.
"I see that these fifteen days have taught you
to cast off your fear. But two annas in the rupee
are still there. Shake it off. It is Government that
has cause to fear. This is not a reign of peace but
a reign of fear. I want to inoculate you with fear-
lessness. I want to galvanise you into life. I mi^
in your eyes the flash of indignation against wronj:.
Non-violence excludes anger. The defection of two
unfortunate brethren should serve to stiffen your
resolve and to warn you for the future. You rnu-A
not be angry with two friends who fell a prey in
official machinations. If those who sign the pledge
break it with eye* open, how long can you stop
them? Let Mahalkari chuckle over his preciou**
gains. He will soon find his occupation gone."
Gandhi began his inarch on 12-3-1930 to Dam'.i,
.accompanied by his seventy-nine 'padacharccs.' It was
.a historic scene, nay an epic scene, calling back to our
minds like scenes of old coupled with the names of Sree
,Rama and of the Pandavas. But here it is a inarch of
revolt, not a mere submission to the decree of a father
• or the ukase of an uncle. As the march was progressing,
three hundred village officers tendered their resignations.
•Gandhi had said during his informal talks at Ahmedabad,
"Wait till I begin. Once I march to the place, the idea
will be released. You will know what to do." It was,
in effect, a warning against an intellectual analysis of
a scheme of resistance, which even the best of adherents
-could not visualise in its full proportions at the time.
It was also prophetic visualisation of what was to come
^to pass. Perhaps Gandhi himself had no full concep-
tion of what was to follow. He saw things as if by a
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 641l
flash and framed hia conduct by impulse. To the
righteous man, these two are the supreme guides of life,
not reason nor intellect. Once the march began, people
caught the spirit of his teaching and the plan of his
campaign. They gathered round his banner. The idea
was released, and the released idea coursed along
different channels, seeking various forms of expression.
People soon realised that Non-co-operation and non-
violence were not a mere negation, but a scheme of
resistance. They had their own strategy too; Truth was-
tliat strategy. Non-violence was the resistance. The •
liberation of ideas and emotions brought with it a
liberation of energies a.- well The march was ridiculed
at first, watched with attention, later, and finally was
admired. Where the towns feared, the villages followed.
The -unsophisticated had full faith in his unerring judg- •
ment. His salt campaign was not a depredatory march
against a depot well-guarded, or against the limitless
ocean- It was symbolical of the revolt of thirty-one crores
of Indians against the authority of the British, — British
laws and British regulations, based neither on the
consent of the people nor even upon the unimpeachable
principles of ethics or humanity. People were expecting
the- first blow to be a stupendous blow, a stunning blow,
a spectacular blow. The rapid march of the Germans,
from the Rhineland on to the Marne, within gun-shot
range from the fort of Paris* was .such a spectacular
achievement. Satyagraha was not a spectacular process.
Yet there was enough of the unexpected and dramatic'
in it.
The first blow was, it is true, not dealt either by
the dynamite or nitro-glycerine with all its din of
explosion, nor with picric acid or potassium-chlorate
with their booms and bursts, but with sodium-chloride or
common salt, a salt which is bland and free from all
*642 THB HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
j>nngency. Yet, the momentum that gathered round
this elementary need of life is wonderful. The reaction
in Government to this tame and semi-comic campaign is
.Amazing to a degree. As for the response which the
civilised world has shown, we lack words to describe its
intensity and its promptness. The one idea released by
Gandhi's march is that India is in revolt, in bloodless
revolt, against the British Government; and India is
-bound to triumph, if, in the supreme wisdom of provi-
dence, Truth should triumph over untruth, light over
darkness, and life eternal over death.
While this mighty scene in the drama of Indian
emancipation was being enacted, new expressions came
into existence. We had already learnt what it was to
'Bardolise' the country. Now the 'spirit of Borsad' had
come in as a companion phrase and had come to stay.
During the march, the A.I.C-C. met at Ahmedabad on
21st March, 1930, and approved of and endorsed the
resolution of the Working Committee already quoted,
and urged concentration on the salt laws, and warned
against Civil Disobedience anywhere in the country being
started before Gandhi had actually reached his desti-
nation and committed a breach of the salt law himself.
•Sirdar Vallabhbhai and Sen-Gupita were congratulated
on their arrests, as also the village officials of Gujarat
who had resigned from Government service. A Satya-
grahi pledge of a uniform kind was considered desirable
•and, with Gandhi's approval, the following pledge was
"drawn up: —
1. I desire to join the civil resistance campaign
for the Independence of India undertaken by the
National Congress.
2. I accept the Creed of the National Congress,
that is, "the attainment of Puma Swaraj (Complete
Independence) by the people of India by all peaceful
•-and legitimate means.9'
* u
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1030) 64*
3. I am ready and willing to go to jail and
-undergo all other sufferings and penalties that may
be inflicted on me in this campaign.
4. In case I am sent to jail, I shall not seek
any monetary help for my family from the Congress
funds.
5. I shall implicitly obey the orders of those
who are in charge of the campaign.
It was usual for Gaaidhi to give instructions to the
public regarding their duties and behaviour on his arrest.
• On the eve of the March, and the expected arrest which
would soon follow, Gandhi wrote the following article
• on 27th February.
WHEN I AM ARRESTED:
"It must be taken for granted that when Civil
Disobedience is started, my arrest is a certainty. It
is, therefore, necessary to consider what should be
done when the event takes place.
"On the eve of my arrest in 1922, I had warned
co-workers against any demonstration of any kind
save that of mute, complete non-violence, and had
insisted that constructive work, which ' alone could
organise the country for Civil Disobedience, should be
prosecuted with the utmiost zeal. The first part of
the instructions was, thanks be given to God, literally
and completely carried out, so completely that it has
enabled an English noble contemptuously to say,
"Not a dog barked." For me, when I learnt in the
jail that the country had remained absolutely non-
violent, it was a demonstration that the preaching
of non-violence had had its effect and that the
Bardoli decision was the wisest thing to do. It
would be foolish to speculate what might have
happened if 'dogs' had barked and violence had been
"let loose on my arrest. One thing, however, I can
say, that in that event there would have been no
Independence Resolution at Lahore, and no Gandm,
*with his confidence in the power of non-violence, left
to contemplate taking the boldest risks imaginable.
644 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGBESS
"Let us, however, think of the immediate future.
This time, on my arrest, there is to be no mute,
passive non-violence, but non-violence of the activest
type should be set in motion, so that not a single
believer in non-violence as an article of faith for the
purpose of achieving India's goal should find himself
free or alive a* the end of the effort, to submit any
longer to the existing slavery. It would be, there-
fore, the duty of every one to take up such Civil
Disobedience or civil resistance as may be advised
and conducted by my successor, or as might be
taken up by the Congress. I must confess that, at
the present moment, I have no all-India successor in
view. But I have sufficient faith in the co-workers,
and in the mission itself, to know that circumstance
will give the successor. This peremptory condition
must be patent to all, that he must be an out-and-
out believer in the efficacy of non-violence for the
purpose intended. For, without that living faith in
it, he will not be able at the crucial moment to dis-
cover a non-violent method.
"It must be parenthetically understood that
what is being said here in no way fetters the dis-
cretion and full authority of the Congress. The
Congress will adopt only such things said here that
may commend themselves to Congressmen in
general, if the nature or organic value of the charter
of full liberty given to me by the Working Com-
mittee should 'be adequately appreciated. Non-
violence, if it does not submit to any restrictions upon
its liberty, subjects no one and no institution to any
restriction whatsoever, save what may be self-
imposed or voluntarily adopted. So long as the vast
body of Congressmen continue to believe in non-
violence as the only policy in the existing circum-
stances, and have confidence not only in the bona
fides of my successor and those who claim to believe
in non-violence as an article of faith to the extent
, indicated but also in the ability of the successor •
wisely to guide the movement, the Congress will give
him and them its blessings and even give effect to <
these instructions and his.
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 6*8
"So far as I am concerned, my intention is to
start the movement only through the inmates of the
Ashram and those who have submitted to it* dis-
cipline and assimilated the spirit of its methods.
Those, therefore, who will offer battle at the very
commencement will be unknown to fame. Hitherto
the Ashram has been deliberately kept in reserve in
order that, by a fairly long course of discipline, it
might acquire stability. I feel that if the Satyagraha
Ashram is to deserve the great confidence that has
been reposed in it and the affection lavished upon
it by friends, the time has arrived for it to demon-
strate the qualities implied in the word Satyagraha.
I feel that our self-imposed restraints have become
subtle indulgences, and the prestige acquired has
provided us with privileges and conveniences of
which we may be utterly unworthy. These have
been thankfully accepted in the hope that some day
we would be able to give a good account of our-
selves in ternxs of Satyagraha. And if at the end
of nearly 15 years of its existence, the Ashram
cannot give such a demonstration, it and I should!
disappear, and it would be well for the Nation, the
Ashram, and me.
"When the beginning is well and truly made,.
I expect the response from all over the country. It
will be the duty then of every one who wants to
make the movement a success to keep it non-violent
and under discipline. Every one will be expected to
stand at his post except when called by his chief..
If there is a spontaneous mass response, as I hope
there will be, and if previous experience isi any guide,
it will largely be self-regulated. But every one who-
accepts non-violence whether as an article of faith
or policy would assist the mass movement. Mass
movements have, all over the world, thrown <up un-
expected leaders. This should be no exception to*
the rule. Whilst, therefore, every effort imaginable
and possible should be made to restrain the forces of
violence, Civil Disobedience, once begun this time,,
cannot be stopped and must not be stopped so tang
as there is a single civil register left ftoe or alive.
41
446 THE HISTORY OP THE CONGRESS
A votary of Satyagraha should find himself in one
of the following states:
1. In prison or in an analogous state, or
2. Engaged in Civil Disobedience, or
3. Under orders at the spinning wheel, or at
some constructive work advancing Swaraj.
M. K. Gandhi."
It was about this time that the princely gift of
'Anand Bhawan' was made by Pandit Motilal Nehru.
When Pandit Jawaharlal was Speaking with great
fervour on Socialism at the All-Parties' Conference at
Lucknow in 1920, a certain Thakur of U. P. got up and
ejaculated, "What about Anand Bhawan? It is not yet
demolished!" No, a work of art like ' Anand Bhawan'
cannot be destroyed. It can only change hands and
change purposes. Even the Soviets have not destroyed
or demolished the Kremlin Palace which was the resi-
dence of the Czar. It is now converted into a kind of
museum, a sort of educational centre for social culture.
Even so, the 'Anand Bhawan' has changed hands, names
and purposes. It is to be known hereafter as 'Swaraj
Bhawan' and being situated in the holy place of Prayag,
stands to the Nation as the centre and symbol of India's
Independence. How fast is Indian history making?
The palace now presented by Pandit Motilal Nehru to
President Jawaharlal Nehru is easily worth several lacs
•of rupees. Doubtless does it require a few thousands to
set it in perfect order, but we have no time for gardens,
'floral fountains, and various other luxuries. Let the
'Swaraj Bhawan' be the rallying place for the Congress-
men, Bless the name alike of the father who is the
donor and of the son who is the donee, as the represen-
tative of the Nation. Between the donor and the donee,
they have completed the title-deeds of the Nation and
<we congratulate both on their great gift to it.
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 647
While the inarch was progressing, India was in a
state of tense expectancy. It is often as difficult to con-
trol impatience as it is to dispel inertia. But discipline
as the essence of organisation and India showed its dis-
cipline at this trying hour. The movement inaugurated
by Gandhi was gaining strength in number, in wealth,
And in influence. Gandhi having released the idea in
ihe form, of a sidra, his apostles explained it to the
public and the missionaries carried the gospel far and
wide. The prophet is one, the apostles are only a few,
the missionaries are a legion. Thus did the new cult
spread from door to door throughout the country. Only
Dr. Besant was describing the combat as a mock-fight.
The criticism came with little grace from a leader whose
release was secured by planning out Passive Resistance.
Much water had flown in the rivers of national life since
Passive Resistance was talked of. Passive Resistance
.gave place to Non-co-operation and Civil Disobedience,
and these in turn to Satyagraha. The movement easily
rose in its level from the physical to the intellectual,
and from the intellectual to the moral plane. Hardly
had a week passed since Gandhi began his march when,
fceemingly unruffled, the Civil Government of the country
suddenly lost balance. Vallabhbhai's arrest in the
first week of March, even before Gandhi's 'Maha-
prasthan' began, was an illegal act and his punishment of
4 months still more illegal. Soon after the march, came
ihe order that the cinema film representing the march of
Gandhi armed with a sliver and spindle and wearing a
loin cloth should not be exhibited, and the order was re-
peated in Province after Province,— Bombay, U. P.,
Punjab, Madras. The Police were virtually relieved of
their normal duties. All attention was directed towards
the Non-co-operator. It is no wonder that a Government
not based on Truth and non-violence would not readily
648 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGBESS
give credit to the votaries of the two eternal principles
for sincerity or honesty.
In the midst of all this travail and suffering, we had
-the satisfaction of witnessing the birth of Puma Swaraj.
It required no instrumental aid. It is the product of
normal labour. There is a show of pain about it, but
All the suffering is of Mother India that reproduces her-
self in a purer, stronger, and more glorified form. .Let
no one imagine that we were out to give trouble to-
Government, other than moral trouble involved in the
loss of its prestige, and political trouble involved in the
impending loss of ite despotic powers. This fight between
Government and the people is a clean fight. It is
Government that is making it unclean by sending for
landed proprietors, house-owners, sowcars and merchants^
and threatening them with displeasure if they
assist the Satyagrahis. To the extent people yield to-
these threats, to that extent they become .demoralized.
But to the extent to which they resist, to that extent
they hasten the advent of Swaraj. We know that men
with a touch of English education and town life are
easily brought under; not so, however, men who are un-
sophisticated and patriotic. It is real pleasure to notice-
that the villages abound in patriots; and not merely in-
patriotism but also in leadership. When once leadership*
has 'been taken possession of in the villages, the success
of the movement now in progress is assured.
Every age and every clime has its miracles and
India was to produce its own. It was to witness this
miracle of the twentieth century in their own. Mother-
land that thousands of people gathered round the banner
of 'Gandhi at the Sabarmjati Ashram on the 6th March,
W80, and accompanied him as far as their tegs could
carry their bodies, or their enthusiasm could sustain?
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) ' 649
their energies. Amongst those that accompanied Gandhi
.and his pilgrim-fighters were newspaper correspon-
dents from various pajrts of India and from abroad,
photographers, cinemamen, and of course the vast con-
course of village people from round about, with batches
of leading men from different Provinces. Qiandhi had
.all along said that Gujarat would bear the brunt of the
fight for Indian emancipation, and if Gujarat did it and
was allowed to do it, the rest of India need not pass
through the agonies and anguish inevitable in the
struggle. People who know Gandhi know how fast he
walks. Here is a description by a correspondent who
was with the party: —
"Early on the morning of the 12th March,
Gandhi left the Ashram on a, campaign of Civil
Disobedience, with his 75 volunteers picked and
chosen, for Dandi, a sea-side village 200 miles dis-
tant, for the manufacture of salt/'
In the words of Thr Bombay Chronicle, "The
scenes that preceded, accompanied and followed this great
national event, were so enthusiastic, magnificent and
soul-stirring that indeed they beggar description. Never
was the wave of patriotism so powerful in the hearts of
mankind, as it was on this ereat occasion which is bound
to go down to the chapters of the history of India's
national freedom as a great- beginning of a great
movement."
He was carrying a long stick in hand, obviously for
•support. The whole army was marching in a perfectly
disciplined manner. The agile General in front was
indeed a source of inspiration, to all. The army passed
all along the distaince of ten miles up to AslaJi between
the densely packed rows of people who were standing in
ttheir places for hours together, eager for the (darshan' of
650 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
India's great General. Ahmedabad had had on the occasion
one of ite hugest processions during living memory.
With the possible exceptions of children and decrepite,
every resident of the city must have watched the great
procession which was at least two miles in length.
Those who could not find a standing place in the streets
through which the army marched had made use of house
tops and galleries, open walls and trees and every
conceivable place they could get hold of. The whole city
seemed to be en fete on this historic occasion. The cries of
'Gandhi-ki-jai' were rending the skies all along the
march.
Crowds gathered everywhere to witness the march
and pay homage to the great deliverer. A new salva-
tion was in sight; but it was the old gospel that was
preached. Khaddar, abstinence from drink, and
removal of untouchability were the three favourite
themes, but the new demand was that all should join the
Satyagrahis. In the march he declared that he would
either die on the way or else keep away from the
Ashram until Swaraj was won, and that he "hald no
intention of returning to the Ashram until he succeeded
in getting the Salt Tax abolished. Spinning and
sanitation of the villages were emphasised by him.
Volunteers came in their hundreds joining the campaign.
The arrest of Gandhi was imminent. His place
should be taken up by Abbas Tyabji. P. C. Ray said,
"Mahatma Gandhi's historic inarch was like the exodus
of the Israelites under Moses. Until the Seer seized the
promised land, he won't turn his back."
Gandhi said: "The British rule in India has brought
about moral; material, cultural and spiritual ruination
of this great country. I regard this rule as a curse. I
fim out to destroy this system of Government. I have
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 651
sung the tune of 'God Save the King* and have taught
others to sing it. I was a believer in the politics of
petitions, deputations, and friendly negotiations. But all
these have gone to dogs. I know that these aire not the
ways to bring this Government round. Sedition has
become my religion. Ours is a non-violent battle. We
are not out -to kill anybody but it is our dharma to see
that the curse of this Government is blotted out."
Speaking at a place called Jambusar, Gandhi
denounced the enforcement of social boycott against
sub-inspectors of Police. It was not religion to starve
Government officials, said Gandhi, and he would suck
the poison out of a dying enemy of his if he was bitten
by a snake, in order to save his life.
As already stated, the All-India Congress
Committee met at Ahmedabad on the 21st March, 1930,
and endorsed the resolution about Salt Satyagraha passed
by the Working Committee on the 14th of February.
The All-India Congress Committee resolution ran as
follows: —
"This meeting of the A.I.C.C. approves of and
endorses the resolution of the Working Committee
dated February 16th, authorising Mahatma Gandhi
to initiate and control Civil Disobedience, and
congratulates him and his companions and the
country on the inarch begun by him on the 12th
instant in pursuit of his plan for Civil Disobedience.
The Committee hopes that the whole country will
respond to the action taken by Gandhi] i eo as to
bring the campaign for Piirna Swaraj to a speedy
and successful issue.
"The A.I.C.C. hereby authorises the Provincial
Congress Committees, subject to any directions that
the Working Committee might issue from time to
time, to organise and undertake such Civil Dis-
obedience as to them may seem proper and in the
65K THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
manner that may appear to them to be most suitable.
The Committee, however, hopes that the Provinces, so
far as is possible, will concentrate on a civil breach
of the Salt Laws. The Committee trusts that while
full preparation will be carried on in spite of any
Government interference, Civil Disobedience will not
be started till Gandhiji has reached his destination
and has actually committed a breach of the Salt
Laws and given the word. In the event, however, of
Gandhiji's earlier aa'rest, the Provinces shall have
full liberty to start Civil Disobedience."
Gandhiji's march lasted 24 days, and all along he
was emphasising how the march was a pilgrimage the
merit of which lay in keeping the body and soul together
and not in feting and feasting. He was constantly
turning the torch inward. \t Surat he said: —
"Only this morning at prayer time, I was
' telling my companions that as wo had entered the
district in which we were to offer Civil Disobedience,
we. should insist on greater purification and intenser
dedication, and warned them that as the district was
more organised" and contained many intimate co-
workers, there was every likelihood of our being
pampered. I warned them against suecumbing to
their pampering. We are not Angels. We are very
weak, easily temlpted. There are many lapses to our
debit. Even to-day, some were discovered. One
' defaulter confessed his lapse himself whilst I was
• brooding over the lapse of the pilgrims. I discovered
that my warning was given none too soon. The local
workers had ordered milk from Surat to be brought
in a motor lorry, and they had incurred other
expenses which they could not justify. I, therefore,
spoke strongly about them. But that did not allay
my grief. On the contrary it increases with the
contemplation of the' wrong done.
"In the light of these discoveries, what right had
I to write to the Viceroy the letter in which I have
severely criticised his salary which is more than 5,000
times- our average income? How could he possibly '
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 6SS
•do justice to that salary? And how can we tolerate
his getting a salary out of all proportion to our
income? But he is individually not to be blamed
for it. He has no need for it. God has made him
a wealthy man. I have suggested in my letter that
probably the whole of his salary is spent in charity.
I have since learnt that ray guess is largely likely to
be true. Even so, of course, I should resist the giving
of such a large salary. I could not. vote Rs. 21,000
per month, not perhaps -even Rs. 2,100 per month.
But when could I offer such resistance? Certainly not,
if I was myself taking from the people an uncon-
scionable toll.
"I could resist only if my living bore some
correspondence with the average income of the
people. We aire marching in the name of God. We
profess to act on behalf of the hungry, the naked,
and the unemployed. I have no right to criticise
the Viceregal salary, if we are costing the country,
say fifty times seven pice, the average daily income
of our people. I have asked the workers to furnish
me with an account of the expenses and the way
tilings arc going. I should not be surprised if each of
us is costing something near fifty times seven pice.
What else can be the result if they will fetch for
me, from whatever source possible, the choicest
oranges and grapes, if they will bring 120 when I
should want 12 oranges, if, when I need one pound
of milk, they will produce three? What else can be
the result if we would take all the dainties you may
place before us under the exrus>e that we would hurt
your feelings, if we did not take them? You give us
guavas and grapes and we eat them because* they are
free gift from a princely fanner. And then imagine
me with an easy conscience writing the Viceregal
letter on costly glazed paper with a fountain pen, a
free gift from some accommodating friend. Will this
behove you and me? Can a letter so written
produce the slightest effect?
"To live thus would be to illustrate the immortal
verse of Akhobhagat who says, 'stolen food is Kke
eating unprocessed mercury/ and to live above the
means befitting a poor country is to live oft stolen
654 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
food. This battle can never be won by living on
stolen food. Nor did I bargain to set out on this
march for living above our means. We expect
thousands of volunteers to respond to the call.
"It will be impossible to keep them on
extravagant terms. My life has become so busy
that I get little time to come in close touch even
with the eighty companions so as to be able to
identify them individually. There was, thereforeuno
course open to me but to unburden my soul in
public. I expect you to understand the central point
of my message. If you have not, there is no hope of
• Swaraj through the present effort. We must become
real trustees of the dumb millions."
Needless to say the speech produced a tremendous
impression on the audience and 200 Patels had already
resigned. Addressing the Parsees at Navasari, Gandtii
appealed to them to give up drink and the liquor trade:
"If they are successful in doing away with the Salt Tax
and the liquor traffic from India, there is the victory for
ahimsa. And what power on earth is there then, that
would prevent Indians from getting Swaraj? If there be
any such power, I shall like to see it. Either I -shall
return with what I want, or else my dead body will float
in the Ocean."
Gandhi reached Dandi on the morning of the, 5th
April. Shrimati Sarojini Devi had also gone there to see
him. In an interview to the Associated Press at Dandi,
Gandhi said: —
"God be thanked for what may be termed the
happy ending of the first stage in this, for me at
least, the final struggle lor freedom. I cannot
withhold my compliments "irom the Government for
the policy of complete non-interference adopted by
them throughout the march. After the graceless and
childish performance in the matter of Mr. Vallabh-
bhai's arrest and imprisonment and equally
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 65S
unprovoked arrest and imprisonment of Mr. Sen-
Gupta, I was wholly unprepared for this exemplary
non-interference. I am not so foolish as to imagine
that the Government has suddenly lost their
proved capacity for provoking popular resentment
and then punishing with frightfulness. I wish I
could believe this non-interference was due to any
real change of heart or policy. The wanton disregard
Bhown by them to popular feeling in the Legislative
Assembly and their high-handed action leave no
room for doubt that the policy of heartless exploita-
tion of India is to be persisted in at any cost, and so
the only interpretation I can put upon this non-
interference is that the British Government, powerful
though it is, is sensitive to world opinion which will
not tolerate repression of extreme political agitation
which Civil Disobedience undoubtedly is, so long as
disobedience remains civil and, therefore, necessarily
non-violent.
"It remains to be seen whether the Government
will tolerate, as they have tolerated the march, the
actual breach of the Salt Laws by countless people
from to-morrow. I expect extensive popular response
to the resolution of the W.C. I have seen nothing
to warrant the cancellation of the notice I have
already issued that all committees and organisations
throughout the length and breadth of the land are-
free, if they are prepared, to commence from
to-morrow Civil Disobedience in respect of the Salt
Laws. God willing, I expect with my companions
(volunteers) to commence actual Civil Disobedience
at 6-30 to-morrow morning. The 6th April has been
to us, since its culmination in Jallianwala massacre,
a day for penance and purification. We, therefore,
commence it with prayer and fasting. I hope the
whole of India will observe the National Week
commencing from to-morrow in the spirit in which it
was conceived. I am positive that the greater the
dedication to tho country's cause and the greater the
purification, the speedier will be the glorious end for
which the millions of India consciously or
unconsciously are striving."
THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
Soon after the morning prayers, Gandhi and his
volunteers proceeded to break the Salt Law by picking
up the salt lying on the sea-shore. Immediately after
breaking the Salt Law, Gandhi issued the following Press
statement: —
"Now that the technical or ceremonial breach
of the Salt Law has been committed, it is now open
to any one who would take the risk of prosecution
under the Salt Law to manufacture salt wherever he
wishes, and wherever it is convenient. My advice
is that workers should everywhere manufacture salt,
and where they know how to prepare clean salt,
make use of it and instruct the villagers likewise,
telling the villagers at the same time that they run
the risk of being prosecuted. In other words, the
villagers should be fully instructed as to the incidence
of the Salt Tax, and the manner of breaking the
laws and regulations connected with it so as to have
the Salt Tax repealed.
"It should be made absolutely clear to the
villagers that the breach is open, and in no way
stealthy. This salt being manufactured by Nature
in creeks and pits near sea-shore, let them use it for
themselves and their cattle, and .sell it to those who
will buy it, it being; woll understood that all such
people are committing a breach of the Salt Law and
running the sam^ risk of a prosecution, or even
without a prosecution arc to be subject by so-called
salt officers to harassment.
"This war against the Salt Taix should be
continued during the National Week, that is, up to
the 13th April. Those who are not engaged in this
sacred work should themselves do vigorous
propaganda for the boycott of foreign cloth and the
use of khaddar. They should also endeavour to
manufacture as much khaddar as possible. As to
this and the prohibition of liquor, I am preparing a
message for the women of India who, I am becoming
more and more convinced, can make a larger
contribution than men towards the attainment of
Independence. I feel that they will be worthier
A FWHT TO THE FINISH (1030)
interpreters of non-violence than men, not because
they are weak, as men, in their arrogance, believe
them to be, but because they have greater courage of
the right type, and immeasurably greater spirit -of
self-sacrifice."
In a statement, Gandhi said: —
"From information available up to now, I
gather that the striking manifestation of Mass Civil
Disobedience in Gujajat has had its effect on the
Government, who have lost no time in arresting the
chief men. But I know that similar attention must
have been bestowed by the Government on the
workers in the other Provinces. This is a matter for
congratulation.
"It would have been surprising if the Government
had allowed civil resisters to have their own way. It
would have been barbarous if they had violated the-
persons and property of civil resisters without
judicial process.
"No exception can be taken to orderly
prosecutions and penalties thereunder. After all.,
this is the logical outcome of civil resistance.
"Imprisonment and the like is the test through
which the civil register has to pass. He gains -his
end when he himself is found not to flinch, and those
whom he represents do not betray any nervousness
when the leader is put away. Now is the time for
every one to be both chief and follower.
"It would pain me if even after these
imprisonments students who are in Government or
Government-controlled schools and colleges do not
respond by giving up their schools and colleges."
When one of the volunteers was slightly injured by
the Police on the wrist, Gandhi wrote: —
"This laying hand on the people for the purpose
of seizing the salt they were carrying was morally
' wong, «nd even wrong, I fancy, according t& the
1 English Common Law. But I do not know what
658 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
powers are given by the Statute. The legal procedure
may be a cumbersome business for the Government,
but since they have begun well, let them not end ill.
If they resort to terrorism, they will find the people
prepared. Let the people defend the salt in their
possession till they break in the attempt, but they
should do so without an angry word. The Police
have the easiest way open to them for taking pos-
session of the salt. Let them arrest the civil
xesisters and they can take possession of the salt,
because they have possession of their persons; but it
<san become forfeit only after conviction, not before."
Regarding women, Gandhi said at Navasari: —
"Women ought not to take part alongside of
men in defence of salt pans. I still give credit to
the Government that it will not make war upon our
women. It will be wrong on our part to provoke
them into so doing. This is men's fight, so long as
the Government will confine their attention to men.
There will be time enough for women to court
assaults when the Government has crossed the limit.
Let it not be said of us that men sought shelter
behind women, well knowing they will be safe if
they took woman with them in what may be called,
for want of a better name, aggressive non-violence.
Women have, in the progamme I ventured to place
before them, enough work and to spare, and all
adventure and risk they may be capable of
undertaking."
The country was ablaze from end to end, being
permitted to start Salt Satyagraha as from the 6th April.
Huge public meetings were held in all big cities, the
.audience running up to six figures. The events at
Karachi, Shiroda, Ratnagiri, Patna, Peshawar,
Calcutta, Madras and Sholapur, constituted a new
experience and bore witness to the violence that lay
behind this civilized Government. In Peshawar, the
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 659
military firing resulted in many deaths. In Madras there
was firing too.
Referring to the Karachi tragedy Gandhi wrote: —
"Brave young Dattatraya who is said to have
known nothing of Satyagraha and, being an athlete,
had merely gone to assist in keeping order, received
a fatal bullet wound. Meghraj Revachand, 18
years old, has also succumbed to a bullet wound.
Thus did seven men, including Jairamdas, receive
bullet wounds."
Writing under the title 'Black Regime/ Gandhi
reviewed the events and said: "If Government neither
arrest nor declare salt free, they will find people
.marching to be shot rather than be tortured."1
The Bengal Ordinance was renewed on April 23rd,
fcnd the Viceroy promulgated on the 27th April another
Ordinance reviving the powers of the Press Act of 1910,
with certain amendments.
Gandhi's Young India began to be issued in
cyclostyle. Gandhi in a Press Statement declared: —
"Revival, in the form of an Ordinance, of the
Press Act that was supposed to be dead was only to
be expected, and, in its new form, the Act contains
1 The reference was to a firing which had taken place at an
f-arly stage in Karachi, where the movement was quite strong.
Mr. Jairamdas Daulatram, the leader of Sindh, had resigned his
.membership of the Bombay Legislative Council, and was a
member of the original Working Committee of the year. He
was striving his best to maintain order among the crowds who
gathered at the Magistrate's court during a trial of certain
C. D. prisoners, and was shot in the thigh along with others by
the Police. Mr. Jairamdaa was ttnly wounded and soon
recovered, and continues to be a member of- the Working
•Committee.
tftt THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
additional provisions making the whole piece
deadlier than before.
"Whether wo realise it or not, for some days
past, we have been living under a veiled form of
Martial Law. After all, what is Martial Law, if it
is not the will of the commanding officer? For the
time being, the Viceroy is that officer and wherever
he considers it desirable, he supersedes the wholcTbf
the Law, >both Common and Statute, and imposes
Ordinances on a people too submissive to resent or
resist them. I hope, however, the time for tame
submission to dictation from the British rulers i-
gone for ever.
"I hope that the people will not be frightened
by this Ordinance. Press-men, if they arc worthy
representatives of public opinion, will not be
frightened by the Ordinance. Let us realise the
wise dictum of Thoreau that it is difficult, under *
tyrannical rule, for honest men to be wealthy, and if
we have decided to hand o^rer our bodies without
murmur to the authorities, let us also be equally
ready to hand over our property to them and not
sell our souls.
"I would therefore urge Press-men and
publishers to refuse to furnish security, and if they
are called upon to do so, either to cease publication
or challenge the authorities to confiscate whatever
they like. When freedom is actually knocking at our
doors, and when, for the sake of wooing it, thousands
have suffered tortures, let it not be said of Press
representatives that they were weighed and found
watnting. They may confiscate the type and
machinery. They will not confiscate the pen and
still less the speech, but T recognise they can succeed
in stifling, what is after all the thing that matters,
the thought of the Nation."
Gandhi subsequently asked the manager of his
Navajivan Press to allow it to be forfeited rather than
deposit security, if security was demanded by the
<Jovernment under the Press Ordinance. The Navajivan
fell, and "with it the journals issued by that Press,
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 661
Most journalists in the country paid the securities
demanded of them.
It was at this time that Gandhi asked people to cut
off all the palm trees in the village, himself inaugurating
the ceremony of destruction. Addressing a meeting of
women in Sum on May 4, he said that they should not
attend his meetings in future without their taklis. They
could spin the finest counts on the taklis. Women of
Surat had to atone for the admission of foreign cloth
through the port of Surat. At the same place, he called
upon the caste Panchayats to observe their pledge to
itbetain from drink. At Navasari, however, he warned
the people against the social boycott of Government
officials. Kaira District became the theatre of war in
Gujarat ami Gandhi, in an article in A" ' avajivan, wrote: —
"People have preserved peace but there are anger
and malice and, therefore, violence in their intensive
social boycott. They censure and harass Govern-
ment officer? in small matters. They will not succeed
in this manner. We should expose the evils of the
offices of Mamlatdar and Fozdars. There should be
sweetness and respect in our intense boycott. Other-
wise there will be riots some day. Mamlatdar and
Fozdar etc., will cross the limit. Fozdar is already
said to have crossed the limit. What wonder if the
people crossed the limit? Similarly if some abuse,
how can they blame those who resort to blows?
"People of Kaira District should take a warning
and enforce boycott within limits. I have indicated,
for instance, boycott of village officers should be with
regard to their office only. Their order should not
be obeyed but their food supplies should not be
stopped. They should not be ejected from their
houses. If we are not capable of doing this we should
give up the boycott."
Gandhi then drafted his second letter to the Viceroy
and had also announced his intention of raiding the salt
42
662 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
works of Dharsana and Chharsada. Then came the
time for the arrest of Gandhi, and it was not until
Gandhi was actually removed to Yeravada on the
morning of the 5th, that it was known that his arrest
had taken place.
The depot selected for the first attack was situated
at Dharsana in the Surat District. It was argued that
the natural salt, like air and water, was the property of
the public. Government had no right to create a
monopoly of it against the interests of the people who had
every right to the so-called Government Stores. If the
Government wanted the people to keep back from these
stores, it could do so only at the point of the bayonet.
Accordingly, Gandhi decided to seize, rather demand and
rake possession of the Dharsana Depot, and as usual
wrote the following letter to the Viceroy: —
"Dear Friend,
God willing, it is my intention to set out for Dliar-
sana and reach there with my companions and demand
possession of the Salt Works. The public have been
told that Dharsana is private property. This is mere
camouflage. It is as effectively under Government
control as the Viceroy's House. Not a pinch of salt
can be removed without the previous sanction of the
authorities.
"It is possible for you to prevent, this raid, a<« it
has been playfully and mischievously called, in three
ways:
1. by removing the Salt Tax;
2. by arresting me and my party, unless the
country can, as I hope it will, replace every one taken
away;
3. by sheer goondaism, unless every head broken
is replaced, as I hope it will.
"It is not without hesitation that the step has been
. decided upon. I had hoped that the Government
! would fight the civil resisters in a civilised manner.
I could have had nothing to say if, in dealing with
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 66J
the civil registers, the Government had satisfied itself
with applying the ordinary processes of law. Instead,
whilst the known leaders have been dealt with more
or less according to the legal formality, the rank and
file have been often savagely, and in some cases even
indecently, assaulted. Had these been isolated cases,
they might have been overlooked. But accounts have
come to me from Bengal, Bihar, Utkal, U.P., Delhi,
and Bombay, confirming the experiences of Gujarat
of which I have ample evidence at ray disposal. In
Karachi, Peshawar, and Madras, the firing would
appear to have been unprovoked and unnecessary.
Bones have been broken, private parte have been
squeezed for the purpose of making volunteers give
up, to the Government valueless, to the volunteers
precious, salt. At Mathura an Assistant Magistrate is
said to have snatched the national flag from a ten
year old boy. The crowd that demanded restoration
of the flag thus illegally seized, is reported to have
been mercilessly beaten back. That the Q&g was
subsequently restored betrayed a guilty conscience. In
Bengal there seem to have been only a few prosecu-
tions and assaults about salt, but unthinkable cruel-
ties are said to have been practised in the act of
snatching flags from volunteers. Paddy fields are
reported to have been burnt, eatables forcibly taken.
A vegetable market in Gujarat has been raided be-
•cau^e the dealers would not sell vegetables to officials.
These acts have taken place in front of crowds who,
for the sake of the Congress mandate, have submitted
without retaliation. I ask you to believe the accounts
given by men pledged to truth. Repudiation even
by high officials has, as in the Bardoli case, often
proved fal«e. The officials, I regret to have to say,
have not hesitated to publish falsehood to the people
even during the last five weeks. I take the follow-
ing samples from Government notices issued from
Collectors' offices in Gujarat:
1. 'Adults use five pounds of salt per ye&r,
therefore, pay three annas per head as tax. If Govern-
ment removed the monopoly, people will have to
pay higher prices and, in addition, make good to the
Government the loss sustained by the removal of
664 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
the monopoly. The salt you take from the sea-shore-
is not eatable, therefore the Government destroys
it.'
2. 'Mr. Gandhi says that Government has des-
troyed hand-spinning in this country, whereas every-
body knows that this is not true, because through-
out the country, there is not a village where hand-
spinning of cotton is not going on. Moreover, in
every Province cotton spinners are shown superior
methods and are provided with better instruments
at less price and arc thus helped by Government-1
3. 'Out of every five rupees of the debt that
the Government has incurred, rupees four have been
beneficially spent.'
"I have taken these three sets of >tatcments
from three different leaflets. 1 venture to suggest that
every one of these statements is demonstrably false.
The daily consumption of salt by an adult is three
times the amount stated and, therefore, the poll tax
thaJt the Salt Tax undoubtedly is, is at least 9 as.
per head per year. And this tax is levied from man,
woman, child and domestic cattle, irrespective of age
and 'health.
•'It is a wicked falsehood to say that every village
hafi a spinning wheel, and that the spinning move-
ment is in any shape or form encouraged or support-
ed by the Government. Financiers can better dispose
of the falsehood that four out of even* five rupees
of the public debt is used for the benefit of the
public. But these falsehoods are men* samples of what
people know is going on in everyday contact with
the Government. Only the other day a Gujaraiti
poet, a brave man, was convicted on perjured official
evidence, in spite of his emphatic statement that at
the time mentioned he was sleeping soundly in
another place.
"Now for instances of official inacthitics. Liquor
dealers have assaulted pickets admitted by officials
to have been peaceful, and sold liquor in contraven-
tion of regulations. The officials have taken no
notice either of the assaults or the illegal sales of
liquor. As to the assaulte, though they are known.
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 665
to everybody, they may take shelter under the plea
'that they have received no complaints.
"And now you have sprung upon the country
.a Press Ordinance surpassing any hitherto known in
India. You have found a short cut through the
Law's delay in the matter of the trial of Bhagat
Singh and others by doing away with the ordinary
procedure Is it any wonder if I call all these
official activities a^id inactivities a veiled form of
Martial 'Law? Yet this is only the fifth week of the
struggle.
''Before then the reign of terrorism that has just
begun overwhelm? India, I feel that I must take a
bolder step, and if possible divert your wrath in a
cleaner, if more i drastic, channel. You may not
know the things that I have described. You may
not even now believe in them. I can but invite
your scrim i< attention to them.
"Anyway I feel that it would be cowardly on my
part not to invite you to di*cloM> to the full the
leonine paw* of authority, so that the people who
are suffering tortures and destructions of their pro-
perty inspiring them to action that has brought to
light the Government in its true colours, had not left
any stone unturned to work out the Satyagraha
programme as fully a? it was possible under given
circumstances.
"For according to the science of Satyagraha,
the greater the repression and lawlessness on the
part of authority, the greater should be the suffering
•courted by the victims. Success is the certain result
of suffering of the extremest character, voluntarily
•undergone.
"I know the danger attendant upon the methods
adopted by me. But the country is not likely to
mistake my meaning. I say what I mean and think.
And I have been saying for the last fifteen years in
India, and outside for twenty years more, and
repeat now that the only way to conquer violence, is
through non-violence, pure and undefiled. I have
said also that every violent act, word, and even
thought, interferes with the progress of non-violent
:aetion. If, in spite of such repeated warnings people
666 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
will resort to violence, I must disown responsibility
save such as inevitably attaches to every human
being for the acts of every other human being. But
the question of responsibility apart-, I dare not post-
pone action on any cause whatsoever, if non-violence
is the force the seers of the world have claimed it to-
be, and if I am not to belie my own extensive
experience of its working.
"But I would fain avoid the further step.
I would, therefore, ask you to remove the tax which
many of your illustrious countrymen have condemned
in unmeasured terms and which, as you could not
have failed to observe, has evoked universal protest
and resentment expressed in Civil Disobedience. You
may condemn Civil Disobedience as much as you
like. Will you prefer violent revolt to Civil
Disobedience? If you say, as you have said, that the
Civil Disobedience must end in violence, history will
pronounce the verdict that the British Government,
not heeding because not understanding non-violence,
goaded human nature to violence which it could
understand, and deal with. But in spite of the
goading, I shall hope that God will give the people
of India wisdom and strength to withstand every
temptation and provocation to violence.
"If, therefore, you cannot see your way to
remove the Salt Tax, and remove the prohibition on
private salt-making, I must reluctantly commence
the march adumbrated in the opening paragraph of
• my letter.
I am,
Your sincere friend,
M. K. GANDHI."
It was ten minutes past one in the night when
Gandhi was placed in a motor lorry accompanied by
policemen. He was then taken to Borivli near Bombay
by train and thence by motor car to Yeravaida prison.
Ashmead-Bartlctt of the London Telegraph wrote: —
"There was something intensely dramatic in the
atmosphere while we were waiting for the train, for
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 667
we all felt we were sole eye-witnesses of a) scene
which may become historical, — this arrest of a
prophet, false or true, for, false or true, Gandhi is
now regarded as a holy man and saint by millions of
Indians. Who knows whether, one hundred years
from now, he may bt: worshipped as a supreme being
by 300 million people. We could not shake off these
thoughts, and it seemed incongruous to be at a level-
crossing at dawn to take the prophet into custody."
Before the arrest, however, Gandhi had dictated at
Dandi his last message which we give below: —
"If such an auspicious beginning is carried to
its full conclusion, complete Swaraj is a certainty,
and India will have set to the whole world an
example worthy of her- Swaraj obtained without
sacrifice, never endures. People have, therefore, to
make endless sacrifice. In real sacrifice there is only
one-sided suffering, that is, without killing others one
has to die. May India accomplish this ideal. At
present the self-respect and everything of India are
concealed in a handful of salt. The fist may be
broken, but it should never be opened.
"After I am arrested, neither the people nor my
colleagues should be daunted. The conductor of
this fight is God and not I. He dwells in the heart
of all. If we have faith in us, God will certainly
lead us. Our path is fixed. Whole villages should
come forward to pick or manufacture salt. Women
should picket liquor and opium shops and foreign
cloth shops. In every house young and old should
begin spinning on takli and heaps of yarn should be
daily woven. There should be bonfires of foreign
cloth. Hindus should regard none as untouchables.
Hindus, Muslims, Parsees and Christians, all should
heartily embrace one another. The major
communities should be satisfied with what remains
after satisfaction of minor communities. Students
should leave Government schools, and Government
servants should resign and be employed in the service
of the people, like the brave Patels and Talatis who
* have resigned. Thus shall we easily complete Swaraj."
668 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Sarojini Devi in a statement to the Press on
Mahatma Gandhi's arrest said: —
"A powerful Government could have paid no
more splendid tribute to the far-reaching power of
Gandhi than by the manner of his arrest and incar-
ceration without trial, under the most arbitrary law
on their Statute Book. It is really immaterial that
the fragile and ailing body of the Mahatma is
imprisoned behind stone walls and steel bars. It is
" the least essential part of it. The man and his
message are identical, and his message is the living
heritage of the Nation to-day and will continue to
influence the thought and action of the world,
unfettered and unchallenged by the mandate of the
most autocratic Government of the earth."
Gandhi's arrest was followed by spontaneous
demonstrations of sympathy from one end of the country
to the other. It was the signal for a voluntary and
•complete hartal in Bombay, Calcutta and several other
places. The day after the arrest the hartal was even
more widespread. In Bombay, a huge procession was
taken out, and a public meeting in the evening had to
be addressed from several different platforms. About 40
out of the 80 mills had to be inactive, because over
£0,000 men had come out in protest. The workmen of
the G. I. P. and the B. B. and C. I. Workshops also
<;am£ out and joined the hartal. The cloth merchants
•decided on a six days' hartal to indicate their disapproval
of the arrest. In Poona, where Gandhi.] i was interned, the
hartal was complete. Resignations from honorary offices
and from the services were announced at frequent
intervals. Troubles were brewing at one or two places,
though on the whole the country had imbibed Gandhi's
teachings rather astonishingly. The disturbances in
Sholapur resulting in the burning of six Police Chaukis
led to Police firing in which 25 were killed and about a
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 66V
Hundred wounded. In Calcutta though the hartal was
peaceful in the city, there were disturbances at Howrah
where the Police opened fire at Panchanantala to di&perae
a crowd. Under Section 144, all assemblies of more than
five were prohibited.
But Gandhi's arrest, had a world- wide interest.
Indians engaged, in business in Panama called a 24-hour
sympathetic hartal. A similar step was taken by Indians
on the east coast of Sumatra, who wired to the Viceroy
and the Congress regretting Gandhi's arrest. French
papers were full of Gandhi and his doings. The boycott
movement had a repercussion in Germany also, where
textile exporters were advised by their agents in India to
suspend exports. Renter reported that Saxon
manufacturers of cheap printed cotton goods were parti-
cularly hard-hit. The Indian community of Nairobi
•declared a hartal in consequence of the arrest.
Meanwhile, an influentially signed message was
cabled to Mr. Ramsay MacDonald by 102 American
clergymen of various denominations, urging him to seek
an amicable settlement with Mr. Gandhi and the Indian
people. Signatures were collected by Dr. John Haynes
Holmes, New York, and the message appealed to the
Prime-Minister in the interests of Britain, India, and the
world to avoid the tragedy of a conflict which would mean
•catastrophe for all mankind.
The signatories refused to believe that
Mr. MacDonald, representing the principles of freedom,
democracy and brotherhood, could find it impossible to
negotiate with Mr. Gandhi and make peace with the
spiritual ideals he so sublimely embodies.
670 THB HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
The Government of India was no doubt keenly alive
to the seriousness of the situation. H. E. the Viceroy
interviewed the Liberal leaders, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru
and Sir Chimanlal Setalvaid, at great length. The Council
of the Liberal Federation met at Bombay to consider
the political situation, and leading Liberals gave
expression to the urgent need for another announcement
from the Viceroy fixing the early date of the Round
Table Conference. But the day before the meeting of
the All-Parties' Conference and the Council of the
Liberal Federation, H. E. made another important
announcement and released for publication his corres-
pondence with the Prime-Minister. The Council of the
Federation also issued a statement on the situation. The
Council, while unequivocally condemning the Civil
Disobedience movement, urged the Viceroy to speed up
the preparations for the Round Table Conference for the
discussion of Dominion Status. It stressed the importance
of the Government indicating the terms of reference and
the scope of the R.T.C.. "in order that even at this stage
those who keep aloof may join hands with the Liberate
and other Parties who are proceeding to the Conference."
It further laid stress on the simultaneous cessation
of Civil Disobedience and the initiation of active con-
ciliation on the part of the Government, to be
manifested by "the release of those whose freedom has
been restrained for political reasons, and the taking of
all political Parties into Government's full confidence."
Mr. Abbas Tyabji who took up Gandhi's place as
leader of the Salt Satyagrahis was arrested on the 12th
April. Arrests, to£/w-charges and repression went on as
usual. Batches of volunteers raided the salt depot and
wed to be beaten with lathis by the Police and many of
them suffered severe injuries.
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 671
After Gandhi's arrest, the Working Committee met
in May at Allahabad and expanded the scope of Civil
Disobedience and passed resolutions which we gnre
below: —
"1. The Working Committee congratulates
the Satyagrahi volunteers who accompanied Mahatma
Gandhi at Karadi and trusts that fresh batches would
take up raids, and decides that Dharsana should
henceforth be treated as an all-India centre for salt
raids.
"2. The Working Committee records its
appreciation of the lead given by Gandhi ji for the
conduct of the great campaign, reiterates its abiding
faith in Civil Disobedience and resolves to carry on
the struggle during the incarceration of Mahatmaji
with redoubled vigour.
"3. In the opinion of the Committee the
moment has arrived whert the entire Nation should
make a supreme effort to achieve the goal, and it
calls upon students, lawyers, and other professional
men, workers and peasants, merchants, industrialists
and Government servants aind all others to contribute
to the success of the fight for freedom, making all
sacrifices they are capable of.
"4. The Committee holds that in the interests
of the country it is essential to carry out a complete
boycott of foreign cloth throughout the country
without delay, and for that purpose to take effective
steps to prevent sales of existing stock, to secure the
cancellation of orders already placed and to prevent
the placing of future orders. The Committee calls
upon all Congress bodies to earry on an intensive
propaganda of the boycott of foreign cloth and to
picket shops dealing in foreign cloth.
"5. The Committee whilei appreciating the
efforts of Pandit Matfan Mohan MaJaviya to help
the boycott movement, regrets that it cannot endorse
any agreement or understanding that the sale of the
existing stock is to be permitted in return for the
promises by the dealers, not to import or order
foreign cloth for a specified period. The Committee
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
directs all Congress organisations to be no party to
any such or similar agreements or understandings
with the dealers and importers of foreign cloth.
"6. The Committee decides to promote the
increase of the production of hand-spun and hand-
woven cloth, in order to meet the growing demand
and to set up organisations to introduce the system
of exchanging khaddar cloth for hand-spun yam in
addition to selling it for money, and calls upon
Congress organisations generally to encourage hand-
spinning. The Committee appeals to every indivi-
dual to devote some part of his or her time to
spinning.
"7. The Committee is of opinion that the
time has; arrived for the inauguration of No-tax
campaign by non-payment of special taxes in certain
Provinces, and that u beginning should be made by
non-payment of the land tax in the Provinces where
the ryotwari system prevails, such as Gujarat,
Maharashtra, Karnatak. Andhra, Tamil Nadu and
the Punjab, and the non-payment of the Chowkidari
tax in Provinces like Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. It
calls upon such Provinces to organise campaigns of
non-payment of the land tax or Chowkidari tax in
areas selected by the Provincial Congress
Committees.
"8. It calK upon the Provincial Congress
Committees to continue aud extend the manufacture
of contraband salt and directs that technical breaches
of the Salt Law shall be continued with redoubled
•energy at places where it is sought to be prevented
toy the Government by arrests or otherwise. The
Committee resolves that as a mark of the country's
disapproval of the Salt Law, Congress organisations
should organise public breaches of those laws on
every Sunday.
"9. The Committee approves and confirms the
action of the Acting President in permitting the
breach of Forest Laws in the C.P. and resolves that
in other Provinces similar laws in force may be
breached after the sanction of the Provincial'
Congress Committees.
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 67$
"10. The Committee authorises the Acting
President to enter into negotiations with Indian mill-
owners with a view to devising means to prevent
an unfair increase in the prices of Swadeshi mill
doth and the manufacture of spurious khaddar, and
generally to take steps to promote the boycott of
foreign cloth.
"11. Regarding the boycott of British goods,
it urges the people to make earnest attempts to bring
about an effective boycott thereof at an early
date.
"12. The Committee further appeals strongly
to the public to boycott all British banking,
insurance, <»hi|)piij<j; and similar other institutions.
"13. The Committee once again emphasises
the necessity of carrying on an intensive propaganda
in favour of total prohibition and calls upon the
Provincial Congress Committee to picket liquor or
toddy shops.
"14. The Committee regrets the outbreak of
mob-violence in certain places and cannot too
strongly condemn such violence. The Committee
desires to emphasise the necessity of a strict
observance of non-violence.
"15. The Committee strongly condemns the
Press Ordinance and appreciates the action of those
newspapers which have refused to submit to it- It
calls upon Indian newspapers which have not yet
ceased publication, or having ceased publication have
re-appeared, to stop further issues. The Committee
calls upon the people to boycott all Anglo-Indian and
Indian papers which continue publication hereafter."
Shrimati Sarojini Devi had proceeded to AllaJiabad to
attend the W. C. meeting. On hearing of Mr. Tyabji's
arrest she hurried to Dharsana, in fulfilment of her
promise to Gandhi, and continued to direct the raid. She
and her batch of volunteers were formally arrested on
16th morning, taken out of the Police cordon and then
released. Batches of volunteers rushed later towards the
salt depot. They were beaten and chased out. The same
674 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
evening over 220 volunteers were arrested by the Police
on a charge of being members of an unlawful assembly
and were detained in the segregation camp at Dharsana.
Later, a large number of volunteers congregated on
the Wadala Salt Works (19th morning). The 'raid1 was
1'rustrated by the prompt action of the Police, who, armed
•with revolvers, arrested over 400 of the Satyagrahis.
The Free Press Correspondent, writing of the effect
of the boycott movement, observed: —
"Since the attack seems to be concentrated on
the textile goods, it is here that the effectiveness of
the movement is most visibly felt. But what worries
manufacturers is not so much the feeling that they
would ultimately lose the Indian market as the fear
that the existing contracts would either not be fulfilled
or would be cancelled. The tendency to cancel the
present orders seems to be on the increase, and the
Manchester correspondent of The Daily Mail says,
'The latest news from India is likely to bring
Lancashire's Indian trade to a complete standstill.
Already spinning mills and weaving sheds are closing
down indefinitely and thousands of operatives are
joining the ranks of the unemployed.1 "
More salt raids took place and we take the
following account from Gandhi — the Man and his Mission
p. 133 onwards: —
"Meanwhile successive meetings of the Working
Committee decided to continue the programme and
the raids were to go on. A mass raid at Dharsana
took place on the 21st of May, when 2,500 volun-
teers from al! parts of Gujarat took part in it. They
were led by Imam Saheb, the 62 year old colleague of
Gandhi ji in South Africa. The volunteers commenced
the raid early in the morning and as they attacked
the salt heaps at different places the Police charged .
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 675
them with lathis (bamboo sticks) and beat them
back.
"Thousands witnessed the spectacle. After this
had gone on £or two hours, the leaders, Messrs. Imam
Saheb, Pyarclal and Manilal Gandhi were arrested,
and later Mrs. Sarojini Naidu also. The total
number of injured volunteers on that day was 290.
One injured volunteer, Mr. Bhailalbhai Dajabhai,
died, as also Babu Hule from Maharashtra, from the
effects of the injuries. The Police with the help of
the Military, then practically isolated Dharsana and
Untadi by blocking the main road leading to these
places and preventing any car or pedestrian from
#oing along it. All the volunteers who were camping
at Untadi were taken to some unknown destination
and later released.
"Two batches of volunteers numbering about 200
were led on the 3rd June from "Untadi camp to raid
the Dharsana Salt Depots. Both wore held up by the
Police who, when the crowd entered the prohibited
area, charged them with lathis. The injured men
were taken to the camp hospital.
"Wadala Raids: — a succession of raids were also
made on the Wadala Salt Depot. On the 22nd, 188
volunteers were arrested and taken to Worli. On the
25th, 100 volunteers were accompanied by a huge
crowd of 2,000 spectators. The Police charged them
with lathi* injuring 17, and later arrested 115.
The rest with the crowd got off with the salt. An official
afternoon when 18 more were injured. On the 26th,
65 volunteers were afield and 43 of them were arrested.
The rest with the crowd got off with salt. An official
Press Note stated that the disturbances that had so
far taken place, had been caused largely by the
night-seers who were, unlike the volunteers, not
disciplined. The Note warned the public to keep
away from Wadala while the raids were in progress.
"But the most demonstrative raid was to come
off on the 1st June for which the War Council was
diligently preparing. On the morning of the 1st
nearly 15,000 volunteers and non-volunteers partici-
pated in the great mass action at Wadala.
676 THE HISTORY OP THE CONGRESS
"Successive batches marched up to the Port
Trust level-crossing and the swelled crowd were held
up there by the Police cordon. Soon the raiders,
among whom were women and children, broke
through the cordon, splashed through slime and mud,
and ran over the pans. Congress raiders numbering
about 150 were slightly injured. The raiders were
repulsed by the Police who wore acting under the
immediate supervision of the Home Member.
"Serious troubles ending in two Police charge*
and the calling out of the Military to cope with tlit
situation occurred at the Worli Detention Ctimp on
the 3rd June, when about four thousand under-trial
Wadala 'Raiders' were involved in a brush with the
Police, resulting in about ninety caMialtio, twenty-
five of them beinji serious."
But the way in which the raiders were dealt with by
the Police caused considerable public indignation and
protest. On-lookers were aghast at the gruesome
spectacle. Mr. Hussain, ex-Judge, Small Causes Court.
Bombay, Mr. K. Natarajan, and Mr. G. K. Devadhar.
President, Servants of India Society, who personally
watched the Dharsana raid, issued a statement in which
they said: —
"They saw with their own eyes that after
Satyagrahis were driven out of the Salt boundary,
mounted European Sowars rode at full gallop with
lathis in their hands beating people between the spot
where Satyagrahis had reached for raid and thr
village itself. They actually gafllopcd full speed
through 'the streets of the village, scattering men.
women and children. Villagers ran into bye-lane*
and closed themselves in houses. But if, by accident,
they were unable to escape, they wore beaten with
lathis."
Mr. Webb Miller, writing to the New Freeman
expressed abhorrence of the sights at Dharsana: —
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 67T
"In eighteen years of reporting in twenty-two
countries, during which I have witnessed innumerable
civil disturbances, riots, street fights and rebellions,
I have never witnessed such harrowing scenes as at
Dharsana. Sometimes the scenes were so painful
that I had to turn away momentarily. One surprising
feature was the discipline of the volunteers. It
seemed they were thoroughly imbued with Gandhi's
non-violence creed."
Both in 1930 and 1932 the Sanikatta salt stores in
Karnataka under Government Guard were raided by a
mass consisting of 10,000 to 15,000 people, and the
quantity of salt taken away on each occasion amounted to
thousands of maunds.
Mr. George Slocombe, the representative of The
Daily Herald, London, was also an eye-witness to some
of the Salt raids:—
"I watched the events from an observation-poet
on one of the rocky hills which ring in Wadala. It
was humiliating for an Englishman to stand among
the ardent, friendly, but deeply moved crowd of
volunteers and sympathisers and watch the representa-
tives of the country's administration engaged in this
ludicrous, embarrassing business."
The scenes that he witnessed burnt themselves into
his mind, and like a true evangel he was groping for a
way out of the impasse. It was now that he achieved a
journalistic coup more impressive and certainly more
fruitful than Mr. Bartlett's interview at the railway level-
crossing. On May 20, Mr. Slocombe saw Gandhi in
Yeravada Jail and wrote a masterly despatch* to his paper
a despatch which disturbed the slumbers of the House of
Commons and threw the Tory Press into a paroxysm of
chagrin and fury. It was in that despatch that
Mr. Slocombe announced that "even at this critical hour,.
48
670 THE HISTORY OF THB CONGBB6S
a settlement is possible and Mr. Gandhi is prepared to
recommend to the Congress a suspension of the Civil
Disobedience movement and co-operation with the
E. T. C." on the following terms:—
"(1) The terms of reference of the R. T. C. to
include the framing of a Constitution giving India
the substance of Independence.
(2) Satisfaction to be granted to Mr. Gandhi's
demand for the repeal of the Salt Tax, prohibition of
liquor and the ban on foreign cloth.
(3) An amnesty for prisoners convicted of
political offences, to coincide with the end of the Civil
Disobedience campaign.
(4) The remaining seven points raised in
Mr. Gandhi's letter to the Viceroy to be left for
future discussion."
Mr. Slocombe enquired whether the Government was
prepared to make honourable peace with him.
""Negotiation is still possible," said he, "and after my two
meetings with Mr. Gandhi in prison, I am convinced that
conciliation will be met with conciliation, but that
violence on either side will not compel surrender of the
other. Incalculable disaster may yet be avoided by the
frank recognition that the imprisoned Mahatma now
incarnates the very soul of India."
A war of non-violent resistance has its own philo-
sophy by which it is inspired, its own time, place and
circumstance which it can select, its rules and regulations
to which every soldier should conform. Gandhi
repeatedly explained that his objective was democracy
attained by the method of Truth and non-violence, as
opposed to the alternative method of fraud and force.
Force always includes fraud, he said; non-violence
excludes it Non-violence need not always be in acts. If
ill-will ia harboured in the breast, that is violence, to be
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 679
sure, and that is why it happens that apparently peaceful
people are fraudulent. Non-violence and hatred are
incompatible with each other. Some people say that a
large-scale boycott of foreign cloth would be more potent
.than mere Civil Disobedience. No, the former requires
the co-operation of 300 millions, — the latter requires the
sacrifice of say ten thousand. They will have to hang these
ten thousand before they could dismiss them from their
mind. If these men are trusty and true, their
presence will worry Government to death.
•Other people say that the movement may lead to
violence. It is really to subdue violence that this
movement was inaugurated. At that moment then, there
was greater risk of violence in the absence of
any safety-valve in the shape of a movement
•of non-violence. As a matter of fact, the party of
violence gave an assurance to Gandhi, at the time, of
their full co-operation in this experiment and gave him
time till the middle of 1931. Still others thought that the
time was not opportune, as there were numerous obstacles
and obstructions. Just so. Non-violence when exercised in
the iniost effective way must act, in spite of the most fatal
outward obstructions. In fact, non-violence by its very
nature, would neutralize all of them. On the contrary,
inward obstacles in the shape of fraud, hatred and ill-
Tvill, would be fatal to the movement. Gandhi was always
saying to them, "let me get control over the forces of
violence." It was growing upon him, that the forces of
violence were in motion and that he could get those
elements of violence under control. The fear that people
-entertained that the movement would get out of control
on Gandhi's arrest was groundless, for in South Africa,
it gained considerable momentum without any action on
liis part. He was in jail and that was enough.
680 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGBESS
So often, a man behind the bars is a greater power
than one that is 'free.' Thousands joined, the move-
ment in South Africa. They saw in the twinkling of an/
eye that the movement was for their liberation. They
knew that there was a man prepared to fight the £ 3
tax and they took the plunge,— and against what odds?
They knew that there would be hell let loose upon them.
And yet they did not waver or falter. It was a perfect
miracle. A doubt, was oppressing some that the time
was notj ripe. Gandhi's answer is perfect. "Nothing
has happened externally since Calcutta, but the internal
conflict in me. which was the only barrier, has ceased. I
am absolutely certain now that the campaign is long over-
due. I might have started it long before this." Gandhi
had not a shadow of doubt that the salt campaign would
lead him to jail. "I expected a crisis to be soon reached
which would lead to a proper Conference, — not R. T. C.
but a square-table one, where everybody attending it
would know his bearings. The exact lineaments of that
Conference I cannot at present depict, but it will be a
Conference between equals, met to lay their heads
together to devise ways and means for the establishment
of an Independent Constitution in India."
The time is past when the progress of events
could be described in any circumstantial detail. Lord
Irwin began to tighten the screw. At first he would not
allow Gandhi to be arrested. Gandhi's march infected
the whole Nation. There were marches everywhere. Hig
call to the women of the country brought them into the
arena by thousands. They proved a huge big compli-
cation to Government. Picketing liquor shops and"
fqreigi} cloth shops was taken charge of by them, and
ihe Police became powerless ^until their chivalry succumb*
ed to their despotism. Not to arrest Gandhi was to
leave him free to tap hidden and unthought of resources..
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 681
Be had a magic wand in his hands, one waving of which
fcrought men and money. He had to be arrested but
the time was not yet, for Gandhi arrested would mean
the whole Nation arrested. On the 14th of April,
Jawaharlal 1 had been arrested and convicted, and that
meant the arrest of the Congress. It was only a trans-
ference from the larger jail to a smaller jail. Ordinances
were passed prohibiting picketing, preaching of non-pay-
ment of taxes, and social boycott- Numerous skirmishes
were waged round the hoisting of the national flag. Punish-
ments soon became severe. Fines were added to impri-
sonment. Then came the lathi charges. People could
hardly believe that the Police were being drilled with
lathis and all the exercises cap-a-pie were being practised
to charge the Satyagrahis. It was not a threat cfr a
suspicion. It was a grim reality — this lathi charge. Meet-
ings were ordered to be dispersed under the ruling Law
of the land, and the dispersal was effected under the in-
exorable blows of the lathis. Salt sections were coupled
with the Penal Code and sentences were made as long as
possible. A G.O. had been published in the middle ef
February, 1930, framing rules for the classification of
political prisoners. Of course, the word 'political' was
•sedulously omitted, despite the fact that for ten years
previously, Government had been freely using this ex-
pression though within inverted commas in their annual
publication of India- The G. 0. i« published in
Appendix IV.
The 'A' class was there only nominally. The TB'
•class was given in a niggardly spirit- Men with large
i He was released on the llth October, 1930, and was re-arrested
on the 19th October, and convicted on the 20th, being sentenced to
"28 months1 imprisonment. His wife—Mrs. Kamala Nehru— was
.arrested on the 1st January, 1931, under the Instigation Ordinance.
A few days after Jawahartat's arrest his 41st birthday fell on the
14th November, Mid i
celebrated as the Jawahar Day all over'
the country, particularly in U. P.
682 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
property and refined standards of life, and fulfilling the
conditions set by Government themselves, would get *Cr
class and set to stone-breaking, oil-grinding and pump
work in jails. The treatment of Satyagrahis soon reveal-
ed that the G. 0. of February, 1930, was an eyewash.
But the volunteers never complained or grudged this
treatment. They poured into the movement. Many were
not arrested but only fal&t-charged, and if by a fortu-
nate chance they found their way into jails, there they
had sometimes another lathi charge awaiting thenu
Early in the movement, the audience that assembled in
a public park in Calcutta Was locked up there and bar-
barously beaten. The gates of exit were barred and
guarded. At first, in U. P. and Bengal, the treatment
given was brutal. Very soon the scene shifted to South
India which experienced the worst phases of repression m
the latter half of the movement.
There the policy of arresting and heavy fines was
tried at first but it was readily replaced by beating. Men
wearing khaddar or Gandhi cap were beaten while they
were shopping in the bazaars. The Malabar Military
Police were sent to Andhra and they visited places from
Berhampore to Ellore, visiting Cocanada and Rajah-
mundry (Rajamahendravaram) on the way for the mere*
pleasure of marching along the bazaar and beating every
khaddar-wearer that they met on the way. Their exploits
were only stopped by the resistance they met with at
Ellore, which ended in firing by the Police and death of
2 or 3 people and injuries to 5 or 6.
It is really difficult to describe the various aspects of
repression. Like the Civil Disobedience movement
itself, which it was designed to subdue, it assumed1
protean shapes. We would, therefore, describe some out-'
standing events in the history of 1930 and 1931V
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 68$
Previously we adverted to certain attempts at compromise
and settlement with which those events were interspersed.
Bombay soon became the storm centre. The boycott of
foreign cloth was the item round which all interest
gathered. The mill-owners had an obvious though indirect
interest in the movement. Fortunately at that time
Pandit Motilal Nehru was free, and he visited Bombay
and negotiated with the Mills of Bombay and Ahmeda-
bad. The latter were easy to deal with, but the former
were partly owned by Europeans. To make these accept
the conditions of the Congress for certification proved a
Herculean task for Panditji. Yet he was able to achieve
what appeared to be impossible. The fact was that the
spirit of boycott was in the air. People were permeated
with it. Hundreds of bales of foreign cloth were lying
in the dockyard uncleared by merchants. The importers,
gathered together, resolved that they should not take
delivery of them. There was, therefore, a shortage of
cloth in the country.
It was at this time that the Working Committee met
at Allahabad on the 27th June and passed the following
resolutions: —
"1. The W. C. notes with satisfaction the pro-
gress made in the boycott of foreign cloth in a very
large number of cities, towns and villages, and
appreciates the patriotic spirit of the dealers who
have, in pursuance of the resolutions of the Conw^^
tee, not only stopped the sale of such cloth but alsor
have agreed to cancel orders already placed and re-,
f rained from placing fresh orders, thereby causipg a
very considerable fall in the imports of all foreign^
textile goods. The Committee calls upon the dealers
in foreign cloth in places where they have not yet%
stopped the sale of such cloth to stop such sale forth*,
with, and on their failure to do so directs the.
Congress organisations concerned to enforce strict a^
vigorous picketing of the shops of such dealers. The
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Committee expects the sales of foreign cloth will be
stopped everywhere in India before the 15th July,
1930, and calls upon the Provincial Congress Commit-
tees to make a full report on that .day.
"2. The Committee calls upon all Congress
organisations and the country at large to take more
vigorous steps to bring about a complete boycott of
British goods generally than have so far been taken,
1>7 giving preference to goods of non-British manu-
facture wherever similar Swadeshi goods are not
available.
"3. This Committee calls upon the people to
organise and enforce a strict social boycott of all
Government officials and others known to have
participated directly in the atrocities committed upon
the people to stifle the national movement.
"4. The Working Committee calls attention to
the resolution of the Indian Naitional Congress- 'passed
«t Gaya in 1922 and at Lahore in 1929, whereby
the Congress repudiated the financial burdens and
obligations directly or indirectly imposed on India
Tt>y the foreign administration, except such burdens
and obligations as are adjudged to be just by an in-
dependent tribunal, and advises the Indian 'public not
"to buy or accept any fresh bonds of the Government
•of India whether as new investment or in conversion
t>f their existing holdings of the same or similar bonds.
"5. Whereas the present legal tender value in
exchange of the silver rupee in India has been fixed
arbitrarily by the British Government in the teeth of
strong public opposition, while the intrinsic value of
the rupee is not even a third of the legal tender value
•so fixed, and whereas there is imjminent likelihood of
further depreciation of the value of the rupee, the
WsC. strongly advises the people of India not to
aooept rupees or currency notes in payment of any
claims against the Government but to insist on
|K$tatent in gold wherever possible. The Committee
further advises the people to take the earliest
ctoportunity to convert all their currency holdings
of ; rupees tor notes into gold, and particularly to
iftant on all payments for their exports to be madfe in
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 685*
"6. In the opinion of this Committee the time
has arrived when students of Indian Colleges should
take their full share in the movement of national
freedom and directs all Provincial Committees to
call upon such students within their respective juris-
dictions to place their services at the disposal of the
Congress, in such manner and to such extent, includ-
ing complete suspension of their studies, as the exigen-
cies of the national movement may require. The
Committee trusts that all students will readily res-
pond to such call.
*7. Whereas in pursuance of the policy of
repression the Government has declared a certain
number of Provincial and District Congress Com-
mittees and other subordinate and allied organisa-
tions as unlawful Associations, and whereas it it
likely that other Congress Committees and organi-* ,
nations may be similarly declared unlawful Associa-
tions in the near future, this Committee directs the
Committees and organisations affected by those de-
clarations, and those that may hereafter be similarly
affected, to continue to function as before, and carry
out the Congress programme notwithstanding such
declaration.
"8. The Committee notes the amazing declara-
tion of the U. P. Governor-in-Council, forfeiting
^copies of Resolution No. 5 of this Committee about
the duty of Military and Police forces passed at its
meeting held on the 7th June. The Committee main-
tains that the use of the Military and the Police by
the Government as their tools for perpetrating shock-
ing atrocities on the people would have fully justi-
fied it in passing a much stronger resolution, but that
for the present it was considered sufficient to pass the
resolution as it stands containing as it does merely an
accurate statement of the existing law on the subject.
'The Committee calls upon all Congress organisa-
tions to give the widest publicity to the said resolution
in spite of the said declaration.
"9. Whereas tBe Government has since the last
,4peeting of the Committee continued ite headlong
, career of relentless repression to stifle the Satya-
1 £raha movement and has to that end permitted aoto
4S86 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
of increasing cruelty and brutality to bo committed
by its servants and agente, this Committee congra-
tulates the country on the splendid stand made by the
people against the atrocities committed by the offi-
cials and reiterates its warning to the Government
that the people of India will continue their fight for
freedom to the bitter end in spite of all conceivable
tortures inflicted on them.
**10. The Committee notes with grateful appre-
ciation that the women of India are continuing to
take an increasing part in the national movement and
bravely suffering assaults, ill-treatment and imprison-
ment."
The boycott of foreign cloth was becoming more and
more effective- Khaddar under no circumstances would
be able to cope with the demand. Mill-yarn and hand-
woven cloth was the next best commodity for patriotic
citizens. Therefore it was that the mills had to be
distinguished one from the other, — those that would help*
the national cause and those that would hinder it.
Accordingly the mills had to be certified and virtually
brought under the control of the Congress, to the point
of agreeing to certain conditions, the chief of which were
that they would not place orders with the British Com-
panies for their machinery, that they would throw no
obstacles iii the way of their staff helping the national
movement, and finally that they would not abuse the
privileged position they thus obtained by raising prices
of commodities to the detriment of the consumers. Mill
after mill accepted the pledge which is given in full in
Appendix V. Only a few remained unbending, and these
Boon discovered what a mighty power the Congress was
at the moment.
It was at this stage that the All-India Working
Committee of the Congress was declared unlawful and
Pandit Motilal Nehru was arrested on the 30th June,
1930, and sentenced to 6 months' imprisonment. To*
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 68T"
continue the story of repression, we have only to state
that its intensity grew with the intensity of the boycott
movement. The volunteer organisation in Bombay was-
thoroughgoing. Women came into the movement, and
with their orange robes and delicate frames, won theheartfl
of the people by the very gentleness of their picketing.
When a shop-keeper would not seal his goods, his wife
would be brought as a picket. In Bombay, public
meetings were prohibited as elsewhere in the country and'
the people would not obey the orders. We have the
testimony of Mr. Brailsford. who had toured the country
during the movement, to the brutality of the treatment
accorded to the people. He wrote in the course of an
article in the Manchester Guardian on 12th January,.
1931 :—
"The charges which responsible Indian leaders
make against the Police range in space and time over
vast areas which defy investigation. Everywhere
one heard complaints about the brutality of the
Police in dispersing prohibited meetings. I heard
much to this effect from an English eye-witness and
from Indian doctors who attended the injured. I
also questioned Police officers. My conclusion waB
that in most of these cases the mistake lay with the
higher officials who prohibited the meetings. I saw
two which were tolerated. Though the speeches,
quietly spoken, were seditious, they always
condemned violence, and the immense crowds,
squatting pilent on the ground, often spinning as
they listened, with a big proportion of women among
them, were gentle amd passive as only Indians can
be. If such meetings had always or usually been
tolerated, there would have been no disorder, and the
audiences would soon have grown bored. As it was,,
especially in Bombay, the policy of rough dispersal
moved the whole city to anger; to face the lathi-
charges became a point of honour, and in a spirit
of martyrdom, volunteers went out in hundreds to*
be beaten. They gave a display of disciplined*.
•688 THE HISTOET OF THE CONGRESS
•passive coinage. Again and again, I heard descrip-
tions by Europeans of the beating of slight and
perfectly passive youths by burly constables which
.made one almost physically sick. I should not care
to repeat the comments of a French lady who saw
one of these scenes.
"That the Police, even under English officers,
•often meant to inflict physical punishment for
^disaffection, I could not doubt. At Calcutta some
students, witnessing from a balcony of the Univer-
sity the brutal beating of participants in a peaceful
procession shouted 'cowards.' Two hours later,
the Police returned, rushed into the University under
an English officer, invaded the class-room, and beat
.the students indiscriminately as they sat at their
desks, till the walls were spattered with blood. The
University made an official protest, but no punishment
followed. I heard details of this affair from
professors whose repute in the European scientific
world stands high. An Indian Judge of the High
Court whose student-son had been beaten spoke
•with a vehemence which I wish some members of the
^Government could have heaird. A similar affair
*occurred at Lahore where the Police, again under
an English officer, invaded a college and beat not
only students in the class but the professor also. The
excuse in this case was that some students belonging,
1 was aes-ured, to another college had been 'peaceful
pickets' in the street. At Contai, in Bengal, five
-villagers were pushed into a tank and drowned
during .the dispersal of a crowd which seems to have
1>een harmless. At Meerut, I met a leading lawyer
who wfcs the chief speaker at a dispersed meeting.
"While under arrest he was beaten, and in this
position, a policeman shot him at close range, so that
his arm had to be amputated. The importance of
-such affairs (and I might mention many more) was
psychological. They helped to discredit the Govern-
n^ent during the critical time when the masses were
•hesitating whether they should unreservedly support
Congress. The privations (of which I saw something)
suffered by the main body ('C' clasp) of the political
prisoners in jail had the same effect.
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1030) 689*
"Of Police brutality in the villages of Gujarat,
I had ample evidence, for I spent five days touring
them. The legal repression, to begin with, was
sufficiently harsh. The peasants, almost to a man, in
the Bardoli and Kaira districts were refusing, — from
a mixture of motives, personal devotion to Gandhi,
desire for Swaraj, and economic distress due to the-
terrific fall in agricultural prices — to pay the land
tax. The reply is to confiscate their fields, buffaloes,
irrigation pumps, etc. and these are sold at nominal'
prices, so that for a tax of Rs. 40 or so, a man may
lose his all. Further, the usual date of collection
was anticipated by three months so that peasants
who had already paid the two instalments due for
1930 were required last October to pay the instal-
ment normally due in January, 1931. All this may
have been just legal, but it was provocatively severe.
On top of it came physical terrorism. The Police,
armed with rifles and lathis, made a practice of
surrounding the disaffected villages and beating the
peasants indiscriminately with the lathi or the butt-
end of a rifle. I have forty-five narratives given
to me personally by the victims, and in a^ll but two
cases, I saw their wounds and bruises (one girl was
too modest to show them). Some of these cases
were serious; one man had a broken arm, another a
thumb- joint cut to the bone, while others had their-
whole bodies covered with marks. Other cases which
I could not verify were in a distant hospital. The
motive was sometimes to extort the tax, — and
occasionally it was paid after a beating and the
seizure of a buffalo, — though, by the normal reckoning,
it was not yet due. I have the statements of several*
men who themselves were not tax-payers, but we?e
compelled after a beating, to pay an absent
neighbour's tax. In other numerous instances, the-
motive was apparently simply to terrorise a
'disaffected' village, for no attempt was made to get
the tax. The national flags in one village were torn
down from trees and houses, together with the-
Congress placards, and eight peasants beaten,
.apparently because their houses were near these
symbols. In two cabes, a man was beaten till he-
4090 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
removed his Gandhi cap. In another instance, a
man was beaten (twelve lathi blows) till he saluted
the Police seven times. A frequent Police joke was
-to say, "Do you want Swaraj? Then, here it is," and
down would come the Idthi. Worst of all, the
Indian officials (both civilian and Police officers)
were engaged in an effort to rouse the Barias, classed
in the census as a 'criminal tribe* against the yeoman
class (Pattidars). There was direct incitement to
beat them, to refuse to pay debts, even to burn their
houses. For this, I had the evidence of five Barias
in different villages. To these people the lands of
the small owners were offered at one or two rupees
an acre. This was much what the worse type of
"Russian Communist official did when the party was
stirring up class war in the villages.
" This/ you may say, 'is ex parte evidence.'
But I took such precautions as I could. I gave all
my evidence to the higher officials. The Commis-
sioner went with me to one 'sample' village, saw the
peasants' injuries, and questioned them. I have not
the right to anticipate his mature conclusion, but on
the spot ha expressed doubts only about one case out
of nine (the modest girl). Moreover, I met two of
the local Indian officials, and had a chance of
observing their ways; one of them in my presence
perpetrated an act of wanton physical brutality.
Finally, I saw the cage in which he kept his untried
prisoners at Borsad. It wa<s an open den, of the
zoo type, with iron bars, and measured about thirty
feet square. In it, day and night, lived eighteen
politicals, and one of them had spent six weeks in
it, without books or work. From this crowded cage,
•the prisoners were let out only once a day, and only
for threi-quarters of an hour, to wash and visit the
latrines. Ought I to have been sceptical, when one
of them told me that he and two others had been
"beaten in gaol? Beating belonged to the same medi-
eval century as this prison.
"May I, in conclusion, touch on the bearing
that all this has on the good work of the R.T.C.?
TSnglish public opinion, carefully screened by Censors
:and Editors from any perception of what is happening
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930)
in India, forgets that the great mass of the
population is not in a normal state of mind. It has
been roused to a high pitch of sustained exaltation,
it has been goaded, gentle though it is, to anger, it
•doubts our sincerity, and, above all, it is passionately
devoted to its imprisoned leaders. I gravely fear
that in this mood it may not study the proposed
Constitution with the favourable attention it
deserves. So long, indeed, as Gandhi is in prison, I
•doubt whether the main body of his movement will
abandon, or even slacken, its resistance. The one
chance lies in an act of generosity which will pro-
claim a new era. May one hope that the completion
of the sketch of the Constitution, and its acceptance
at Westminster will be heralded by a general
amnesty? Failing the most tactful handling during
the next six months, India may have to staH her
career of freedom with the repression of Indians by
Indians. We ought to know more of the history of
this painful year; she should be helped to forget it."
The question of firings in the country — notably in
Peshawar, was raised on the 15th July, 1930, in the
Assembly and we give below the question and answer: —
Moulvi Abdul Matin Chowdhary (on behalf of
Mr. S. C. Mitra).
(a)' Is it a fact that while Sirdar Ganga
Singh, Supervisor, Military Dairy Farm, Peshawar,
was coming on a tonga with the members
of his family to attend the Gurudwara on a religious
ceremony, a British soldier fired upon him near the
Kabli Gate, Peshawar city, killing his son, a boy of 15
months and a daughter aged 9 years, and seriously
wounding his wife?
(b) Is it a fact "that neither the Police nor the
Military took any steps to take the wounded lady to
the hospital and it was left to the public to render
first aid and to take the poor family to the hospital?
(c) I& it a fact that while the dead bodies of
the children were being taken in a procession to the
funeral ground through the bazaar, with the
1*1 i
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
permission of the Deputy Commissioner, some British
soldiers without giving any warning fired at the
procession and killed and wounded several* persons?
Will Government please state how many were killed
and wounded on this occasion?
(d) Is it a fact that Government thought of
starting an inquiry into this matter by a Sessions
Judge but had to give up the idea because of the
opposition of the Military authorities?
The Honourable Mr. H. G. Haig. (a) The facts
are stated in the judgment of the Additional District
Magistrate, Peshawar, dated the 3rd June, 1930, a
copy of which is placed in the Library. This most
regrettable incident was the result of a pure accident.
(b) omitted.
(c) My information is that the procession met
a detachment of British troops, that the crowd was
very excited and attempted to seize the rifles of the
soldiers and that it refused to disperse and that the
order to fire had to be given. The casualties were
9 persons killed and 18 wounded.
(d) The answer is in the negative.
In answer to a question by S. C. Mitra regarding tht
number of cases of firing, the Hon. Mr. H. G. Haig
furnished a table (See Page 237— Legislative Assembly
debate— Monday 14th July 1930. Vol. 4— No. 6) which
shows as under: —
CASUALTIES AMONGST THE PUBLIC
Province
Madras City
Karachi
Bengal, Calcutta ...
24 Parganas
Chfttagong
N. W. F. Province
Peshawar
Chittagong
Date
April 27th ...
„ 16th ...
1st ...
„ 15th ...
„ 24th ...
„ 18. 19 and
20lh ...
23fd ...
24th ...
Killed Wounded Remarks
10
30
1
6
59
3
3
1 died subse-
quently.
Both died
subsequently
A TIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930)
693
Province
Madras .-
Bombay, Sholapur.
Wadala Salt Pans.
Bhendy Bazaar ...
Bengal-Howrah ...
Chittagong
Mymensingh
Midnapur
(Pratapdighi) ...
United Provinces
Lucknow
Punjab
Kalu-Jhelum Dts.
Burma-Rangoon ...
N,W.F. Province
Delhi
Date Killed
May 30th 1930.
„ 8th ...
„ 24th ...
„ 26th, 27th
„ 6th ...
„ 7th ...
„ 14th ...
„ 3lst ...
," 26th ...
„ 18th ...
„ Last
Week ...
„ 6th ...
12
5
4
1
2
1
5
17
Wounded Remarks
2
28
1
67
5
6
Between
30 to 40
2
42
3 died subse-
quently.
2 died subse-
quently.
37
37
40
"The District Magistrate of Sholapur, for the
reasons given in the Communique of the Bombay
Government issued on the 19th May, handed over
the control of the situation to the Military authorities
at 8-30 P. M. on the 12th of May. He had informed
the Bombay Government that afternoon of his inten-
tion and the latter, on the same evening, approved of
his action. The Government of India received
information the next morning and the Sholapur
Martial Law Ordinance was promulgated on the
15th May. The casualties at Sholapur on the 8th
May were 12 killed and 28 wounded. Firing took
place on six separate occasions." (See page 272 and
238— Legislative Assembly debates, 14th July, 1930.
Vol. IV, No. 6).
The facts of the matter relating to this extract are
as follows: We had an ugly development in Sholapur.
The volunteers were maintaining order and regulating the
traffic in the streets. This went on day after day. The
Police were virtually replaced. The sight wag not an
enviable one altogether to the authorities. A situation
44
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGBESS
like this was only too likely to develop points of contact
and conflict between the volunteers and the Police. There
was a clash, and four or five policemen were done to
death. This led to the proclamation of Martial Law as
in the Punjab in 1919, and with all its ugly accompani-
ments. Four men including a rich Seth were hanged and
a number of prisoners were sentenced under the Martial
Law to long terms of imprisonment. The release of
these prisoners became one of the bones of contention in
the peace negotiations of July and August which
ultimately failed, and to which we shall presently make
reference.
The events of the 23rd April, 1930, at Peshawar may
be briefly narrated. As in the rest of India, the C. D.
movement was in operation in the N.W.F. Province as
well Congress notified in the city of Peshawar that
liquor picketing would commence on the 23rd April.
The setting for the event, however, proved inauspicious.
On the 22nd April, a deputation of the A.I.C.C. pro-
ceeding to Peshawar to enquire into the working of
the N.W.F. regulations was stopped at Attock and not
allowed to enter the Province. The news led to a pro-
cession at Peshawar and a public meeting at Shah-i-Bagh.
Nine leaders were arrested early morning next day. Two
other leaders were arrested at 9 A.M. but as the loriry
on which they were being taken broke down, they
undertook to appear at the Thana office themselves and
were allowed to do so. Accordingly a procession of the
people with the leaders started and reached the Kabul!
Gate Thana but the Thana was closed. A Police officer
arrived on horseback, when the people shouted and sang
national songs. He went away and all of a sudden two
or three armoured cars came and drove into the crowd.
At this time an Englishman came dashing on a motor
which collided with the armoured car and he fell
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 695
down and was crushed. Fire was opened by some one
in the car and one of the cars also caught fire
Accidentally. The Deputy Commissioner came out of his
Armoured car, and he, when on his way into the Thana,
fell down on the staircase, lost consciousness and regained
it quickly. Fire was then opened by the armoured
•cars. People tried to remove the dead bodies. The
troops and the cars were removed. A second firing
began and, off and on, lasted for about 3 hours. The
casualties are described in the reply by Government, as
per the* statement published, as 30 killed and 33
wounded. The popular version put it at nearly seven
to ten times the figures. In the evening, the Military
raided the Congress office and removed the badges and
the Congress flag. On the 25th, the Military and even
the usual Police were suddenly removed. On the 28th
the Police reappeared and took charge of the city from
the Congress and the Khilaphat volunteers who had, in
the short interval, been guarding the gates of the city
on the 4th May. The city was occupied by) the
Military. It is but fair to give the Government version
of the events as they gave it on the 6th May. The two
leaders who are represented by the people as having
undertaken to present themselves at the Thana are
described as having been rescued by the mob from Police
custody. The Police officer who heard the shouts and
-national songs and returned from the Police Thana is
reported to have informed the Deputy Commissioner that
"he had been injured by a brickbat, that there was a
-violent crowd at the Police Station and the situation was
such that the Police wtere unable to deal with it. When
Alje Deputy Commissioner himself passed the gate, his
tsar was pelted with brickbats and stones. He turned
behind and saw a second armoured car stranded with a
despatch-rider under the wheels. The latter, it was
alleged, was knocked off his bicycle by a blow on the
696 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
head dealt by a member of the crowd and was then rua
over by the armoured car. The Deputy Commissioner,
while endeavouring to argue with the crowd, wa&
assaulted with stones and brickbats, The Military
officer in the armoured car was also attacked and his
revolver was sought to be removed. The Deputy Com-*
missioner was knocked down senseless and had to be
taken into the Police Station. The armoured car was
also set fire to by the crowd.
Then the Deputy Commissioner gave orders to fire
and the mob dispersed. The casualties were 20 killed
and 30 wounded. On the 29th April, the Peshawar
Congress Committee issued posters and bulletins stating
that they were in correspondence with the Haji of
Turangzai who, being invited by them, wasi raising a
lashkar (army) with the intention of entering Peshawar
district. The Congress and Naujawan Bharat Sabha
Were then engaged in fomenting rebellion.
On 31st May, 1930, during the C-D. movement, a
gentleman who was a Government servant employed in a*
Military Dairy, Ganga Singh Kamboj by name, was
passing in a tonga in Peshawar city through the Kabul
Gate along with his children, when a British Lance Cor-
poral of K.O.Y.L.L fired at the carriage. Two of the-
children, — Bibi Herpal Kaur, daughter aged 9^ years,
find Kaka Bachitar Singh, son, 16 months, — dropped dead
like birds from a tree and the mother Shrimati Tejkaur
was severely wounded on arm and breast, the breast being
completely blown. The dead bodies of the children were
taken in procession by several thousand persons which
was allowed by the Deputy Commissioner. Yet, the
carriers of the bier and the funeral processionists were'
shot at by the Military, — without givicg any previous--
warning to disperse, — from a distance of two yards only..
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 697
The dead bodies of the children were dropped on the
:ground, but they were carried again and again by others.
Thus 9 men were killed and 18 wounded, as per Govern-
ment reply in the Legislative Assembly, from firing 17
rounds.
Another statement was furnished by Government in
July, 1930, which showed that under the Press Ordinance
No. 11, securities aggregating to Rs. two lacs and forty
thousand were by that time demanded and taken from
131 newspapers and that nine newspapers declined to
pay and suspended publication.
(Vide Answer to Q. 116— P— 541 I— A.D. Vol. IV,
No. 8 dated 15-7-'30)
On the 31st July, 1930, Lokamanya Tilak's anniver-
sary was celebrated in Bombay and a procession was
led by Shrimati Hansa Mehta, who was the Congress
dictator for the city at the time. The Working
Committee of the Congress was assembled in the city,
holding their meeting on three successive days. It was
not as yet under ban, for Government was extending the
tan on the Working Committee from Province to
Province. Some of the members of the Committee
joined the evening procession, and while they
were marching, a notice was served on them
under Sec. 144, Cr. P. C., prohibiting the procession,
which had swelled by that time to thousands.
When the order was served, the mammoth gathering
squatted on the road and would not budge an inch, in
•spite of the heavy rain pouring all the night. People
literally sat in pools of water. It was expected that
the procession would be allowed to proceed after mid-
night, as was the case on a previous occasion. But that
vas not to be. Mr. Healy was the Commissioner of
Police,— an officer who, later, was considered not good
698 THE HISfORY OF THE CONGRESS
enough or equal to executing Government policy. The
Chief Presidency Magistrate wired about the situation
to the Home Member in Poona. Mr. Hotson replied
that nothing should be done till he came. He appeared
on the scene in the early hours of the morning and began
to watch the crowds from the gallery on a terrace of
the Victoria Terminus Buildings. A few picked men
w£re arrested in the morning, and with them a hundred
ladies, and a /af/ii-charge was ordered to disperse the
crowd* Among the members of the Working Committee
-present and arrested were Pandit Madan Mohan
Malaviya, Vallabhhhai J. Patel, Jairamdas Daulatram,
and Mrs. Kamala Nehru- Shrimati Mani Ben, the
daughter of Vallabhbhai, whose fame was widespread in
the salt campaigns of Gujarat and the No-tax campaign
of Borsad, was in the procession and was arrested. A
hundred other ladies were arrested, including Shrimati
Amrit Kaur of the Punjab, and the dictator, Mrs-Hansa
Mehta.
The scenes and eights in Bombay were blood-
curdling, whenever a public meeting was convened
against the prohibitory orders. The old Commissioner of
Police was transferred, apparently because he was not
sufficiently stern. A new one was brought — Mr. Wilson
— who hoped to be able to disperse the crowds instantly.
On the very first occasion after his taking over charge,
the lathi hitherto flourished on the body was applied to-
the head, and when blood began to flow and volunteers
fell reeling and rolling on the ground, the spectacle
of suffering was so harrowing, and at the same time so
infecting, that thousands gathered from the crowds of
sight-seers in the neighbourhood and the audience swelled
from five to twenty-five thousands. When the end of
the movement came rather unexpectedly, this failure to
control non-violence by violence, and more violence,.
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930)
undoubtedly played its part in determining the termina-
tion. Almost the last big collision took place on the
occasion of celebrating the anniversary of the passing of
the Independence Resolution. A lac of people gathered
at midnight, which was the time fixed for the demonstra-
tions, and the event was marked by firing by the Police.
The Azad Maidan in Bombay was the scene ef
battle. Throughout the campaign, the fourth of every
month was observed as the Gandhi Day, — the day of his
arrest in May, 1930; then the last Sunday of each month
was being observed as the Flag-hoisting Day. These
demonstrations were attended by thousands who could
only be dispersed by severe Zaf/ii-charges. But as people
dispersed at one place, they gathered at another on the
Maidan, and it wa,s a job altogether for the Police to
disperse the crowds. In Bombay, the beating of the
volunteers was witnessed by a Prince, who thereupon
remarked that Martial Law was much better than the
Zaf&t-chargc and that a Nation which had withstood the
ZaJ/ii-charges would be much better able to stand Martial'
Law. The Prince was the Maharajah of Bikaner who
went out to see a procession which was to be led in
Bombay while Pandit Motilal was there, and before his
arrest on the 30th June, 1930. The strange part of the
occurrences was that while fathers and uncles were at
the Round Table Conference, their daughters and nieces
were shedding their blood in India.
In Madras, the beating Was so indiscriminate that
on one occasion a Missionary;, the Rev. F. Paton, waff
severely beaten in the neighbourhood of a Police Station'
when he was watching the picketing and ZatJu-charges1
from near, one evening, dressed in khaddar robes and
wearing a hat! This was the subject of a severe attack
on the methods of the Police, but neither the Goran*
700 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
ment nor the Police would make reparation or even
acknowledge their indiscretion. In the South, a
Missionary named Mr. Khaitan was served with an order
to leave India and he had to depart forthwith.
The Police made a new departure in prosecuting
people as forming an unlawful assembly, by gathering
together a number of picketers from various centres,
putting them in a lorry, taking them a long distance
from the city, and leaving them there to find their way
back as well as they could without any money. In
Bombay, picketing and the sealing of foreign cloth in
the shops of merchants was so rigidly carried out that,
when foreign cloth was being surreptitiously removed in
lorries, a boy named Babu Ganno stood across the lorry
on the Kalbadevi Road to prevent its progress, but
whoever may have driven the car, it was driven over the
boy and he succumbed. Ever since this event occurred,
Babu Ganno Day was being celebrated every month, and
it added to the list of sacred days observed by the
Congress.
Patel (Vallabhbhai J.) was released after serving
out his first term of imprisonment of 32 months and was
appointed Acting President of the Congress by Pandit
Motilal Nehru. He began organizing work in Bombay
and Gujarat and stiffened the movement. His speeches
gave a new tone and temper to the workers. On July
13th, he was referring to the Ordinance which had
declared as illegal almost all the Congress organisations
in the country and the seizure of the Congress offices,
and remarked that every home must thereafter be a
Congress office, and every soul a Congress organisation.
This was the fitting reply that Vallabhbhai gave to Lord
Irwin's reactionary speech delivered in the Legislative
Assembly on the 9th, flourishing the ,big stick against
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 701
the Civil Disobedience movement. The great event, one
bad almost said, the central event of the whole movement
was the No-tax campaign successfully carried out in
Gujarat, in the Barcloli and Borsad Talukas- The
oppression by the authorities was so great that 80,000
people migrated from the British territory to the villages
In the neighbourhood in the Baroda State.
Mr. Vallabhbhai's own mother aged over 80 was
Booking her food, and the boiling pot was knocked down
by the Police. Stones and sand and kerosene oil were
mixed with rice, — all this in addition to the other physi-
cal sufferings inflicted upon the poor villagers. Their
organisation was, however, wonderful, but more
wonderful was their adherence to the cult of non-
violence in letter and spirit.1
To make a long story short, it only requires to be
mentioned that every Province and part of India bore
its share of sufferings in the national struggle.
Local variations did exist, which were based upon
•differences of degree and kind, — due to environment, the
personal equation of the officers concerned, the conditions
•of tenure of land and various other matters. South
India had in one sense seen the worst of it The lathi-
•oharges as well as heavy fines and long-term sentences
were an early feature, not a late development, of the
movement. Bengal yielded the largest number of
prisoners in the country. The measure of boycott of
"British cloth was highest in Bengal, and Bihar and
i Early iii the movement, there was a raid on a Military camp
in Chittagong, in which young Indians dressed in Military uniform
shot down some officers. This was followed by terrible reprisals,
-calling back to mind the pogroms of the Black and Tans ia
.Ireland in 1921—1922.
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Orissa, where the figures of import in November, 1930r
fell by 95 per cent, as compared with those for
November, 1929. We have already referred to Gujarat's
unique part and performance in the drama of national
emancipation. U. P. was the only Province where a
general No-tax campaign was inaugurated, both tjie
Zamindars and the tenants being called upon to withhold,
in October, 1930, payments of rent and revenue. The
Punjab pulled its wteight along with the rest. The
whole-hearted adoption of non-violence by the N. W. F.
Province was no less a moral than a political gain. In
Bihar, the Chowkidari tax was withheld in large areas,
and the Province suffered to the full from the imposition
of Punitive Police and confiscation of large properties
in lieu of petty sums. In the C.P., Forest Ratyagraha
was successfully launched and continued, in spite of
heavy fines and Police excesses. Karnataka organised a
No-tax campaign which was highly creditable to the
Province. Three lacs of palm and date trees were cut
down, 96 out of 130 Patels resigned in the Sirsi Taluka,
25 in the Siddapur Taluka, and 43 out of 63 in the Ankola
Taluka, all in North Kanara.
In the No-tax Campaign in Karnataka, "More than
800 families participated in the No-tax campaign in the
Kanara District. In the Siddapur and Ankola Talukas
which suffered the worst, there were about 800 convic-
tions including those of 100 ladies. The losses by reason
of forfeiture of lands and homes, attachments of movable
property and loss of crops amount to about 15 lacs of
rupees. The table below gives statistics only of those
who have lost lands and homes and does not include those
whose losses involved only movable property."
f
In Ankpla and Siddapur, 330 families had their lands -
forfeited. The population involved was nearly , 2,000.1
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1936) 703*
The lands forfeited were over 2,000 acres in extent,
valued at over 8 lacs of rupees. 166 houses were alsa
forfeited, valued at a lac and a half. The convictions-
were 218 and the movable property attached was valued
at Rs. 20,000.
Many farmers were ejected from their homes, some-
of which were used as camps by the Police. Hired-
labour from outside the Taluka had to be employed for
reaping the crops from forfeited lands. There were 37
lady Satyagrahis in Siddapur, who fasted at the door of
the persons who had bought the properties of the
No-taxcrs. The longest fast was for 31 days at
Mavinagundi. There were 110 special police posted in
Siddapur and punitive police in Ankola. Rs. 37,000 was
realised on account of these punitive police. The special
Ordinance relating to the non-payment of Revenue was-
applied to Kanara from January, 1932 to the end of the
Campaign, though it was not applied in the later period
to Gujarat.
In his message to Gujarat peasants Sirdar Vallabh-
bhai made the following special reference to the peasants
of Kanara: —
"The brave peasants of Karnataka have vied with
you in their sacrifices, in their loss of lands and property,
in their privations and their suffering. They have courted
attachments, confiscations, imprisonments and worse.
Both men and women have shown utter disregard to
sufferings and privations and they are to-day as mined
and resourceless as can be imagined. The tales of their
bravery and their sacrifices have filled me with admira-
tion and pride and the news of their sufferings at times
unhinged me."
'704 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
In Ankola the No-tax campaign was political in
•character and origin, while in Sirsi and Siddapur Talukas
it was undertaken for reasons of economic and agrarian
•distress as well. In Kerala, the smallest of the Provinces,
the banner of Civil Disobedience was kept steadily
flying till the last day of the movement, while, at the
other end, Assam including Kaohar and Rylhet responded
splendidly to the call of the Congress.
Attention may now hi1 drawn to a few outstanding
-events in some of these Provinces- To all of them certain
factors were common, — the closing of the Congress offices,
the taking away of Congress papers, books, accounts
and flags, ZafAi-chargeg, dispersal by force of public
•meetings, promulgation of Section 144 over whole areas,
serving notices on individuals under Section 108, raids
on houses, searches, seizure of printing presses, securities
•demanded of newspapers and presses alike. But what
struck the on-looker most was that the Government of
the country was being run in the interests of foreign
-cloth and the liquor shops. In Bengal, Midnapur was
specially unfortunate in the extent of repression. House-
holders were imprisoned both in Bengal and in Andhra
for giving shelter, food, or water to Congress volunteers,
or volunteers who had been beaten and were lying
helpless. Orders to fire were issued in Bengal — in
TChersai notably, on the slightest pretext. When, in
"Khersai, a crowd collected round a house where distraint
of property was being made, order to fire was given and
•one man was killed and several were injured. In
•Chechna firing on a retreating crowd resulted in 6
persons being killed and 18 wounded. In Contai, a crowd
^watching preparation of salt was fired upon in June, 1930,
«nd 25 persons were wounded. In Khersai again, a
orowd that gathered at the arrest of a person and would
not disperse on warning, was fired upon with the result
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) "JOS-
that eleven persons were killed. The celebration of the
death anniversary of Deshbandhu Das was prohibited by
the Police in Calcutta on the 22nd June, and, when the,
men in the procession were mercilessly beaten, the women,
who had come out of their seclusion flung themselves-
into the front in order to save the wounded from being,
trampled under horses' hoofs.
The Police entered college buildings and belaboured'
the students sitting in class-rooms. In Barisal, 50Q'
persons were injured in a ZaMi-charge on one day. In
Tamluk, the Police were said to have set fire to the
property of Satyagrahis and their sympathisers. Reports
of indecent assaults were received from many quarters^.
In Gopinathpur, Congress volunteers were mercilessly
beaten, and amongst those beaten there was a Mussalman-
boy. The village became infuriated and arrested the
Police, and after locking them up in the local school, set
fire to it. Two Congress Volunteers broke the door open
and rescued the Police from the flames at the risk of
their own lives. On the 31st December, 1931, the
anniversary of the passing of the Independence resolution
at Lahore, Subash Babu while marching in a procession
was severely beaten. He had returned from jail shortly
before, after serving his term of a year for sedition. In-
Lahore the authorities were so nervous as to proscribe the
picture of a Non-co-operation tree. A veiled Mussalman
lady-picketer was arrested at Ludhiana. Siapa1 was
practised at the houses of those who would sell foreign
cloth. In Rawalpindi prisoners were prosecuted for*
refusing to take bad food. In Montgomery, one hunger-
striker, Lala Lakhi Ram, died after many days of
fasting. In Tarn Tarn a lady was roughly handled.
The firing on the Governor of the Punjab at the Senate-
i Waiting at funerals.
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
JBEall gave the Police an opportunity to carry on indis-
criminate searches. In Bihar the movement made a
-quiet progress. In Samastipur Sub-division, there is a
small bazaar called Shahpur Patoria. Four days after
the celebration of the Jawahar Week, 125 policemen
under the leadership of the Superintendent of Police
surrounded it, made 46 arrests, and took away the pro-
perty of some of those who were not at their houses, on
12 bullock cails. Similar reports were received from
other districts. Monghyr and Bhagalpur were in the
forefront of the movement. Picketing of liquor shops
caused a loss of 40 lacs to the Government. Military
Police and Gurkhas were taken through the paddy fields
•of Phulwaria in Motihari, crushing the same, and
overawing people round about by arresting numerous
villagers. Non-payment of Chowkidari Tax was
organised in Champaran, Saran, Muzaffarpur, Monghyr,
Patna and Shahabad districts. In C.P. liquor bids went
down by 60 per cent. At Amraoti, there was a lathi-
charge for celebrating the Garhwali Day. In Andhra
the worst achievement of the Police was the beating of
about 80 friends that met at a picnic at Peddapur on 21st
December, 1930. Serious injuries were inflicted upon the
people including two or three ladies. The incident has
given rise to civil litigation which is still going on. In
Kerala, toddy sales had gone down by 70%. In
Tamil Nadu, stoppage of toddy sales was the scene of
firing and several ZaJAi-charges. In Delhi, a Rai Saheb
was the wine merchant who had attained notoriety by
being responsible for the arrest of 8Q| ladies and hundreds
-of male vounteers. In Gujarat, the exodus of the
Tpeasants is the historic event whose description by
3fr. Brailsford is given below: —
"And then began one of the strangest migrations
in history. One after another, acting with a
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 707
unanimity of which only Indians with their tight
-caste organisations are capable, these villagers
packed their belongings into their bullock carts and
drove them across the border into Baroda. A few
•even burned the rich crop which they were too late
to remove. I visited one of their camps. They have
built temporary shelters with matting for walls and
palm leaves on sacking for a roof. The rains are over;
they will suffer no. grave hardship till May. But
they are crowded together with their beloved cattle,
and packed in the narrow space are all their house-
hold goods, the great jars in which they store their
rice, cloths and chums, chests and beds, shining pots
•of brass, here a plough, there a picture of the gods,
and everywhere, at intervals, the presiding genius of
this camp, a photograph of Mahatma Gandhi. I
asked a big group of them why they had left their
homes. The women gave the promptest and simplest
answer, — "Because Mahatmaji is in prison." The
men were still conscious of an economic grievance;
"farming docs not pay, and the tax is unjust." One
or two said "To win Swaraj" or Self -Government.
"I spent two memorable days touring the
deserted villages in company with the Chairman of
the Congress organisation of Surat. One passed row
after row of the padlocked cottages, and through the
bars of the windows one could sec only empty rooms.
The streets were silent lakes of sunlight. Nothing
moved until a monkey swung himself over a roof.
"To some of these villages, however, a few of
the men returned to work in the fields, while their
families and goods remained in Baroda. Some of
them complained of the terrorism of the Police.
"It was not hard to believe, for I had seen
something of their ways myself. As our car was
leaving one of these abandoned villages, a policeman
armed with rifle, with a fixed bayonet, ordered us to
stop. We might leave the village, he said, only with
written permit from the Police. The man collapsed
promptly when he saw* my European clothes and
presently began babbling in broken English 'me nice
policeman,' but it interested me particularly to dis-
that nowhere on his uniform did he cany a
708 THE HISTORY OF THB CONGRESS
number. When I demanded a number, he assured
me that 'every man had a secret number.' He
belonged to an emergency force which is carrying
for itself reputation that unpleasantly resembles that
of the Black and Tans in Ireland. It can hardly
have been an oversight on the part of the organisers
of this force, that their uniforms show no number.
"One cannot blame a Government confronted by
open, if passive, rebellion, if it retaliates within the
law. It has proclaimed Congress an illegal organisa-
tion. It has confiscated the fine 'Ashram' in the
Bardoli district. It arrested my host the Chairman
of Surat on the day after we parted. It 'attacked*
the properties of the Bardoli refugees and will sell
their fields to recover the tax, if it can find a
purchaser, a risk which leaves the peasants calm.
"All this is within the rules of the game.
Terrorism is outside them, and terrorism is being
used. My note-book is full of the complaints of
the peasants with whom we talked on this
tour. I could seldom verify their stories, but
I questioned them carefully and do not doubt their
word. These notes with names and dates shall go
to the superior officials. One village was haunted
every night by a gang of ruffians, who fired guns,
tore veils, and on one occasion murdered an old1
peasant with an axe. When the villagers asked for
protection, a high Police official is said to have
answered: 'You have it when you pay your tax/
Most of the complaints were of unprovoked beating
by the Police with their formidable lathis.
"One scene I managed, after much questioning,
to reconstruct. It happened in the abandoned village
of Afwa. Here some peasants who own no land had
remained behind, and with them were some who had
returned from Baroda to cultivate their fields. On
October 21st, about 3 A.M., a car arrived with ten
policemen under a certain Sub-Inspector. The-
Police found these men sleeping in the fields. They
beat them and then demanded the tax. They were-
then brought before this Sub-Inspector, who beat
some of them with his own hands and kicked others.
One was still limping and another showed a painful
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 709
swelling. The heads of two brothers he knocked
together. They were then taken in the lorry to the
lock-up in Bardoli- There the Sub-Inspector
threatened, with unprintable details, to 'make them
useless to their wives/ That threat told and the
younger brother, though not himself a landowner,
paid the tax for his father's farm. In another case,
a passer-by from another village was seized and
beaten, and the money in his pocket picked. A
receipt was given in the name of a local tax-payer,
and the stranger was told to recover it from him.
This Sub-Inspector was a person who combined
ingenuity with brutality. Finding in the village
another stranger, a man from Surat, lie appropriated
his gold ornaments and tried to force some of the
villagers to buy. — a species of summary distraint.
But I might continue this narrative indefinitely and
still it would record only one morning of this officer'jB
activity. I might have hesitated to believe these
peasants, had I not happened to meet this person in
the flesh, and caught him out in a ludicrous and
palpable lie. By such hands, in brief, far from the
heights of Simla and the security of Whitehall, is
law and order dispensed to the 'silent millions'."
Now in closing this tale of woe, we have to mention
a word finally regarding Peshawar and its Pathans.
These men, whose name is a by-word for cruelty and
violence, became veritable lambs and real embodiments
of non-violence. Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan had organised
his Khudai Khidmatgars in! such a disciplined and
devoted manner that the most feared part of India
became the safest centre of the working of the non-
violent Non-co-operation movement. The atrocities of
the Frontier Province were not allowed to see the light
of day, and Vittalbhai's report on the happening there
was proscribed by Government. But a few instances are
well-known and are undeniable. Some of these have
already been described.
45
710 THE HISTORY OP THE CONGRESS
An incident of importance took place in the Frontier
Province which deserves to be described here. In the
course of the repression adopted in the Province, some
Garhwali soldiers were asked to fire upon a meeting.
They refused to board the lorry brought to take them,
in order to fire upon a peaceful and unarmed crowd.
These soldiers were, therefore, court-martialled and given
long sentences, ranging from 10 to 14 years. The release
of these prisoners became the bone of contention between
Congress and Government in the final negotiations of
March, 1931.
To anticipate events, let us note that these prisoners
were not released as the result of the Gandhi-Invin
agreement, but their sentences were revised some years
after, and some of them were released in batches. Others
are still in prison.
We shall conclude this harrowing tale of woes with
an account relating to the heroism of the women of
Borsad, on the 21st January, 1931, to celebrate one of
those periodical events which sprung up in the movement.
The Police were determined to counter the demonstration.
The women had placed large pots of water to quench
their thirst, at different places. The first thing done by
the Police was to break these pots. The women were
dispersed by force and the specific allegation was made
that, when the ladies were thrown down, the police-men
trod upon their chests with their boote. This was almost
the last act of Police hooliganism. On the 26th January,
a notification was issued releasing unconditionally Gandhi
and 26 of his colleagues, in order to make it possible for
them to conduct negotiations for a truce. Efforts had
been made indeed earlier to bring about similar negotia-
tions in July and August 1930, but they had proved
abortive. We shall give a detailed account of these
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930)
endeavours presently. They deservedly failed, because
they were premature. The organisation of India had not
been developed to the fullest measure as yet. The
volunteers were still steeling themselves to fight. The
Prabhat Pheris and Vanara-senas of Bombay were yet
to become a historic institution. The roads of Bombay
had not as yet been converted into public notice-boards.
The Congress Bulletin and its daily publication running
up to five figures did not as yet prove the mystery that
later it turned out to be, both in regard to the origin of
its printing and the man-power behind. The patriotism
and self-sacrifice of the Bombay and Ahmedabad
merchants had not as yet developed those resources
which later came over so profusely to help the cause of
the Congress.
We now takq the reader back to the months of June,
July and August. On the 20th of June, 1930, while yet
Pandit Motilalji was free, he gave an interview to
Mr. Slocombe, the correspondent of the Daily Herald, and
shortly after, Mr. Slocombe had a conversation with
Panditji in Bombay on the terms and conditions on which
Congress might be willing to participate in the R. T. C.
Certain terms drafted by Mr. Slocombe were discussed
and approved of at a meeting, at which Panditji,
Mr. Jayakar and he were alone present. Mr. Slocombe
also addressed a letter to Dr. Sapru, and in the result,
Dr. Sapru and Mr. Jayakar became the intermediaries for
approaching the Viceroy on the basis of these terms.
Pandit Motilal Nehru had agreed to approach Jawaharlal
Nehroi, the President of the Congress, and Gandhi, with
proposals for a settlement, if in the first place the British
•Government and the Government of India would be willing
to give a private assurance that, apart from any
recommendations that may be made by the R. T. C. or
from the attitude which Parliament may maintain
712 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
towards them, they would support the demand for full
Responsible Government for India, subject to certain
adjustments and terms of transfer to be decided by the
R. T. C. On this basis, the intermediaries wrote to the
Viceroy and requested permission to interview Gandhi,
Motilalji and Jawaharlal in Prison. This was on the 13th
of July, and by that time Motilalji had been convicted.
The Viceroy in his reply still further toned down the
nature of the Self-Governnient to be given to Indians,
and promised, "to assist the people of India to as large a
degree of management of their own affairs as can be
shown to be consistent with the making of provision for
those matters in regard to which they are not in a
position to assume responsibility." With these two docu-
ments, Sapru and .Tayakar interviewed Gandhi in
Yeravada jail on the 23rd and 24th July, on which
Gandhi gave them a note and a letter to be handed over
to the Nehrus in the Naini Jail, Allahabad. Gandhi
wanted the discussions of the R. T. C. to be restricted
to a discussion of the Safeguards during the transitional
period. The question of Independence should not be ruled
out. The composition of the Conference should be
satisfactory. Peaceful picketing of foreign cloth and
liquor would be continued in spite of the withdrawl of
Civil Disobedience, unless Government themselves would
enforce prohibition of liquor and foreign cloth. The
manufacture of salt would have to be continued with
impunity.
Then he referred to the release of prisoners, restora-
tion of properties, fines and securities, and reinstalling of
officers who had resigned, and the repeal of Ordinances.
He cautioned the emissaries that he was a prisoner and
therefore had no right to pronounce opinions on political
activities, that these suggestions were purely his own, and
that he reserved to himself the right of testing every
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 713
Swaraj scheme by his eleven points. In his letter to the
Nehrus, Gandhi doubted if the time was ripe for negotia-
tions. With Hiese papers, the emissaries saw the Nehrus
on the 27th and 28th July, and had a thorough discus-
sion with them. The Nehrus in a letter dated 28th July,
1930, expressed their opinion that at any Conference they
would not be able to achieve anything unless an agreement
on all vital matters was reached. Jawaharlal in a
separate note stated that Gandhi's point regarding the
constitutional issue did not appeal to him or to his father,
for it did not fit in with the position and the pledges of the
Congress or the realities of the day. On the 31st July,
and 1st and 2nd August, Mr. Jayakar saw Gandhi, when
Gandhi stated clearly that no constitutional scheme
would be acceptable to him, which did not contain a
clause allowing India to secede from the Empire at her
desire, and another clause which gave the right and power
to India to deal satisfactorily with his eleven points. He
would also have an independent tribunal to examine all
the British claims, and concessions given to the Britishers
in the past. Gandhi desired that the Viceroy should be
made aware of this position of his, lest he should say
later that with these views of his (Gandhi's) he had taken
him by surprise. Shortly after, the Nehrus along with
Doctor Sycd Mahmud wore taken over to Yeravada to
have an opportunity of meeting Gandhi and other friends
in the Yeravada Jail.
There was thus a conference on the 14th of August
'between the emissaries on the one hand, and on the other
Gandhi, the Nehrus, Vallabhbhai Patel, Dr. Syed
Mahmud, Mr. Jairamdas Doulatram and Mrs. Naidu, and
the result of this conference was embodied in a letter dated
15th of August in which the signatories, all the Congress-
men present, categorically restated the conditions, already
xeferred to, which they would demand for a settlemtent and
714 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
in which they included the right of India to secede and?
the tribunal for examining British claims and concessions
In concluding the negotiations, Gandhi, Mrs. SarojinL
Vallabhbhai Patel and J air am das thanked the emissaries
for the pains they had taken to bring about peace and:
suggested, "It would naturally be open to those in charge*
af the Congress organisations to see any of us. In that
case, and when the Government itself is equally desirous
for peace, they should have no difficulty in having access*
to us."
The Viceroy wrote a letter dated 28th August,
stating that he could only move the Local Governments
to consider the release of prisoners on a generous scale,
but that they would consider the cases on their merits.
The Nehrus were taken back to Naini, wrote to Gandhi
on the 31st that Lord Irwin in his letter considered even
a discussion of the preliminaries as impossible, and the
tone of the letter indicated that Government had no-
desire for peace. Correspondence went on for some time
longer and, to make a long story short, the peace
negotiations failed.
The full details of these negotiations and their
failure are published in Appendix VIII-A. The failure of
the Jayakar-Sapru negotiations did not fill India's well-
wishers with despair. They were followed up by the
earnest efforts of Mr. Horace G. Alexander, Professor of
International Relations at Selly Oak College, who sought
interviews with the Viceroy, as well as Gandhi in jail.
He was struck by the clarity of Gandhi's demands,
which did not wrangle about high-sounding names but
sought to wrestle with the simple problems of Indian
poverty. By this time, Lord Irwin had promulgated
about a dozen Ordinances — including the Unlawful
Instigation Ordinance, the Press Ordinance and the
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 715
Unlawful Association Ordinance. Lord Irwin was
faithfully following the 'dual policy.' In the same
breath, he was blowing the hot necessity for Ordinances
and a cold appreciation of Indian Nationalism.
"However emphatically we may condemn the Civil
Disobedience movement, we should, I am satisfied,"
said he, to the European Association, Calcutta, "make a
profound mistake if we underestimated the genuine and
powerful meaning of Nationalism that is to-day
animating much of Indian thought." In pursuance of
this ever-recurring dual policy, it was the Secretary of
State's function to arrange the R.T.C. in England, and
the Governor-General's to flourish the big stick in India.
The Round Table Conference met on the 12th
November, 1930. It was opened with stately splendour
in the Royal Gallery of the Upper House, with 86
delegates in all, of whom 16 were from the States and
57 from British India. The remaining 13 were the
spokesmen of the different political parties in
England. The Conference met at intervals at St.
James' Palace, and in the gala speeches with
which such conferences begin, almost everybody
spoke of Dominion Status. The Princes, represented by
Patiala, Bikaner, Alwar and Bhopal, were for Federa-
tion. Sastriar who pleaded eloquently for India's freedom,
demurred at first to Federation, but later became a
sincere convert to it. The Premier put forward the two
fundamental requirements necessary for the success of
the Constitution.
First, it must work; second, it must evolve. He
contrasted the latter— a Constitution that evolves— with
a static Constitution which will be treated by posterity
as a sacred inheritance. Various sub-committees were then
appointed and they duly reported on Defence, Franchise,
716 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Frontier, Minorities, Burma* Public Services, and
Provincial, and last, Federal structure. The Conference
was in a burry to close its session. The plenary session
was, therefore, held on the 19th January, when it was
resolved that the reports and the notes afforded material
of the highest value in framing a Constitution for India
and that the work be continued.
It was made clear by the Prime-Minister that in
the Legislature constituted on a Federal basis, with the
States and the Provinces represented thereon, the
Government would be prepared to recognise the principle
of responsibility of the Executive to the Legislature. Only
Defence and External Affairs would be reserved. Special
powers would be vested in the Governor-General to
discharge his special responsibilities, to maintain the
tranquillity of the State and secure its financial stability.
Various other details were described. The Premier then
announced the policy and intentions of His Majesty's
^Government in regard to the future Constitution of
India:—
"The view of His Majesty's Government is that
responsibility for the Government of India should be
placed upon the Legislatures, Central and Provincial,
with such provision as may be necessary to guarantee,
during a period of transition, the observance of
- certain obligations and to meet other special circum-
stances, and also with such guarantees as are
required by the minorities to protect their political
liberties and rights.
"In such statutory safeguards as may be made
for meeting the needs of the transitional period, it
will be the primary concern of His Majesty's
• Government to see that the reserved powers are so
framed and exercised as not to prejudice the advance
of India through the new Constitution to full-
responsibility for her own Government."
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 717
The Premier added that "if in the meantime there is
response to the Viceroy's appeal from those engaged at
present in Civil Disobedience, steps will be taken to enlist
their services."
Now, the justification for giving a rapid summary of
the proceedings of the first R.T.C., which did not in any
way concern the Congress, is supplied by this last
sentence which we have quoted from the Premier's
announcement. Within less than a week of the termina-
tion of the Conference, an important development
occurred in India, as the result of which Gandhi and 19
of his colleagues were released unconditionally. The
number was added to by the release of seven others later.
The statement issued by the Viceroy ordering this release
was exquisite both in language and sentiment and we give
it in full below. But before giving it, we must give here
a certain resolution passed by the Working Committee
marked 'privileged.'
WORKING COMMITTEE'S RESOLUTION
Privileged resolution passed by the Working
Committee which was held at Swaraj Bhawan, Allahabad,
at 4 p.m. on the 21st January, 1931: —
"The Working Committee of the Indian National
Congress is not prepared to give any recognition to
the proceedings of the so-called R.T.C. between
certain members of the British Parliament, the Indian
Princes, and individual Indians selected by the
Government from among its supporters and not
elected as their representatives by any section of the
Indian people. The Committee holds that the
British Government stands self -condemned by the
methods it has employed of making a show of
consulting representatives of India, while as a matter
of fact it has been smothering her true voice, by the
incarceration of the real leaders of the Nation like
718 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, bjr
Ordinances and imprisonments and by Za£/w-charges
and firing on thousands of peaceful, unarmed and
unresisting citizens engaged in the patriotic pursuit of
winning freedom for their country by resorting to
Civil Disobedience which, the Committee maintains,
is a legitimate weapon in the hands of all oppressed
nations.
"The Comlmittee has carefully considered the
declaration of the policy of the British Government
made by Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, the Prime-
Minister of England, on behalf of the Cabinet on the
19th January, 1931, and is of opinion that it is too
vague and general to justify any change in the policy
of the Congress.
"While adhering to the resolution of
Independence passed at the Lahore Congress, this
Committee endorses the view taken by Mahatma
Gandhi, Pandit Motilal Nehru, Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru and others in their letter of the 15th August,
1930, from the Yeravada Central Prison and is unable
to see in the pronouncement of the policy made by
the Premier an adequate response to the position
taken by the signatories to the said letter. The
Committee considers that in the absence of such
response, and while thousands of men and women
including almost all the original members of the
Working Committee and a great majority of the
members of the All-India Congress Committee are
locked in jail, and while the Government repression
is in full swing, no general enunciation of policy can
be helpful in bringing to a satisfactory issue the
struggle which the Nation has entered upon or justi-
fying the suspension of Civil Disobedience. The
Committee can, therefore, only advise the country to
carry on the struggle with unabated vigour along the
lines already laid down and trusts that it will
maintain the high spirit it has shown so far.
"The Committee takes this opportunity to record
its high appreciation of the courage and firmness
with which the men and wbmen and evon the children
of the country have faced Government persecution
that is accountable for the imprisonment of about 75
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH (1930) 719'
thousand innocent men and women, numerous indis-
criminate and brutal fa£A?-ch&rges, various forms of
torture even of those in custody, firing resulting in
the maiming and deaths of hundreds of people, looting
of property, burningr of houses and marching of
moving columns of armed Police and sowars and
British soldiers in several rural parts, depriving
people of the right of public speech and association
by prohibiting meetings and processions and declaring
Congress and allied asociations unlawful, forfeiting
their movables and occupying their houses and offices.
"The Committee calls upon the country to
observe the anniversary of the Independence Day
which falls on the 20th January, by carrying out the
programme already issued as a mark of its deter-
mination to persevere in the fight for freedom,
undaunted and undismayed."
When this resolution was taken up by the Working
Committee. Kajendra Babu was the President. He had
been delegated the duties by Vallabhbhai who had been
arrested for the third time in eleven months. Pandit
Motilal Nehru had also been released, a few days earlier
than the due time on account of his severe illness which,
shortly after, was to prove fatal. The meeting of the
Working Committee and its object were openly advertised
in the Press and the members met at Allahabad for the
occasion. The resolution in question was after some
discussion accepted. Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya
was present at this meeting in spite of his illness. The
question was whether the resolution was to be published
or not. There was a difference of opinion. Ultimately it
was decided not to publish it till the next day. But an
unexpected event happened the next day which justified
the decision not to publish it. A cablegram was received
from Dr. Sapru and Mr. Sastri, who were in London and
who were about to leave for India after the Round Table
Conference, asking the Working Committee not to arrive
at any decision on the Premier's speech, until their
720 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
arrival and without hearing them. Accordingly the
Tesolution was not published, but, as happens in all such
cases, information found its way to Government right
enough and almost immediately after it had been passed.
The fallowing statement was issued by His Excellency
the Governor-General on the 25th January, 1931.
"In order to provide opportunity for
consideration of the statement made by the Prime-
Minister on the 19th January, my Government, in
consultation with Local Governments, have thought
it right that members of the Working Committee of
the All-India Congress should enjoy full liberty of
discussion between themselves and with those who
have acted as members of the Committee since 1st
January, 1930.
"In accordance with this decision and with this
object, and in order that there may be no legal bar
to any meeting they may wish to hold, the notification
declaring the Committee to be an unlawful Associa-
tion under the Criminal Law Amendment Act will be
withdrawn by all Local Governments and action will
be taken for the release of Mr. Gandhi and others
who arei now members of the Committee, or who have
.acted as such, since 1st January, 1930-
"My Government will impose no conditions on
these releases, because we feel that the best hope of
restoration of peaceful conditions lies in discussions
being conducted by those concerned under terms of
unconditional liberty. Our action has been taken in
pursuance of a sincere desire to assist the creation of
such peaceful conditions as would enable the Govern-
ment to implement the undertaking given by the
Prime-Minister that if civil quiet were proclaimed
.and assured the Government would not be
backward in response.
"I am content to trust those who will be affected
T>y our decision to act in the same spirit as inspires
it. And I am confident that they will recognise the
importance of securing for those grave issues calm
and dispassionate examination/' I
Part V
SYNOPSIS
CHAPTER I
THE GAXDHI-IRWIN AGREEMENT (1931)
Gandhi's Message — Pandit Motilal's last illness —
Pandit Motilal passes aicay — Gandhi on the Pandit's
death — Interview fixed up with the Viceroy — The
famous interview — Victory to both — Appeal to English-
men— The Karachi Congress — Presidential Address —
Resolution on Bhagat Singh — Black flags to Gandhi —
The cjloom over Karachi — Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi's
murder — The main Resolution — 'Indians Abroad —
Sastriar's achievements — East Africa — Power to A.I.C.C*
to revise the Fundamental Rights — The Flag Committee
— Bhagat Singh Cremation Committee — Fundamental
Rights Committee — Public Debts Committee — Deputa-
tion re -.communal unity — Gandhi alone to attend the
R. T. C.
CHAPTER II
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT
Arms down — Picketing Committee — The agreement
resented by high officials — Working Committee confirms
participation in the R. T. C. — Other resolutions of the
Working Committee — Gandhi learns country against
aggressive campaign — Lord Willingdon's sympathetic
attitude — Peace not Truce — Breaches of settlement —
Gandhi's letters to Mr. Emerson and his replies —
Government release correspondence — Gandhi refuses to
*722 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
attend the R. T. C. — Working Committee on Communal
problems — A solution suggested — Exclusion of foreign
cloth — Residual powers — An explanation— A. I. C. C.
meets — National Flag design altered — Working Committee
confirms Gandhi's vicic not to attend R. T. C- — Gandhi
leaves Bombay for Ahmedabad — Sir P. Pattani alone
cancels ftis voyage — Disturbing factor — Sir E. Hotson
fired at — Mr. Emerson's clinching letter — Should Congress
have the last word in Revenue Collection! — Dr. Ansari
not nominated as Delegate — Threat of outbreak of
hostilities — Pandit Malaviya and Sarojini Devi cancel
their passages — Door not banged against peace — Gandhi's
letter to the Viceroy — No scope for peace till Civilians
are converted — The Conference at Simla — Gandhi to
proceed to London — Official Communique — Inquiry
ordered into Bardoli Collections affair — Defensive Direct
Action reserved to Congress on other matters — But
Gandhi-Irwin Pact Continues — Gandhi sets sail for
London — Working Committee ratifies — Gandhi's Voyage
— Welcome at Aden — The sale of the shawl — Egypt's
greetings — "Balance your relations with India" —
Welcome at Marseilles — Gandhi prefeis East End to
West End— Gandhi at the R. T. C.— Gandhi on the
Congress — Gandhi at the Minorities Committee —
Cabinet fed up with R. T. C.— Gandhi on the Army
question — Was the Congress one of many parti-esf —
Congress has a universal platform and an exalted Creed —
'Whilst there is yet a little sand left in the glass' —
Partnership for Mutual Benefit — India only needs a will
of its dton — 'For Heaven's sake give me a little bit of
chance' — Gandhi proposes vote of thank* — The Situation
in India: (1) Gujarat, (2) [7. P., (3) Bengal.
-*. P. Sinha
l.~> : Bombay
Ambika Charan Mazumdar
1916 : Luc know
Annie Hcsant
1917 Calcutta
Hasan Tmatr*
1918 : Bombay ^Special)
Part V
CHAPTER I
THE GANDHI-IRWIN AGREEMENT (1931)
The releases were meant to take place before the
midnight of the 26th, and instructions were issued to
release the wives of the members of the Working
Committee if they happened to be in jail. The number
robe to 26, because the instructions of release covered also
tho&e who were interim members. As soon as Gandhi
was released, he gave a message to the Indian people
which is characteristic of him, for he knows no pride in
Miccess as indeed he knows no depression in defeat: —
"I have come out of jail with absolutely open mind
unfettered by enmity, unbiassed in argument, and
prepared to study the whole situation from every point
<>f view and discuss the Premier's statement with Sir Tej
Bahadur Sapru and others on their return. I make this
statement in deference to the urgent wish expressed in a
cable sent to me from London by some of the delegates/*
The fact is that the delegates in London put
themselves in touch with Government and with the
C Congress towards the end of the sittings of the Round
Table Conference. Pandit Motilal Nehru had been
released a little earlier than his time, on account of his
serious illness, and the Working Committee, mostly
composed of interim members, having met on the 21st
of January, 1931, in Allahabad expressed their inability
to take any action in the absence of a duly constituted
meeting of the original Working Committee. The
lesolution was marked 'privileged' as we have seen and
was not meant for publication. As it always happens, such
resolutions have the knack of forcing their way to the
724 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Press and, more than the Press, to the very quarter from
which they are sought to be withheld. Thus the resolu-
tion was forthwith wired out to Delhi, and it is believed
that it virtually determined the action taken by the
Viceroy. Gandhi, however, felt that the release of the
members of the Working Committee alone made a
difficult situation infinitely more difficult, and made any
action on the part of the members almost, if not
altogether, impossible. The authorities, lie said, had not
evidently perceived that the movement had so much
affected the mass mind that leaders, however prominent,
would be utterly unable to dictate to them a particular
course of action. He hinted to Press representatives what
his conditions would be for a settlement, but he lo^t no
time in declaring "that the right of picketing could not
be given up, nor the right of the starving million? to
manufacture salt." "The manufacture of salt," he added,
"and the boycott of foreign cloth and liquor which had
occasioned most of the Ordinances, were not intended t«.»
register the resistance of the Nation to existing misrule
but intended to achieve these ends for all time." He was
hankering after peace, he said, if it could be had with
honour, but even if he stood alone, he would be no party*
to any peace which did not satisfactorily solve the
three questions he had mentioned. "I should, therefore,
judge the R.T.C. tree by its fruit."
Gandhi hastened to Allahabad to see Pandit Nehru
in his sick-bed. All the released members of the Working
Committee were accordingly summoned and met at
Swaraj Bhawan, Allahabad, and the following Resolution
was passed by the W.C. held on the 31st January, and
1st February, 1931:—
"The Working Committee having, out of regard
for the wishes of Syte. Sastri, Sapru and Jayakar,
THE GANDHI-IRWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 725
suspended publication of its resolution passed oh
21-1-31, an impression has got abroad that the
movement of Civil Disobedience has been suspended.
It is, therefore, necessary to reiterate the decision of
the Committee that the movement is to continue
unabated until explicit instructions are issued to the
contrary. This meeting reminds the public that
picketing of foreign cloth and drink and drug shops
in itself is no part of the Civil Disobedience
campaign, but that it is the exercise of the ordinary
right of a citizen, so long as it remains strictly
peaceful and causes no obstruction to the public.
"This meeting further reminds the sellers of
foreign cloth, including foreign yarn, and Congress
workers that the boycott of foreign cloth being a
vital necessity in the interest of the masses, is a
permanent feature of national activity and willt
remain so till the Nation has acquired the power to
exclude foreign cloth and foreign yarn from India*
whether by total prohibition or by prohibitive tariff.
"Whilst appreciating the response made by
dealers in foreign cloth and foreign yarn to the appeal
of the Congress to bring about a boycott of foreign
cloth, this meeting reminds them that it is not open
to any Congress organisation to hold out hopes of
their being able to dispose of their existing stock in
India."
The members of the Working Committee, original
and interim, remained at Allahabad till the 3rd of
February . Pandit ji was getting worse day by day and
it was considered necessary to take him to Lucknow for
an X-ray examination. Almost all the visitors were dis-
persed temporarily except a few, including Gandhi, who
continued to stay there. Gandhi accompanied Motilalji
to Lucknow. But the Pandit was rapidly sinking and the
party returned to Allahabad where he passed away after
.a hard struggle, with these last words on his lips.
"Decide India's fate in the Swaraj Bhaiwan, decide it in
-my presence; let me be a party to the final honourable
4*
726 THE HIBTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
settlement of the fate of my Motherland. Let me die, if
die I must, in the lap of a Free India. Let me sleep my
last sleep, not in a subject country but in a free one."
Thus passed away the great Pandit who was
truly an aristocrat in every sense, — aristocrat of
intellect no less than of wealth, of culture no
less than of character. His loss at this juncture,
when his keen vision and quick wit would have
helped the Nation to reach clear decisions on the
complicated issues before it, was truly irreparable, for he
was not only able to think in broad curves and wide
sweeps, but he could take his mind through the intricate
details of the political problems confronting us and arrive
at his decisions both quickly and correctly.
Though he was an aristocrat of wealth, yet he
recognised, under the inspiration of Gandhi, the need to
chasten life and character by passing through the dis-
ciplines of poverty and self-abnegation. Nor did he
enjoy his wealth alone. He is one of the few plutocrats
that helped the Nation share his wealth. His gift to
the Congress of the Anand Bhawan was as magnanimous
as patriotic. This gift in brick and mortar is not,
however, his greatest legacy to the Nation, for the gift
of his son to it, — a gift truly in flesh and blood, — is
incomparably greater. Few aire the fathers that would
not like to see their sons as Judges or Ministers, as
Ambassadors or Agents-General. But Motilalji had chosen
otherwise. Motilalji has passed away but his spirit hovers
over the Congress and shapes its counsels and guides its
destiny.
The following statement was sent out by Gandhiji
from Allahabad on February 7th, on Panditji's death:
"Motilal's death should be the envy of every patriot. He
died after having surrendered his all for the country and
THE GANDHI-IRWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 727
up to the very last thinking only of the country. Let us
-deserve this hero's sacrifice by each sacrificing, if not all,
at least enough to attain freedom which he was yearning
after and which is within easy grasp now."
The message that Gandhi gave to Liberty is even
more pathetic. "My position is worse than a widow's. By
a faithful life she can appropriate the merit of her
husband; I can appropriate nothing. AVliat I have lo*t
through Motilalji's death is a loss for ever. 'Rock of
Ages cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee'."
What really was distressing in the political situation
at the time, and what worried Gandhi in particular, was
the absence of any reaction in official India to the much
advertised offer of freedom to her from England. %tlt
was black repression continuing unabated on all sides,"
wrote Gandhi in his cable to the Xews-Chronicle, "'un-
provoked assaults on innocent persons still continue,
respectable people are summarily and without apparent
reason deprived of their movable and immovable property
by mere executive action. A procession of women was
forcibly dispersed. They were seized by the hair and
kicked with boots. The continuance of such repression
will make the Congress co-operation impossible even if
other difficulties were got over."
Private instructions were issued that, while the
movement must go on, no new campaigns be organised or
new situations developed. Just at this time, *>., on the
'6th February, 1931, 26 R.T.C. delegates made an appeal
to the Congress in the following terms, immediately on
.their landing in India: —
"The scheme represents a bare outline; the •
details— some of which are of a substantial and far-
728 THE HISTORY OP THE CONGRESS
reaching character— have yet to be worked out. We
earnestly hope that the leaders of the Congress and of
other parties will now come forward to make solid!
contribution to the completion of the scheme. It is
our hope that an atmosphere of complete peace will
be created for the consideration of these questions of
• high import and that the release of other political
prisoners who have suffered incarceration for their
convictions will follow."
So late as in February, 1931, 136 arrests were made
in the city of Cawnpore on a charge of picketing, and
the treatment of prisoners in jail both in regard to food
tmd clothing, medical aid and punishments, continued to
be as bad as ever before. The Working Committee
formally met again on the 13th February at Allahabad.
By this time Doctor Sapru and Mr. Sastri returned to
India and they hastened to Allahabad to meet Gandhi
and the Working Committee. * Long discussions were
held, and both of them laid themselves open to the
severest cross-examination by the members of the
Committee who were not altogether gentle in handling
the two eminent men, for the public mind was not only
agitated, but even embittered, by some remarks which
Sastriar had let fall from his lips in England. Be this
as it may, Gandhi wrote a letter to Lord Irwin inviting
his attention to the Police excesses in the country and'
particularly to the assault on women at Borsad on the
21st January, and asked for an enquiry into the conduct
of the Police. This was summarily turned down, and
it seemed for the moment as if it was all over with the
Peace negotiations. It was felt, however, that if the
Congress and the Government were to meet, they could1
not meet unless one or the other party took the initiative
in the matter. On Government's part, they had uncon-
ditionally released the members of the Working
Committee. Why not, on its part, the Committee, or
THE GANDHI-IRWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 729
<3andhi on its behalf, address the Viceroy and ask for
:an interview instead of relying on formal correspondence?
The Satyagrahi has no hesitation in exploring such an
avenue to peace. Accordingly, Gandhi wrote to Lord
Irwin a short letter seeking an interview and expressed
the desire to talk to him as man to man. The letter
was sent on the 14th and the reply came by telegram on
the 16th, in the early hours of the morning. Gandhi
left for Delhi on the 16th February, and, shortly after,
the other members of the old Working Committee were
in Delhi too. The Working Committee had formally
passed a resolution investing him with the powers of a
plenipotentiary to negotiate a settlement in the name of
the Congress. Gandhi saw the Viceroy for the first time
on February 17th and bad a talk with him for about
four hours. For three days together the conversations
•continued.
In the course of these conversations, Gandhi
•emphasised his demand for an enquiry into Police
excesses and the right to picket, in addition to the usual
'Conditions of a settlement which must include a general
amnesty, repeal of Ordinances, restitution of confiscated
property, and reinstatement of all officials and servants
Tdio had resigned or were removed. The points raised,
especially the first two, were of so controversial a
character that no ready agreement could be expected of
them, and the Government Communique published from
the Viceroy's House on the 19th February, stated that
•various matters emerging from the discucsion were under
examination and it was possible that some days might
•elapse before a further stage of discussions was reached.
On the first day Gandhi returned to his camp, which
•was at Doctor Ansari's house, in high spirits- The first
day's conversations were characterised by a note of
730 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
almost certain hope. On the second day it was evident
that the Viceroy was understanding, not accepting,
Gandhi's position. A temporary break was predicted, as
a cable would be expected shortly from England and the
Viceroy himself proposed to invite Gandhi back on
Saturday the 21st, but a sudden call came on the 19th,
Thursday. A small conference of twelve was proposed,
and the number grew to twenty, to discuss the various
matters on hand, between the Government and the
Congress. A cable was expected from London by the
Viceroy on the matter, and the conference was intended
to be delayed till the 24th.
The 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, and 24th were clays of
waiting, the Committee expecting a call nnd the proposed
conference on Tuesday the 24th. Gandhi broke his
usual fast and silence on Monday the 23rd at 3 P.M. so
a** to be prepared for the expected call. But no call
having reached the Committee, there was a feeling of
impatience shown by some members. Gandhi counselled
patience. The 25th, and 26th were again days of weary
waiting. The interval was spent in planning certain
arrangements for the next Congress, as there would be
difficulties in regard to the election of delegates on
account of the dislocation of the regular Congress organi-
sation during the previous ten month?. On the 26th,
the long-expected call at last came. On the 27th, Gandhi
visited the Viceroy. He had a three-and-half hour
conversation with him, which was free, frank and
friendly. Not one harsh word was thrown out, and the
Viceroy was anxious that Gandhi should not break the
negotiations.
On the 28th, Gandhi sent a note on picketing as
desired, and the Viceroy sent notes of the proposed'
settlement.
THE GANDHI-IBWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 731
The Viceroy wanted the definite conclusions of
Gandhi on each of the points raised and invited him, as
previously arranged, to the Viceregal Lodge on the 1st
March at 2-30 P.M. On the 1st March, the situation
appeared desperate. Renewal of hostilities appeared
inevitable. "Break the negotiations," was the one cry
on the lips of every member of the Working Gommittee;
there was no exception. The news got wind quickly.
There was alarm all round, consternation in every
quarter.
Pandit Malaviya alone did not lose hope and was
predicting a favourable turn. The Press, however, pre-
dicted the several plans that were being hatched by
Government. The Working Committee, it was expected,
would be deported en bloc to Kuriamuria, a nice little
island in the Arabian Sea. The situation was altogether
depressing. Gandhi saw the Viceroy as the appointed
hour and returned at 6 P.M. from the Viceregal Lodge.
His short stay appeared at first to spell disaster, but
it did not take long to discover that hopes of settlement
were to bo revived. On the afternoon of the 1st of
March, when Gandhi met the Viceroy, the Viceroy's
attitude was quite friendly. Mr. Emerson, the Home
Secretary, was equally cordial. The Viceroy called upon
Gandhi to evolve a formula on picketing in consultation
with Mr. Emerson. In fact Gandhi had been asked, it
will be remembered, to submit such a formula earlier
and a draft was sent the previous day; only, the
Viceregal note and Gandhi's draft on picketing had
crossed each other between the Viceregal Lodge and
Dr. Ansari's place.
^ The atmosphere was thus wholly changed on the 1st
of March. It was one of friendliness. At this distance
of time, we may almost say that the sense of duty pro*
732 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
dominated over the consciousness of right, but for which
the agreement would not have materialised at all. One
point at issue in regard to picketing was whether it
should be directed against 'foreign goods' or 'British
goods.1 Another point related to the methods to bo
employed. It was obvious that the boycott of British
goods which was not on the Congress programme from
the outset, and found a place in later years and notably
during the war period, was meant undoubtedly as an
act of hostility and as a political weapon to exert pres-
sure for political ends. Accordingly, picketing was to
be contemplated against 'foreign' commodities. The
language of the agreement, as we shall see later on, was
thus made unequivocal. The Viceroy objected to the
use of the word 'boycott.' Picketing and boycott were,
to him, convertible terms. Of course, during a truce,
foreign goods and British goods must be distinguished
one from the other. After a general discussion on the
subject, Lord Irwin asked Gandhi and Emerson to evolve
a formula on picketing and a formula was evolved.
The conversations turned on the subject of Punitive
Police and were satisfactory. No collections of fines
would be made thereafter, but there was to be no refund
either of collections already made.
As regards release of prisoners, the Viceroy promised
free and liberal treatment. Jail offences, rioting, mis-
chief, theft, — all these came up for discussion on the night
of the 1st March. It is necessary to state by the way
that the conversations were continued till late in the
night, Gandhi having gone back to the Viceregal Lodge
after his evening meal and resumed the conversations.
Gandhi raised the question of internees and the Viceroy
definitely promised to examine their cases individually.
THE GANDHI-IRWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 733
Regarding properties confiscated, sold properties could
not be given. Gandhi was asked to see the Provincial
Governments, as the Government of India refused to
negotiate with them. A definite note was, however,
promised by the Viceroy to be given to Gandhi for the
Bombay Government about the confiscated lands.
Mr. Vallabhbhai Patel, on hearing the report of the
conversations as narrated by Gandhi, wanted the
question of the two Deputy Collectors who had resigned
in Gujarat to be raised. The position in regard to Salt
ivas very much advanced in favour of the popular claim.
'The Viceroy promised tof allow free collection of salt
from deposits, — a concession which was very satisfactory
to Gandhi.
On the issue of Police excesses, there was an
attitude of non-possumus. Gandhi offered to make him-
self only the agent of the Working Committee on the
question and said he would carry out its wishes cheer-
fully. "If you break," said he, "I go to the Viceroy's
House only to break." He went to the Viceregal Lodge
and returned at 1 A-M. and addressed the Working
'Committee and friends till 2-15 A.M. The Viceroy and
Emerson were both very good. A formula on picket-
ing was reached that night, but further consideration was
reserved to Tuesday, 3rd March, as the next day — the
"2nd March — happened to be Monday, the day of
-Gandhi's silence. A formula was also to be evolved
between Gandhi and Sir George Schuster on Salt. That
had taken the bulk of the time that night, but no formula
could be evolved. Certain misunderstandings which had
• occurred were cleared.
With regard to the restoration of properties, it
appeared as though the intervention of some outsider
•would become necessary in order to negotiate it, and
734 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Sir Ibrahim Rahimtoola and Sir Purushothamdafr
Thakurdas offered their services in this behalf.
In regard to the two Deputy Collectors of Gujarat,,
the Viceroy could not promise restoration but| offered
to arrange for the payment of gratuity or pension to
them- It was 2-15. A.M. by the time Gandhi narrated
in full the discussions of the night. On the 3rd March,
an interview was fixed up with Sir George Schuster at
11 A.M. to evolve the Salt formula, as the interview with
the Viceroy was to take place at 2 P.M. There was a
little commotion over this engagement with the Finance
Member. Mr. Shiror, the representative of the Chicago
Tribune, was asking a member of the Working Committee-
whether Gandhi was well posted with facts so as to be
able to face the Finance Member. The idea was that
Gandhi was to discuss with Sir George the question of
Debts. They did not know that he was only going to
fix up the Salt formula; nor was it a difficult task for
Gandhi, even if he was faced with facts and figures on
the question of Debts, to rise equal to the occasion. His
resources were unlimited, but his security lay in his
truthfulness, for, if he had not studied a subject or did
not understand an issue, he frankly owned his
ignorance, — which has been, exploited by his opponents
as indicating his permanent limitations.
On the 3rd March, another formidable difficulty
arose in the way of the expected settlement. The resti-
tution of the lands of the Bardoli peasants had been
discussed earlier and was again taken up. Any formula,
that might be evolved in the matter must be acceptable
to Vallabhbhai. So, in the course of the day, Gandhi
had told the Viceroy that he would return in the night
with a formula acceptable to Vallabhbhai and, therefore,,
asked the Viceroy not to discuss the matter any further..
THE GANDHI-IRWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 73£
The fact is that the Viceroy had his own difficulties. He-
had passed a letter, it was believed, to the Government
of Bombay, when the Bardoli No-tax campaign was at'
its height, that he would not ask for the restitution of
properties to the peasants under any circumstances..
Therefore, he would naturally be most unwilling to-
address them now in a directly opposite manner. He
wanted Gandhi to ask Sir Purushothamdas Thakurdas
and Sir Ibrahim Rahimtoola to intervene, and he hoped
everything would be all right. Gandhi wanted the
Viceroy to do it. At last, the Viceroy agreed to give
a letter to the Government of Bombay to help the two
gentlemen in recovering the lands. As a matter of fact,
the Revenue Member of Bombay had gone over to Delhi
during the pourparlers, apparently to talk over the
matter. Sapru and Jayakar as well as Sastriar had done
great service in smoothening matters whenever there was
difficulty. Clause 17 (c) of the Gandhi-Trwin agreement
was the subject of a heated debate between Government
and the Congress. Tlie clause runs as follows: —
'"Where immovable property has been sold to
third parties the transaction mu^t be regarded as
final, so far as Government are concerned."
"Note: — Mr. Gandhi has represented to Govern-
ment that, according to his information and belief ,
some at least of these sales have been unlawful and
unjust. Government, on the information before
them, cannot accept this contention."
After prolonged controversy, which threatened to
break up the negotiations altogether once again on the
3rd evening, the formula embodied in the note quoted
above was evolved, and besides this, in the body of
clause (c) the expression 'so far as Government are con-
cerned' was intended to leave a margin for the inter-
vention of men like Sir Purushotham Das Thakurdas-
736 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
:and Sir Ibrahim Rahimtoola, and negotiate the return
•of the lands if possible to the peasants.
Gandhi returned on the 3rd night from the Viceregal
Xodge at 2-30. A.M. (4-3-34). Everybody was keeping
"vigil. Gandhi came back very enthusiastic.
Gandhi, as usual, narrated all that bad happened in
the night to the members of the Working Committee.
Even in the evening, there was a heated debate among
the members of the W.C. on the formula for picketing
-which, as originally drafted, embodied a clause of exemp-
tion of Mussalman shop-keepers. The Government
-wanted it. But it was finally abandoned.
In each of the items of settlement there was a
lacuna. (1) The release of prisoners expressly included
only the Satyagraha prisoners. The internees' cases
-would only be examined in detail. The Sholapur
prisoners and Garhwali prisoners were not in the picture.
(2) Picketing did not permit the distinction in favour
of 'British' goods- (3) The restoration of lands con-
fiscated or sold constituted a problem by itself, and
clause 17 (c) was there staring the Congress in the face.
Finally, Gandhi had settled a matter of supreme
importance in the last sitting by himself, of course
•subject to the approval of the W.C., and that related to
the constitutional question in respect of which Gandhi
agreed to further consideration of "the scheme for the
constitutional Government of India discussed at the
R.T.C. Of the scheme there outlined, Federation is an
•essential part. So also are Indian responsibility and
reservations or safeguards in the interests of India, for
such matters as, for instance, Defence. External Affairs,
the position of Minorities, the financial credit of India,
THE GANDHI-IRWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 7ST
and the discharge of obligations" (clause 2 of the-
Gandhi-Irwin agreement).
Now this tentative settlement was formulated by
Gandhi and the Viceroy and was brought back to the
Working Committee for its acceptance or rejection. 'In*
the interests of India,' wu? considered to bo the real pro-
tection for the Congress in this part of the settlement.
It was the antidote to the safeguards. The members of
tho W. C. were not without doubt that this expression
might not only be perversely interpreted but
be made positively to turn against Indian interests. It
is not, however, in Gandhi's nature to take the market
value of things. He takes only the face value of the
words and statements of others, even as he would like
his own words and statements to be taken at their face
value by others Tin? was disarming altogether.
Vallabhbhai \va^ not satisfied on the question of land
settlement. Jawaharlal was not satisfied on the constitu-
tional question. Nobody was satisfied with the question1
of prisoner.**. If everybody were satisfied on every ques-
tion, it would not be a settlement, but a victory to the
Congress. When the Congress was on a settlement or
a compromise, it could not have its own way. But it
was open to the W.C., to reject any or all of the items
of the proposed settlement. Gandhi put it to member
after member of the W.C., individually, and asked
whether he should break on prisoners, on picketing, on
lands, on anything, on everything, or the whole.
Regarding the final clause of the agreement in which
Government reserved to themselves, "in the event of
Congress failing to give full effect to the obligations of
this settlement/' the right "to take such action as may
in consequence become necessary for the protection of"
the public and individuals, and the due observance of
law and order," there was a controversy as to why suoht
-738 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
.a reservation of rights was unilateral and not bilateral.
In other words, the objectors would ask for another
clause reserving to the Congress the right to declare
Civil Disobedience in the event of Government failing
to give full effect to the obligations of this settlement.
But a little imagination was necessary to see that the
Congress had not inaugurated Civil Disobedience with
the permission of the Government, nor would require it
for its renewal.
Thus was the agreement hammered out after 15 days
of strenuous discussion between Government and Congress.
'It was the result of the full play of some of the noblest
qualities in man, both in Gandhi and in Irwin.
The full text of the agreement is published below: —
S. 481/31-POLITICAL
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
HOME DEPARTMENT
New Delhi, the 5th March, 1931
NOTIFICATION
The following statement by the Governor-
-GeneraMn-Council is published for general
information:
(1) Consequent on the conversations that have
taken place between His Excellency the Viceroy and
Mr. Gandhi, it has been arranged that the Civil
Disobedience movement be discontinued, and that,
with the approval of His Majesty's Government,
oertain action be taken by the Government of India
and Local* Governments.
(2) As regards constitutional questions, the
scope of future discussion is stated, with the assent
of His Majesty's Government, to be with the object
THE GANDHI-IRWIN AGREEMENT (1031) 739
of considering further the scheme for the constitu-
tional Government of India discussed at the Round
Table Conference. Of the scheme there outlined,
Federation is an essential part. So also are Indian
responsibility and reservations or safeguards in the
interests of India, for such matters as, for instance.
Defence, External Affairs, the position of Minorities,
the financial credit of India, and the discharge of
obligations.
(3) In pursuance of the statement made by the
Prime-Minister in his announcement of the 19th of
January, 1931, steps will be taken for the participa-
tion of the representatives of the Congress in the
fftrther discussions that are to take place on the
scheme of constitutional reform.
(4) The settlement relates to activities directly
connected with the Civil Disobedience movement.
(5) Civil Disobedience will be effectively
discontinued and reciprocal action will be taken by
Government. The effective discontinuance of the
Civil Disobedience movement means the effective
discontinuance of all activities in furtherance
thereof, by whatever methods pursued, and in
particular the following: —
(1) The organised defiance of the provisions
of any law.
(2) The movement for the non-payment of
Land Revenue and other legal dues.
(3) The publication of news-sheets in support
of the Civil Disobedience movement,
(4) Attempts to influence Civil and Military
servants or village officials against
Government or to persuade them to
resign their posts.
(6) As regards the boycott of foreign goods,
there are two issues involved; firstly, the
character of the boycott, and secondly, the methods
employed in giving effect to it. The position of
Government is as follows. They approve of the
encouragement of Indian industries as part of the
economic and industrial movement designed to
improve the material condition of India, and they
have no desire to discourage methods of propaganda!
740 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
persuasion or advertisement pursued with this object
in view, which do not interfere with the freedom of
action of individuals, or are not prejudicial to the
maintenance of law and order. But the boycott of
non-Indian goods, (except of cloth, which has been
applied to all foreign cloth) has been directed
during the Civil Disobedience movement chieflly, if
not exclusively, against British goods, and in regard
to these it has been admittedly employed in order to
exert pressure for political ends.
It is accepted that a boycott of this character
and organised for this purpose will not be consistent
with the participation of representatives of the
Congress in a frank and friendly discussion of consti-
tutional questions between representatives of British
India, of the Indian States, and of His Majesty's
Government and political parties in England, which
the settlement is intended to secure. It is, therefore,
agreed that the discontinuance of the Civil Disobe-
dience movement connotes the definite discontinuance
of the employment of the boycott of British
commodities as a political weapon and that, in
consequence, those who have given up, during a time
of political excitement, the sale or purchase of British
goods must be left free without any form of restraint
to change their attitude if they so desire.
(7) In regard to the methods employed in
furtherance of the replacement of non-Indian by
Indian goods or against the consumption of intoxi-
cating liquor and drugs, resort will not be had to
methods coming within the category of picketing,
except within the limits permitted by the ordinary
law. Such picketing shall be unaggressive and it
shall not involve coercion, intimidation, restraint,
hostile demonstration, obstruction to the public, or
any offence under the ordinary law. If and when
any of these methods is employed in any place, the
practice of picketing in that place will be suspended.
(8) Mr. Gandhi has drawn the attention of
Government to specific allegations . against the con-
duct of the Police, and represented the desirability
of a public enquiry into them. In the present cir-
eumst^nces, Government see great difficulty in this
THE GANDHI-IBWIN AGREEMENT (1031) 741
course and feel that it must inevitably lead to
charges and counter-charges, and so militate against
the re-establishment of peace. Having regard to
these considerations, Mr. Gandhi agreed not to press
the matter.
(9) The action that Government will take on .
the discontinuance of the Civil Disobedience move-
ment is stated in the following paragraphs: —
(10) Ordinances promulgated in connection
with the Civil Disobedience movement will be
withdrawn.
Ordinance No. 1 of 1931 relating to the
terrorist movement does not come within the scope
of the provision.
(11) Notifications declaring associations
unlawful under the Criminal Law Amendment Act
of 1908 will be withdrawn, provided that the Notifi-
cations were made in connection with the Civil
Disobedience movement.
The notifications recently issued by the Burma
Government under the Criminal Law Amendment
Act do not come within the scope of the provision.
(12) (i) Pending prosecutions will be with-
drawn if they have been filed in connection with the
Civil Disobedience movement and relate to offences
which do not involve violence other than technical
violence, or incitement to such violence-
(ii) The same principles will apply to
proceedings under the security provisions of the
Criminal Procedure Code.
(iii) Where a Local Government has
moved any High Court or has initiated proceedings
under the Legal Practitioners' Act in regard to the
conduct of Legal Practitioners in connection with the
Civil Disobedience movement, it will make applica-
tion to the Court concerned for permission to
withdraw such proceedings, provided that the alleged
conduct of the person concerned does not relate to
violence or incitement to violence.
(iv) Prosecutions, if any, against soldiers
and Police involving disobedience of orders will not
come within the scope of this provision.
J842 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
(13) (i) Those prisoners will be released who
are undergoing imprisonment in connection with the
Civil Disobedience movement for offences which did
not involve violence, other than technical violence,
or incitement to such violence.
(ii) If any prisoner who comes within the
scope of (i) above has been also sentenced for a
jail offence,! not involving violence, other than
technical violence, or incitement to such violence, the
latter sentence also will be remitted, or if a pro-
secution relating to an offence of this character is
pending against such a prisoner, it will be withdrawn.
. (iii) Soldiers and Police convicted of
offences involving disobedience of orders — in the very
few cases that have occurred — will not %come within
the scope of the amnesty.
(14). Fines which have not been realised will
be remitted. Where an order for the forfeiture of
security has been made under the secuiity provisions
of the Criminal Procedure Code, and the security
has not been realised, it will be similarly remitted.
Fines which have been realised and securities
forfeited and realised under any law will not be
returned.
(15) Additional Police imposed in connection
with the Civil Disobedience movement at the expense
of the inhabitants of a particular area will be with-
drawn at the discretion of Local Governments.
Local Governments will not refund any money, not
in excess of the actual cost, that has been realised,
but they will remit any sum that has not been
realised.
(16) (a) Moveable property, which is not an
illegal possession and which has been seized in
connection with the Civil Disobedience movement
under the Ordinances or the provisions of the
Criminal Law, will be returned, if it is still in the
possession of Government
(b) Moveable property forfeited or attached in
.connection with the realization of Land Revenue or
other dues will be returned, unless the Collector of the
District has reason to believe that the defaulter will
contumaciously refuse to pay the dues recoverable
THE GANDHI-IBWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 743
from him within a reasonable period. In deciding
what is a reasonable period, special regard will be
paid to cases in which the defaulters, while willing to
pay, genuinely require time for the purpose, and if
necessary, the revenue will be suspended in accordance
with the ordinary principles of Land Revenue
administration.
(cj Compensation will not be given for
deterioration.
(d) Where moveable property has been sold or
otherwise finally disposed of by Government, compen-
sation will not be given and the sale proceeds will
not be returned, except in so far as they are in excess
of the legal dues for which the property may have
been sold.
fe) It will be open to any person to seek any
legal remedy he may have on the ground that the
attachment or seizure of property was not in accord-
ance with the law.
(17) (a) Immoveable property of which posses-
sion has been taken under Ordinance IX of 1930 will
be returned in accordance with the provisions of the
Ordinance.
(b) Land and other immoveable property in
the possession of Government, which has been
forfeited or attached in connection with the realization
of Land Revenue or other dues, will be returned
unless the Collector of the District has reason to
believe that the defaulter will contumaciously refuse
to pay the dues recoverable from him within a
reasonable period. In deciding what is a reasonable
period special regard will be paid to cases in which the
•defaulter, while willing to pay, genuinely requires
time for the purpose, and if necessary the revenue will
be suspended in accordance with the ordinary
principles of Land Revenue administration,,
(c) Where immoveable property has been sold
to third parties, the transaction must be regarded as
final, so far as Government are concerned.
Note: — Mr. Gandhi has represented to Govern-
ment that according to his information
and belief some at least of these sales
have been unlawful and unjust. Govern-
744 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
ment, on the information before themv
cannot accept this contention,
(d) It will be open to any person to seek any
legal remedy on the ground that the seizure or attach-
ment of property was not in accordance with the law.
(18) Government believe that there have been
very few cases in which the realization of dues has
not been made in accordance with the provisions of
the law. In order to meet such ca&es, if any, Local
Governments will issue instructions to District Officers
to have prompt enquiry made into any specific
complaint of this nature, and to give redress without
delay if illegality is established.
(19) Where the posts rendered vacant by resigna-
tions have been permanently filled, Government will
not be able to reinstate the late incumbents. Other
cases of resignation will b© considered on their merits-
by Local Governments who will pursue a liberal policy
in regard to the re-appointment of Government
servants and village officials who apply for reinstate-
ment.
(20) Government are unable to condone breaches
of the existing law relating to the Salt administration,
nor are they able in the present financial conditions
of the country to make substantial modifications in
the Salt Acts.
For the sake, however, of giving relief to certain
of the poorer classes, they are prepared to extend
their administrative provisions, on lines already
prevailing in certain places, in order to permit local
residents in villages immediately adjoining areas where
salt can be collected or made, to such villages, but not
for sale to, or trading with, individuals living outside
them.
(21) In the event of Congress failing to give full
effect to the obligations of this settlement, Govern-
ment will take such action as may in consequence
become necessary for the protection of the public and
individuals and the due observance of law and order.
(Sd) H. W. Emerson,
• Secretary to the Government of India*
THE GANDHI-IBWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 745
While these negotiations were going on, Gandhi and
the Viceroy had prolonged and repeated talks on the
•commutation of death sentence on Bhagat Singh and his
'Comrades, Raja Guru and Sukhadev, who were sentenced
to be hanged for the murder of Mr. Saunders on the 13th
-September, 1928, in the Lahore Conspiracy Case. The
country was greatly agitated over the impending execu-
tions. Congressmen themselves were anxious to explore the
good-will prevalent all round for securing this commuta-
tion. The Viceroy spoke with reserve. He had never
made any promise in the matter beyond assuring Gandhi
that he would employ his good offices with the Punjab
Government in this behalf. He himself had the right to
'commute the sentences, but that is a right that could not
be invoked or exercised for political reasons. On the
contrary, it was the political reasons themselves that
"would stand in the way of the Punjab Government
yielding in the matter.
Stand they did, as a matter of fact. Anyway Lord
Irwin was unable to help in the matter, but undertook
to secure a postponement of the execution till after the
Karachi Congress. The Karachi Session was to meet in
the last week of March, but Gandhi himself definitely
•stated to the Viceroy that if the boys should be hanged,
they had better be hanged before the Congress, than
after. The position of affairs in the country would be
clear. There would be no false hopes lingering in the
breasts of the people. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact would
stand or fall on its own merits at the Congress, and on
the added fact that the three boys had been executed.
The agreement was signed on the 5th March, 1931, and
was followed up by a splendid letter to Gandhi from
"Mr. Emerson ' who described himself as the man
responsible for the administration of the previous ten
months. He added that he would be happy to serve
746 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
India under Swaraj. Lord Irwin wrote a fine letter to
Gandhiji hoping to be able to see him in England shortly.
One great feature of the negotiations was the perfect
secrecy that was maintained about the progress of events
from day to day and hour to hour. The fact becomes
all the more noteworthy when we remember that the
becrete of the Gandlii-Irwin negotiations were confined
not merely to the members of the W. C. in Delhi, but to
ai least a dozen other friends. It was amusing, even as
it was distressing, to see distorted versions of the events
being published day after day with ornate details as if
the writers were eye or ear-witnesses of the transactions.
A perusal ot these reports at once served as a warning to
the public against accepting all that is in the Press as
gospel truth. But equally is it a warning to responsible
bodies that authoritative reports should be furnished of
important events to the Press whose contribution to the
public life of a country is immeasurable, even as it is
invaluable. It is singularly gratifying to note that the
date of the signing of the agreement was exactly identical
with the date on which the so-called ultimatum of Gandhi
was delivered to the Viceroy. It may be noted that it
was on the 4th of March, 1930, that Gandhi's letter to
the Viceroy was delivered to him by Mr. Reginald
Reynolds. Exactly one year after the delivery of this
letter and the declaration of hostilities, the agreement was
signed between Gandhi and the Viceroy on the 5th March,
1931.
GANDHI'S STATEMENT TO PRESSMEN
On the conclusion of the agreement, almost the first
thing that Gandhi did was to make an epoch-making
statement before a gathering of American, English and
Indian journalists and pressmen on the evening of the 5th
THE GANDHI-IRWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 74?
March. It took over an hour and a half for him to
dictate his full statement without the aid of a single note,
and without the need to make a single correction. In
this statement, he paid a well-deserved tribute to Lord
Irwin and made a suitable appeal to the Police, to the
Civil Service and the Revolutionaries. We give below
the full text of the statement, as it constitutes permanent
literature on the subject of Indian Swaraj: —
"In the first place I would like to state
that this settlement, such as it is, would
have been impossible without the Viceroy's
inexhaustible patience and equally inexhaustible
industry and unfailing courtesy. I am aware
that I must have, though quite unconsciously,
given him causes for irritation. I must have also
tried his patience, but I cannot recall an occasion when
he allowed himself to be betrayed into irritation or
impatience. I must add that he was frank throughout
these very delicate negotiations and I believe he was
determined, if it was at all possible, to have a settle-
ment. I must confess that I approached the negotia-
tions in fear and trembling. I was also filled with
distrust, but at the very outset he disarmed my
suspicions and put me at ease. For myself, I can say
without fear of contradiction that when I wrote my
letter inviting the invitation to see him, I was
determined not to be outdone in the race of reaching
an honourable settlement, if it could be reached at all.
I am, therefore, thankful to the Almighty that the
settlement was reached and the country has been
spared, at least for the time, the sufferings which in
the event of a break-down would have been
intensified a hundredfold.
VICTORY TO BOTH
'Tor a settlement of this character, it is not
possible nor wise to say which is the victorious
918 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
party. If there is any victory, I should say it
belongs to both. The Congress has never made any
bid for victory.
"In the very nature of things the Congress has
a definite goal to reach, and there can be no question
of victory without reaching the goal. I would,
therefore, urge all my countrymen and all my sisters,
instead of feeling elated, if they find in the terms
any cause for elation, to humble themselves before
God and ask Him to give them strength and wisdom
to pursue the course that their mission demands for
the time being, whether it is by way of suffering or
by way of patient negotiation, consultation, and
conference.
HEROIC PERIOD
"I hope, therefore, that the millions who have
taken part in this struggle of suffering during the
past twelve months will now during the period of
conference and construction show the same willing-
ness, the same cohesion, the same effort and the same
wisdom that they have, in an eminent degree, shown
during what I would describe as a heroic period in
the modern history of India.
"But I know that if there would be men and
women wtoo will feel elated by the settlement, there
are also those who will be, and are, keenly
disappointed.
"Heroic suffering is like the breath of their
nostrils. They rejoice in it as in nothing else.
They will endure unendurable sufferings, be they
ever so prolonged, but when sufferings cease they
feel their occupation gone and feel also that the goal
lias receded from the view. To them I would only
say, 'Wait, watch, pray, and hope.'
"Suffering has its well-defined limits. Suffering
«an be both wise and unwise, and, when the limit
is reached, to prolong it would be not wise but the
height of folly.
THE GANDHI-IRWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 749
REAL OPENING
"It would be folly to go on suffering when the
-opponent makes it easy for you to enter into a dis-
cussion with him upon your longings. If a real
•opening is made it is one's duty to take advantage
of it, and in my humble opinion, the settlement has
made a real opening. Such a settlement has neces-
sarily to be provisional, as this is. The peace
arrived at is conditional upon many other things
happening. The largest part of the written word is
taken up with what may be called, 'terms of truce.'
This had to be naturally so. Many things had to
happen before the Congress could participate in the
•deliberations of the Conference. A recital of these
was absolutely necessary. But the goal of the
Congress is not to get a redress of past wrongs,
important though they are. Its goal is Purna
Swaraj which, indifferently rendered in English, has
been described as Complete Independence.
"It is India's birthright, as it is of any other
nation worthy of that name, and India cannot be
satisfied with anything less, and throughout the
settlement one misses that enchanting word. The
clause which carefully hides that word is capable of
a double meaning.
"Of the 'three girders/ Federation may be a
mirage or it may mean a vital organic State in
which the two limbs might work so as to strengthen
the whole.
"Responsibility, which is the second girder, may
be a mere shadow or it may be a tall, majestic,
unbending and unbendable oak. 'Safeguards in the
interests of India9 may be purely illusory, and so many
ropes tying the country hand and foot and strangling
her by the neck, or they may be like so many fences
protecting a tender plant requiring delicate care and
attention.
"One party may give one meaning and another
may give the three girders the other meaning. It ia
-Open under that clause to either party to work along
its own lines, and if the Congress has shown readiness
to take part in the deliberations of the Conference,
780 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
it is because it seeks to make Federation, Responsi-
bility, Safeguards, Reservations, or whatever other
names that may be known by, such as would promote
the real growth of the country along political, social,,
economic and moral lines.
"If the Congress succeeds in making its position
acceptable to the Conference, then I claim that the
fruit of that effort will be Complete Independence*
But I know that the way to it is weary. There are
many rocks, many pitfalls to be found across the way.
But if Congressmen will approach the new task to-
which they are called with confidence and courage, I
have no misgivings about the result. It is, therefore,
in their hands either to m(ake something noble and
worth looking at out of the new opportunity that has
come to them, or, by lack of self-confidence and want
of courage, to fritter away the opportunity.
HELP OP OTHERS
"But I know that in this task Congressmen will
require the aid of the other parties, the aid of the-
great Princes of India, and last, but by no means the
least, the aid of Englishmen. I need not make any
appeal at the present juncture to the different parties.
I have little doubt that they are no less eager than
Congressmen for the real freedom of their country.
FEDERATION IDEAL
"But the Princes are a different proposition.
Their acceptance of the idea of Federation was
certainly for me a surprise, but if they will become-
equal partners in a Federated India, I venture to
suggest that of their own free will they should advance-
towards the position that what is called British India
has been all these long years seeking to occupy.
"An undiluted autocracy, however benevolent it
may be, and an undiluted democracy are an-
incompatible mixture bound to result in an explosion.
It is, therefore, I think, necessary for them not to
take up an uncompromising attitude and impatiently
THE GANDHI-IBWIN AGREEMENT (1031) 75t
refuse to listen to an appeal from, or on behalf of,
the would-be partner. If they refused any such
appeal, they would make the position of the Congress
untenable and indeed most awkward. The Congress
represents or endeavours to represent the whole of
the people of India. It recognises no distinction
between those who reside in British India or in Indian
States.
"The Congress has with great wisdom, and equally
great restraint, refrained from interfering with the^
doings and affairs of the States and it has done so in
order not to unnecessarily wound the susceptibilities-
of the States, but also by reason of the self-imposed
restraint to make its voice heard by the States on a
suitable occasion. I think that that occasion has now
arrived. May then I hope that the great Princes will
not shut their ears to the Congress appeal on behalf of
the people of the States?
A WORD TO ENGLISHMEN
"I would like to make a similar appeal to the*
English. If India is to come to her own through
conference and consultation, the good-will and active
help of Englishmen are absolutely necessary. I must
confess that what seems to have been yielded by
them at the Conference in London is not even half
enough, no approach to the goal that India has in
view. If they will render real help, they must be
prepared to let India feel the same glow of freedom
which they themselves would die in order to possess.
Their English sentiment would have to dare to let
India wander away into the woods through errors.
Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote-
freedom to err and even to sin. If God Almighty has
given the humblest of His creature the freedom to err,
it passes my comprehension how human beings, be*
they ever so experienced and able, can delight in
depriving other human beings of that precious right.
"Anyway, the implication of inviting the Congress
to join the Conference is most decidedly that the-
Congress may not be deterred, from any considera-
'352 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
tion save that of incapacity, from pressing for ,the
fullest freedom. And the Congress does not consider
India to be a sickly child requiring nursing, outside
help, and other props.
TO OTHER NATIONS
"I would like also to register my appeal to the
people of the great American Republic and the other
nations of the earth. I know that this struggle,
based as it is on truth and non-violence from which,
alas! we, the votaries, have on occasions undoubtedly
.strayed, has fired their imagination and excited their
curiosity. From curiosity they, and specially America,
have progressed to tangible help in the way of
sympathy. And I can say on behalf of the Congress
and myself that we are all truly grateful for all that
-sympathy. I hope that in the difficult mission on
which the Congress is now about to embark, we shall
not only retain their sympathy but that it will grow
from day to day. I venture io suggest, in all humility,
that if India reaches her destiny through truth and
non-violence, she will have made no small contribu-
tion to the world peace for which all the nations of the
earth are thirsting, and she would also have, in that
<5ase, made some slight return for the help that those
nations have been freely giving to her.
APPEAL TO POLICE
"My last appeal is to the Police and the Civil
"Service departments. The settlement contains a
-clause which indicates that T had asked for an inquiry
into some of the Police excesses which are alleged to
have taken place. The reason for waiving that
Inquiry is stated in the settlement itself. The Civil
Service is an integral part of the machinery which is
kept going by the Police Department. If they really
feel that India is soon to become mistress in her own
household and they are to serve her loyally and faith-
fully as her servants, it behoves them even now to
make the people feel that when they have to deal
THE GANDHI-IRWIN AGREEMENT (1031) 75*
with the members of the Civil Service and the
Police Department, they are really dealing with their
servants, honoured and wise undoubtedly, but
nevertheless servants and not masters.
NON-SATYAGRAHI PRISONERS
"I owe a word to hundreds, if not thousands, of
my erstwhile fellow prisoners on whose behalf I have
been receiving wires, and who will still be languishing
in jails when Satyagrahi prisoners who were jailed
during the past 12 months will have been discharged.
Personally I do not believe in imprisoning, by way of
punishment, even those who commit violence. I
know that those who have done violence through
political motives, are entitled to claim, if not the same
wisdom, certainly the same spirit of love and self-
sacrifice that I would claim for myself. And,
therefore, if I could have justly secured their liberty
in preference to my own or that of fellow Satyagrahis,
I should truthfully have secured it.
"But I trust they will realize that I could not in
justice ask for their discharge. But that does not
mean that I or the members of the Working Committee . .
have not them in mind.
"The Congress has embarked deliberately, though
provisionally, on a career of co-operation. If Congress-
men honourably and fully implement the conditions
applicable to them of the settlement, the Congress
will obtain an irresistible prestige and would have
inspired Government with confidence in its ability
to ensure peace as, I think, it has proved its ability
to conduct disobedience.
"And if the people in general will clothe the
Congress with that power and prestige, I promise
that it will not be long before every one of these
political prisoners is discharged, including the detenus,
the Meerut prisoners, and all the rest.
'754 THE HISTORY OF THB CONGRESS
VIOLENT ORGANISATIONS
"There is, no doubt, a small but active organisa-
tion in India which would secure India's liberty
through violent action. I appeal to that organisation,
as I have done before, to desist from its activities,
if not yet out of conviction, then out of expedience.
"They have perhaps somewhat realized what great
power non-violence has. They will not deny that
the almost miraculous mass awakening was possible
only because of the mysterious and yet unfailing
-effect of non-violence. I want them to be patient and
give the Congress, or, if they will, give me, a chance
to work out the plan of truth and non-violence. After
all, it is hardly yet a full year since the Dandi march.
•One year in the life of an experiment affecting 300
millions of human beings is but a second in the cycle
-of time. Let them preserve their precious lives for
the service of the Motherland to which all will be
-presently called, and let them give to the Congress
an opportunity of securing the release of all the other
political prisoners and, maybe, even rescuing from
ithe gallows those who are condemned to them as
being guilty of murder.
"But I want to raise no false hopes. I can only
-state publicly what is my own and the Congress
-aspiration. It is for us to make the effort. The
result is always in God's hands.
A PERSONAL NOTE
"One personal note and I have done. I believe
•that I put my whole soul into the effort to secure an
honourable settlement. I have pledged my word
•to Lord Irwin that in making good the terms of the
.settlement, in so far as they bind the Congress, I
should devote myself heart and soul to the task. I
worked for the settlement, not in order to break it to
pieces at the very first opportunity, but in order to
strain every nerve to make absolutely final what
to-day is provisional, and to make it a precursor of
the goal to attain which the Congress exists.
THE GANDHI-IBWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 755
"Lastly, I tender my thanks to all those who
have been unceasing in their efforts in making the
settlement possible."
AN EPOCH-MAKING INTERVIEW
Another epoch-making interview was granted the next
day (the 6th of March, 1931) at 11-30 to the various
journalists present in Delhi, Indian and foreign, in answer
to their questions. Among those present on the occasion
were Mr. James Mills, of the Associated Press of
America, Mr. Peterson of the London Times,
Mr. Shirer of the Chicago Tribune, Mr. Holton James
of The Boston Evening Transcript, Mr. Ingles of
The Christian Science Monitor (U. S.) , Mr. J. N. Sahani
of The Hindustan Times and Mr. Needham of
The Pioneer and The Civil and Military Gazette. Here
are the questions and answers in full: —
'PURNA SWARAJ*
Q. You used the expression Turna Swaraj' in your
yesterday's statement, which you say can be
indifferently translated into 'Complete
Independence.' What is your correct inter-
pretation of Turna Swaraj'?
A. I cannot give you a proper answer as there is
nothing in the English language to give the
exact equivalent of 'Puma Swaraj.' 'Swaraj,'
in its original meaning, means 'self-rule.'
Independence has no such meaning about it.
'Swaraj means 'disciplined rule from within.'
'Purna' means 'complete.' Not finding any
equivalent, we have loosely adopted the word
'Complete Independence/ which every body
understands. 'Puma Swaraj' does not exclude
association with any nation, much less with
England. But it can only mean association
for mutual benefit, and at will.
756 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
INDEPENDENCE RESOLUTION
Q. In view of the second paragraph of the agree-
ment, would it be consistent for the Congress
to reaffirm its resolution relating to full
Independence, passed at the Madras, Calcutta
and Lahore Sessions?
A. Yes; decidedly. Because there is nothing to
prevent the Congress at Karachi passing a
similar resolution, and, what is more, pressing
that at the forthcoming R. T. C. I am
betraying no secret by telling you that I took
good care to ascertain that position and to
make my own position clear before agreeing
to the settlement.
THE IMMEDIATE PROGRAMME
Q. What is your immediate programme?
A. I am going on Sunday to Ahmedabad, will stay
there for two days, and then go to Kaira for
two days and to Surat for another two days.
I will reach Bombay on the 16th and then
return to Delhi on the 19th.
SECOND R. T. C.
Q. Do you favour the second Round Table
Conference to be held in India or England?
A. It all depends. I have no views for the present.
Thinking audibly, however, T would prefer
the first part of the Conference to be held in
India, to be wound up later in London.
Q. Will you participate formally in the Con-
ference?
A- I hope to. In fact, it is highly likely. (Laughter)
Q. Will you press for Turna Swaraj' at the
Conference?
A. We shall deny our very existence if we do not
press for it.
THE GANDHI-IBWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 757
CONOBESS AND '8AFBGUABD&'
Q. Will you accept the present safeguards and
reservations?
A. Not the present safeguards and reservations.
Truly, in this respect the Congress position
has been made clear to the world, and who-
ever invites the Congress to a political
conference is expected to know what the
Congress stands for. I have taken as much
precaution as my being is capable of to make
the Congress position clear, and knowing that
it is even now open to His Majesty's Govern-
ment not to invite the Congress to participate
in the Conference. There is nothing in the
settlement, as I read it, to compel that
participation.
Q. What will be the agenda before the Karachi
Congress?
A. I cannot say. It will depend on the W. C.
which will meet before the Karachi Session.
SENTENCE ON BHAGAT SINGH
Q. Would it be fair to ask, if I may do so, whether
the sentences on Bhagat Singh and others
will be commuted to transportation for life?
A. It would be better not to ask me that question.
Regarding this there is sufficient material in
the newspapers to allow journalists to draw
their own inferences- Beyond that I would
not like to go.
'YOUNG INDIA*
Q. Do you intend bringing out Young India again?
A. As soon as I can. It all depends on the putting
into effect the settlement, which implied the
return of machinery, etc., which was confis-
cated utider the Press Ordinance. I would
certainly be eager to resume the printing
of Young India. Of course, Young India has
48
,758 THE HISTORY OF THE GONGKBBP
continued to be published on a cyclostyle.
We have suspended the publication of this
week's issue to fulfil the terms of settlement,
which includes the discontinuance of un-
authorised news-sheets.
MUTUAL 'GOODNESS'
Q. What was that which turned the tide of
negotiations when things became hopeless on
Saturday?
A. (Mahatmaji smilingly retorted) Goodness on
the part of Lord Irwin and, perhaps, (added
he, still more smilingly,) equal goodness on
my part as well. (Laughter)
Q. Do you regard the present agreement to be the
greatest achievement of your life, to your
credit, PO far?
A. (Mahatmaji laughed and remarked) I do not
know what great achievements there are to
my credit so far, and if this is one of them.
Q. If you could attain 'Purna Swaraj' would you
consider that such an achievement?
A. I think, if that comes, I should certainly
consider it as such.
Q. Do you expect to achieve Turn a Swaraj' in
your life time?
A YOUNG MAN OP 62
A. I do look for it most decidedly. (And then
Mahatmaji added smilingly) I still consider
myself a young man of 62 according to
Western notions.
SAFEGUARDS
Q. Would you be prepared to admit any safeguards
in the future Constitution?
A. Yes. Those that are reasonable and wise.
Take, for example, the question of Minorities.
I' can 'understand that we cannot achieve our
THE GANDHI-1BWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 75*
purpose as a great Nation, if we do not regard
the rights of Minorities as a sacred trust. I
should regard that as a legitimate safeguard.
ARMY AND FINANCE
*Q. What about Army and Finance?
A. Finance, yes. That is to say, if we have a
Public Debt, as we have, so much as falls to
our lot will have to be secured. To that
extent I would be bound in honour to enter-
tain safeguards for the country's credit and
her consequent expansion. With reference to
the Army, so far as my intelligence takes me,
I cannot think of any safeguards except this,
that we should guarantee the pay and the
fulfilment of any other condition we might
have undertaken to fulfil in connection with
British soldiers required for the ?ake of India.
That I can well understand.
DEBTS REPUDIATION
<Q. Will you repudiate India's debts?
.A. I will not repudiate one single farthing that can
be legitimately debited to us. But unfortu-
nately there has been a great deal of confu-
sion about this talk of repudiation. The
Congress has never sought to repudiate a
single rupee of the national obligation. But
what the Congress has asked for, and will
insist upon, is the justness of the obligation
that might be sought to be imposed on a
future Government, even as a buyer would
like to know what obligation is undertaken
when entering on a new purchase. The
Congress has suggested that in case there can
be no adjustments, an independent Tribunal
may be appointed.
760 THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
QUESTION OF TRIBUNAL
Q. Do you think the League of Nations a proper
Tribunal?
A. So far as I can say off-hand, the League of
Nations is a proper Tribunal. But the
League of Nations may not undertake such
a responsibility. Besides, England may not
like such a Tribunal Any Tribunal agree-
able, therefore, to England and India would
be acceptable to me.
Q. Will you press this question at the Round Table
Conference?
A. It will be necessary to do so when the question
of examination and acceptance of national
obligations came up. You may say, in other
words, that these obligations will be taken up
subject to national audit.
'SERMON ox THE MOUNT*
Q. Does this provisional settlement represent the
practical application of the S?rmon on the
Mount suggested by The Hindustan Times
this morning? (asked a foreign journalist).
A. I do not think I can judge. It is for the critics
to judge how far this has been done.
BOYCOTT OF FOREIGN CLOTH
Q. Do you think boycott of foreign cloth should be
relaxed as a result of the settlement?
A. On the contrary, no. The boycott of foreign
cloth is not a political weapon, but is intend-
ed for the promotion of the universal supple-
mentary industry of India— Charkha. Its
activity is wholly in connection with importa-
tion of foreign cloth. If I had the reigns of"
Government, I would certainly resort to high
protective tariff. I consider such protective
tariff possible even by the present Govern-
ment. The present duties that Have been*
THE GANDHI-IRW1N AGREEMENT (1931) 761
imposed are, however, not prohibitive but
merely revenue duties for economic purposes.
COMPLETE EQUALITY
•Q. What is your idea of Turna Swaraj'?
A. I am a visionary and, therefore picture to
myself all kinds of things that have no
reality about them. Turna Swaraj' is not
incompatible with, but is ba^ed upon, complete
equality. The popular mind cannot conceive
of that equality. By equality I mean that
instead of Downing Street bcin^ the centre of
Imperial activity, Delhi should be the centre.
Friends suggest that England may not
accommodate herself to that position. The
British are a practical people and as they
love liberty for themselves, it is only a step
further to have liberty for others. I know,
if the time comes to concede the equality I
want for India, they will say that that is
what they have all along desired. The
British people have a faculty of self-delusion
as no other people have- Yes, to my mind
equality means the right to secede.
NOTHING TO CHOOSE
Q. Do you prefer the English people as a govern-
ing race to other races?
A. I have no choice to make. I do not want to be
governed but by tayself.
<J. Would you like to have Turna Swaraj' under
the British flag?
A. Not under this flag. Under a common flag, if
possible; under a separate national flag, if
necessary.
Q. Do you expect to solve the Hindu-Muslim
question before you go to the Conference?
A. That is my desire, but I do not know how far
I can realise it. At present, I do not think
it will be worth while our going to the
762 THfi HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Conference Without solving this question. I
do not think unity can be brought about at
the Conference.
Q. Will it take years to bring about Hindu-
Muslim unity?
A. I do not think so. There is no disunity among
the Hindu and Muslim masses. The disunity
is at the surface, and this counts so much,
since those who are at the surface are the
people who represent the political mind of
India-
NATIONAL ARMY
Q. Do you envisage the possibility of doing away
with a National Army when Turna Swaraj'
is obtained?
A. As a visionary, yes. But I do not think it is
possible for me to see it during my life time.
It may take ages before the Indian Nation
may accommodate itself to having no Army at
all. It is possible my want of faith may
account for this pessimism on my part. But I
do not exclude such a possibility. No one was
prepared for the present mass awakening and
the strict adherence to non-violence — aberra-
tions notwithstanding — on the part of the
people, and that certainly fills me with some
hope that Indian leaders will be courageous
enough in the near future, when they will be
able to say that they do not need to have any
Army. For civil purposes, the Police may be
considered sufficient.
BOLHEVIK INVASION
Q. Do you, not fear a .Bolshevik invasion in the near
; ^ *. future?^
A. I 'hove, up such fear.
Q/ Are you not afraid of Bolshevik propaganda
.spreading into India?
A. I do not think the Indian people are so gullible.
THE GANDHI-IRWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 768
Q. What good do you see in Bolshevism?
A. (Mahatmaji laughed and remarked) I have not
really studied Bolshevism to that extent. If
there is anything good in it, India should have
no hesitation to take it and adopt it as its own-
INDIA'S PREMIER
Q. Would you agree to become the Prime-Minister
of the future Government?
A. No. It will be reserved for younger minds and
stouter hands.
Q. Supposing the people want you and insist?
A. I will seek shelter behind journalists like you.
(laughter).
Q. Will you abolish all machinery if Puma Swaraj
is achieved? (asked an American Journalist).
A. Not a bit. Far from abolishing it, I am likely to
order much more from America (laughter), and
who knows I may give preference to British
machinery instead? (further laughter).
Q. Will you return to the Ashram before Swaraj is
attained?
A. No; I propose to see the Ashram but will not
live at the Ashram till my vow of Puma
Swaraj is fulfilled.
'AN EFFECTIVE WEAPON'
Q. From your answer regarding Military for India,
is it to be concluded that you do not envisage
the possibility of non-violence becoming an
effective weapon in solving international
complications?
A. I consider that non-violence will become such a
weapon, supposing that the Army. J&, in
India, as there may be in other
world. First, there is a chj
Action is a slow process.
more and more on consultat
and progressively less anc
Armies may gradually be
cular things, just as toys,
thing that is past and not?;««
protection of "the Nation. \
7$4 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
High tributes were paid by Lord Irwin to Gandhi,
even as Gandhi himself had showered them on Lord
Irwin. At a banquet given to the Viceroy, His
Excellency paid an eloquent tribute to the honesty,
sincerity, and lofty patriotism of Mahatma Gandhi, with
whom, he said, it was a pleasure and privilege to work.
Mahatma Gandhi, he added, was on his side doing
everything possible to convince his countrymen and to
bring about an atmosphere congenial to peace, and he on
his part hoped to do every thing to make it possible for
England and India to arrive at a peaceful settlement.
Lord Irwin, speaking at a luncheon of the British Indian
Union at the Hyde Park Hotel, London, on the 15th
May, said: "I believe, from my knowledge of India,
that if Mr. Gandhi comes to London, he will strain
every nerve to secure an agreement, on these safeguards
and other matters which will form the subject of
discussion."
Now that hostilities had ceased, the Congress organi-
sations were once more revived, the ban upon them being
lifted. The Congress organisation is like a hibernating
animal which lies seemingly dormant for a season and
develops tremendous activity with the change of seasons.
No sooner had the Pact been signed than the General
Secretary of the A.I.C.C. issued instructions to Congress-
men regarding the conduct of election of delegates to the
next Congress. The W.C. divided the quota of delegates
allotted to each district into two halves, one-half
being elected by those who have suffered imprisonment
in the campaign and the other half in the usual manner.
Various detailed instructions to implement this new
method were also issued. The ex-prisoners were to be
elected at a meeting. Mr. Aney was appointed referee
for the .election of delegates from Bengal. Instructions
were also issued on the same day . to. Congressmen, to
THE GANDHI-IRWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 765
•discontinue Civil Disobedience and No-tax campaigns,
AS well as boycott of British goods a? such. But the
boycott of intoxicating drinks and drugs and of all
foreign cloth and liquor shops was permitted, and
•directed to be continued. Picketing should be unaggres-
eive and should not involve coercion, intimidation,
hostile demonstration or obstruction to the public, or any
•offence under the ordinary law. Unauthorised news-
sheets should be stopped. In fact, the instructions
covered every item in the agreement. Gandhi himself
added to these instructions the following ect of conditions
to be observed by the volunteers while picketing liquor
.and foreign cloth shops: —
1. The seller or the purchaser cannot be
treated discourteously.
2- Volunteers cannot prostrate themselves
before the shops or before the vehicles.
3. They cannot raise shouts as raised at the
time of mourning. (Cries of 'Hai! Hai!')
4. Effigies cannot be burnt or buried.
5. Even if he is boycotted, one cannot stop
a shop-keeper or a purchaser pur-
chasing his provision or other neces-
saries. But one cannot go to his place
for dinners or accept any services from
him.
6- Fasts and hunger-strikes cannot be
resorted to under any circumstances.
Fasts could only be resorted to in case
of a breach of contract, and when the
parties respect and love each other.
Continuing, Gandhi writes: —
"If anybody contends that under the above
restricted conditions the boycott of foreign cloth or
liquor could not be successful, then, I would say:
^let the boycott be unsuccessful.' Such sceptics
have apparently no faith in the efficacy of non-
violence. My object in placing ladies in charge of
this function was to get complete observance thereof
**and create an atmosphere of complete non-violence.
766 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
"If the non-violence atmosphere could be
observed in every respect, I trust both boycotts
could be carried out. If, on the contrary, we cross
the limits, then, however good the immediate result
may seem to be, poison will permeate among us and
a fight may ensue. And if we fall a prey to a
family-war, boycott is doomed and Swaraj Would
only be a dream. I, therefore, trust that my advice,
considering it to be that of an experienced physician,
will be observed by all If the boycott is not
successful by the observance of my conditions, I
know that the responsibility for the failure of boycott
will rest upon me. I am prepared to take that
responsibility."
(Free Prer.s of India).
The Working Committee also elected Vallabhbhai:
the President of the Karachi Congress, as the normal
procedure for election of President was not possible
under the abnormal conditions that had prevailed for
about a year.
There was no small difficulty in making the neces-
sary arrangements for the Karachi Congress, for,
although the session was contemplated ever since the
release of the members of the W.C. on the 1st of March,
the uncertainty about the fate of the truce made the
position of the Karachi friends most unenviable. But
there was one adavantage in that the Karachi Session was
the first to be held after the severe winter had passed.
At Lahore, the decision had been made that the Congress
should meet not in December, but late in February, or
early in March, and by a strange coincidence it became
possible for the Congress to hold its annual session in
the month of. March as the truce had just then,
materialised. The change of season made a pavilion:
unnecessary, for the Congress would meet in the opem
THE GANDHI-IRWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 767
air. All that was required was a rostrum and a platform
with grounds enclosed.
The buccess of the arrangements for the Karachi
Session was mainly due to the co-operation of the local
Municipality under the inspiration and guidance of
Jamshcd X. R. Mehta. Before the open session of the
Congress began, an open air meeting preliminary to the
regular session of the Congress was arranged at Karachi
on the 25th March, where persons paying an admission
fee of four annas would be allowed to see and hear
Gandhi. The collection thus made alone amounted to
Rs. 10/XX) in Karachi. It was at this meeting that
Gandhi coined the now-famous expression, "Gandhi may
die, but Gandhism will live for ever."
Sirdar Vallabhbhai J. Patcl who presided over the
Congress, acknowledged in his short Presidential Address
the tribute paid, in his election as President, not to him,
a mere peasant, but to Gujarat which had taken a large
share in the fight for freedom. He pointed out that if
the Congress had not entered into the Gandhi-Irwin
Pact, it would have put itself in the wrong and he pro-
ceeded to explain the significance of the Pact and the
duty of Congressmen in the light of the Pact
The Karachi Congress which should have met under
the radiance of universal joy met really under the gloom
oast by the news of the execution of the three youths,.
Bhagat Singh, Raja Guru and Sukha Dev. The ghosts
of these three departed young men were casting a shadow
over the assembly. It is no exaggeration to say that
at that moment Bhagat Singh's name was as widely
known all over India and was as popular as Gandhi's.
Gandhi, in spite of his best efforts, had not been able
to get the sentences of these three youths commuted.
768 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
That was not all. They who were praising Gandhi for
his strenuous efforts to save their lives began to pour
forth volleys of wrath over the language to be adopted
in regard to the resolution to be moved for the three
jnartyrs. It is really a point of doubt, even at this
distance pf time, as to which resolution was the more
arresting one at Karachi — that relating to Bhagat Singh
or that relating to the ratification of the Gandhi-Irwin
.agreement. The resolution relating to Bhagat Singh
was taken virtually as the first on the agenda, after the
usual condolences were offered in respect of the demise
of Pandit Motilal Nehru, Maulana Mahomed Ali, — who
passed away while in London for the R T-C. and whose
body was buried in Jerusalem, — Maulvi Mazar-ul-Haq,
Sjt. Revash anker J. Jhaveri, Shah Muhammad Zubair
and Gumnadha Mudaliar. The point at issue on the
Bhagat Singh resolution was, whether the phrase "while
dissociating itself from and disapproving of political
violence in any shape or form," should be incorporated
in recording the admiration of the bravery and sacrifice
•ctf himself and his comrades. We give the resolution
.below: —
II. SIRDAR BHAGAT SINGH AND HIS COMRADES
"This Congress, while dissociating itself from
and disapproving of political violence in any shape
or form, places on record its admiration of the
'bravery and sacrifice of the late Sirdar Bhagat
Singh and his comrades Syts. Sukha Dev and Raja
Guru, and mourns with the bereaved families the
loss of these lives- The Congress is of opinion that
this triple execution is an act of wanton vengeance
.and is a deliberate flouting of the unanimous demand
of the Nation of commutation. This Congress is
further of opinion that Government have lost the
golden opportunity of promoting good-will between
tthe two nations, admittedly held to be essential at
THE GANDHI-IHWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 769"
this juncture, and of winning over to the method
of peace the party which, being driven to despair,
resorts to political violence."
The reservation made by the Congress was but the
minimum that Congress could have made consistently
with its cult of non-violence, but it must be remarked
that the phrase gave occasion for the younger section,
inclined -unfavourably to Gandhism, to move amend-
ments for it? omission. The Volunteers7 Conference
parsed the rc&oiution with the phrase omitted, and the
phrase became the bone of contention; subsequently at
Provincial Conferences. While the proceedings were
goin<r on, there was tumult and uproar outside the
enclosure from young friends who had, the previous
moining, organised a black flag demonstration at the
station when Gandhi and Vallabhbhai had left the train,
12 miles from Karachi. Gandhi with his good humour
greeted the band of young men and gracefully received
the black flowers from their hands. And the band who
came to 'attack' remained to 'protect.' It escorted
Gandhi and his party to a little distance from the
station.
The next resolution considered by the Congress was-
the one relating to the release of prisoners. By that
time it had become evident that Government were
pursuing not merely a niggardly policy, but proving
untrue to the promises made and even the terms agreed
upon in regard to the release of prisoners. Therefore,
the Congress expressed its emphatic opinion that, "if
the object of the settlement between the Government
and the Congress is the promotion of good-will between
Great Britain and India and if the settlement is an
earnest of Great Britain's determination' to part with
power, the Government should release all political)
770 THE HI6TQBY OF THE CONGRESS
prisoners, detenus and tinder-trials not covered by the
settlement, and remove all political disabilities imposed
by the Government on Indians, whether in India or
abroad, on account of their political opinions or acts,"
and added that "this Congress reminds the Government
that if they will respond to this resolution, they will
somewhat allay the strong public resentment that has
Jbeen roused by the recent executions."
There was yet another cause which cast a gloom
over the Karachi Congress. While the Congress was in
session, serious Hindu-Muslim riots started in Cawnpore
resulting in the murder of Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi in
"his attempt to promote peace and good-will and save
the Muslims from the fury of the Hindus. It was an
event that drowned the country and the Congress in
the same immeasurable sorrow as the murder of Swami
Shraddhananda had done on the eve of the Gauhati
'Congress (1926). It is but appropriate to say a word
about the Cawnpore riots. Cawnpore was not a place
notorious for its communal outbursts. There was a
sporadic outbreak in 1907, and again in 1928 and 1929.
'Cawnpore is populated mainly by the Hindus who form
5/6 of the population while the Muslims and other
minorities form a sixth. Bhagat Singh and his two
comrades had been executed on the 23rd March in
Lahore., There were hartals all over the country, and
those in Bombay, Karachi, Lahore, Calcutta, Madras and
Delhi passed off quietly. A partial hartal was observed
in Cawnpore and a large mourning procession was taken
•out with the pictures of the three martyrs and with
black flags. The Hindus had closed the shops but the
Muslims did not do it. Shortly before, when Mahomed
All died, the Hindus had not participated in the hartal
oragnised by the Muslims. Well, a situation like this
meeds no further elaboration. The match as well as the
Correction of the note on Cawftpore Riots, pages 770-771
SUPPLIED BY SJT. SUXDERLAL OF ALLAHABAD.
In place of "There was yet another cause page 770
up to 'death' 1. 27, page 771 read: —
"There was yet another cause which cast a gloom
over the Karachi Congress. While the Congress was in
session, serious Hindu-Muslim riots started in Cawnpore,
resulting in the murder of Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, in
his attempt to promote peace and goodwill and save
innocent members of cither community from the fury of
those of the other. It was an event that drowned the
country and the Congress in immeasurable sorrow. It is
but appropriate to say a word about the Cawnpore riots.
"Cawnpore is a big industrial centre. It has got
some of the virtues and vice? of a modern industrial
town. Its municipality is the richest in the province- It
has also got probably the biggest goonda organization in
the province and i? one of the greatest centres of cocaine-
smuggling in Northern India. In this city up till 1922,
the relations between the Hindus and Muslims "appear to
have been fairly cordial. In the Home Rule agitation
of 1917, and again in the Non-Co-opcration and Khilafat
movement of 1921, Hindus and Muslims stood fast
together. With the slackening of the national movement
in 11922 communal riots broke out at various places in
Iho country. Communal leaders, both Hindu and Mus-
lim, begin to appear in Cawnpore also and organize
communal movements. The links of joint social life
were gradually snapped and the relations between the
two communities began to get strained. The first Hindu-
Muslim riot in Cawnpore, though not of so serious a
nature, took place in 1927.
"Bhagat Singh and his two comrades were -executed
at Lahore on the 23rd of March 1931. On the 24th there
were hartals all over the country. Unfortunately during
the hartal at Cawnpore coercion of a vefy objectionable
type was used by some over-enthusiastic people for
getting shops closed and vehicular traffic stopped all over
the city. This served as a match and led to general
disturbance during which shops were looted, buildings
including both mosques and temples were set fire to and
innocent individuals were murdered by the hooligans of
either community. Disorder, arson, loot, murder spread
like wild fire; and continued for several days. The police
did not/render any assistance. The total number of build-
ings affected is reported to be 534 including 23 mosques
and 37 temples. About 400 people including both Hindus
and Muslims, almost in equal number?, were murdered;
the wounded being three times as many.
"It must also be mentioned that while communal
passion was raging in Cawnpore, scenes of fellow-feeling
and human sympathy were being also enacted practically
in every nook and corner of -the city. Whole localities
were saved, thousands of families received protection and
countless individuals owed their lives to the members of
the other community. In most cases, those that render-
ed such protection risked their own lives and property.
These facts show that the crisis was in a great measure
artificial in its nature and created by interested parties,
"Sri Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi was missing from the
25th, ~ On the 29th his body was recovered, being identifi-
ed by his pure khaddar and specially by the tattoo mark
Gajendra on his arm. The manner of his murder is still
shrouded in mystery. His death grieved the Muslims as
deeply as the Hindus. The arrival at the spot of Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and a
few other prominent Congress leaders on the 7th of
April reassured the people and restored normal life to
the city."
THE GANDHI-HWIN AGKEEMENT (1931) 771
gunpowder are there. On tHe 24th March, began the
phinde* of Hindu shops. Even on the night of the 23rd
March, some fifty were wounded. On the 25ih, there
*wa$ a blaze. Shops and temples were set fire to and
burnt to cinders. The Police did not render any
assistance; disorder, arson, loot, murder, spread like wild
fire. Five hundred families abandoned their houses and
took shelter in villages. Dr. Ramachaudra was one of
the worst sufferers. All the members of his family,
including! his wife and aged parents,, were killed and
their bodies were thrust into gutters. According to the
official estimates, 166 were killed and 480 were injured.
Babu Purushottam Das Tandon and a few other friends
were immediately sent to the scene at Cawnpore by the
Congress, but little could be done to restore peace.
Ganesh Shankar was missing from the 25th and it was
•only on the 29th that his body was recovered, being
identified by his pure khaddar, that being the only
corpse having khaddar, and by the tattoo mark —
Gajendra — on his arm, and from certain papers including
an article on the Karachi Congress recovered from his
pocket. He had saved many Muslim families that day
and appears to have been decoyed into a quarter which
he entered unhesitatingly and where he bowed his head
before the furious mob like a true Satyagrahi, If his
blood could effect unity and quench their thirst, they
were most welcome to stab him to death. The Congress
passed the following resolution on this tragic event: —
"The Congress notes with deep grief the news
of the death, during the strife, of Ganesh Shankar
Vidyarthi, President, UP. P.C.C., who was one of
the most selfless among national workers and who,
fcy his freedom from communal bias, had endeared
himself to all parties and communities. While
tendering condolence to the family of the deceased,
the Congress notes with pride that a prominent
772 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
worker of the first rank was found sacrificing hi*
precious life in the attempt to rescue those in danger
and restore peace and sanity in the midst of strife
and insanity. The Congress asks all concerned to '
utilize this noble sacrifice for promoting peace and ,
never for vengeance, and appoints a Committee to
discover the cause of the tension and to take such
measures as may be necessary to heal the breach and
to prevent the poison from spreading to the adjoin-
ing areas and districts."
The Committee that was appointed consisted of she
members with Dr. Bhagavandas as Chairman. We may
here anticipate events and point out that a bulky volume
was produced and presented to the Working Committee*
It was ultimately printed after a long time, but its
circulation has been stopped by the Government.
Then comes the resolution on the provisional
settlement.
The cardinal resolution of the Congress is a con*
summate draft embodying in it the standpoint of the
Congress and striving to secure through it, for the
Congress, what might be considered ambiguous or even
dubious in the Gandhi-Irwin agreement. The 'safeguards*
of the latter are the 'adjustments1 of the former and the
"safeguards in the interests of India" of the agreement
are "the adjustments that may be demonstrably neces*
sary in the interests of India." Again what the agreement
might be interpreted to deduct, the Karachi resolution
has expressly sought to add, namely, "so as to give the
Nation control over the Defence forces, External
Affairs, finance, and fiscal and economic policy." Here,
in a sentence, is the objective of the Congress- The
Congress next proceeded to congratulate all those that
Mohamed \li
J92J: Cocanada
Abul Kalam A/ad
192;i : Delhi (Spcci.il)
Mahatma Ci.mdhi
1924: Helgautn
THE GANDHI-IBWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 773
underwent great sufferings in the late Civil Disobedience
campaign, especially the women, and resolved that no
discrimination against the sex in the matter of franchise
would be accepted by the Congress. The rest of the
resolutions speak for themselves. They relate to the
constructive programme and are given hereunder: —
THE GANDHI-IBWIN AGREEMENT
"The Congress, having considered the provisional
settlement between the W. C. and the Government
of India, endorses it, and desires to make it clear
that the Congress goal of Purna Swaraj (Complete
Independence) remains intact. In the event of the
way being otherwise open to the Congress to be
represented at any Conference with the represen-
tatives of the British Government, the Congress
delegation will work for this objective and, in
particular, so as to give the Nation control over the
Defence forces, External Affairs, finance, fiscal and
economic policy, and to have a scrutiny, by an
impartial Tribunal, of the financial transactions of
the British Government in India and to examine
and assess the obligations to be undertaken by India
or England, and the right of either party to end the
partnership at will and to make India free to
accept such adjustments as may be demonstrably
necessary in its interests.
"The Congress appoints and authorises Mahatma
Gandhi to represent it at the Conference with
the addition of such other delegates as the W. C-
may appoint to act under his leadership."
VI. CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE 8TTPFERBBS
"This Congress congratulates all those who
underwent great sufferings during the late CShrfl
Disobedience campaign, whether through imprison-
ment, shooting, bayonet orjcrffct-charges, emigration
from their homes and loss of property by reprecsicm.
The Congress more especially congratulates the
49
774 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
women of India who rose in their thousands and
assisted the Nation, in its struggle for freedom, and
respectfully assures them that no Constitution will
be acceptable to the Congress that discriminates
against the sex in the matter of franchise."
VII. COMMUNAL BIOTS
"This Congress regards the communal riots of
Benares, Mirzapur, Agra, Cawnpore and other places
as highly injurious to the movement for India's
freedom and strongly condemns those who are
responsible for causing or provoking such riots, or
disseminating false rumours which promote such riots
and considers their peace-destroy ing activities
deserving of the strongest censure. Thie Congress also
deeply deplores the murders of citizens, especially of
women and children, and sincerely sympathises with
the living victims of the savagery and with the
families of the dead."
VIII. PROHIBITION
"The Congress notes with satisfaction the visible
progress of the Nation towards total prohibition
during the past twelve months and calls upon all
Congress organisations to continue the anti-drink
and drugs campaign with renovated vigour and
hopes that the women of the country will redouble
their efforts in weaning the drink and drug addict
from a habit that ruins both body and soul and
desolates happy homes/9
IX. KHADDAB
"Experience gained during the past ten years
through work in hundreds of villages has made it
abundantly clear that the deepening poverty of the
masses is due, -among other things, to forced un-
employment for want of a supplementary industry
during leisure hours, and that only the spinning-
wheels supply that want on a universal scale. It
THE GANDH1-IBWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 775
has been further observed that the people having
given up the wheel, and consequently khaddar, buy
foreign cloth or cloth made in indigenous mills,
thus causing a double drain from the villages, — the
•drain in the shape of loss of fruits of labour and
price of cloth. This double drain can be avoided
only by the exclusion of foreign cloth, and Indian
mills supplementing khaddar only so far as it may be
necessary. This Congress, therefore, appeals to the
public to refrain from the purchase of foreign cloth
and to the dealers in foreign cloth and yarn to give
up a trade that seriously injures the interests of the
millions of villagers.
"This Congress further calls upon all Congress
•organisations and allied bodies to intensify .the
foreign cloth boycott by increasing khaddar
territories.
"This Congress appeals to the States to associate
themselves with this constructive effort and prevent
the entry of foreign cloth and foreign yarn into their
territories.
"This Congress also appeals to the owners of
indigenous mills to assist the great constructive and
•economic movement by
1. giving their moral support to the supple-
mentary village industry of hand-spinning
by themselves using hand-spun.
2. by ceasing to manufacture cloth that may
in any way compete with khaddar and to
that end co-operating with the effort of
the All-India Spinners' Association.
3. by keeping down the prices of their
manufactures to the lowest possible limit.
4. by refraining from using foreign yarn,
silk, or artificial silk in their manufacture.
5. by exchanging the existing stock of the
foreign piecegoods merchants for swadeshi
cloth and thus helping them to convert
their business into swadeshi and by re-
exporting the former; and
6. by raising the status of the mill workers
and making them fell that they are
776 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
co-sharers with them as well in prosperity
as in adversity.
"This Congress suggests to the great foreign*
houses that they will help international brotherhood1
and revolutionise commercial ethics if they will take
the first step by recognising the soundness and
necessity of the economic boycott by India of foreign
cloth, and denying themselves a foreign trade that has
admittedly hurt the economic well-being of India's
masses, and diverting their attention to enterprises
-more in keeping with the wants of the nations other
than their own."
X. PEACEFUL PICKETING
"This Congress notes with gratification the great
success that has so far attended the boycott of
foreign cloth and the sales of intoxicating drugs and
drinks, and calls upon the Congress organisations not
to relax their efforts in the matter of peaceful
picketing, provided that the picketing shall be in
strict accord with the terms of the settlement in this-
behalf between the Government and the Congress."
XL FRONTIER PEOPLE
"This Congress declares that the people of India
have no quarrel with the countries and peoples
bordering on India and desires to establish and
maintain friendly relations with them. The Congress
disapproves of the so-called 'forward' policy of the
British Government in India in the North-West
Frontier and of all imperialist attempts to destroy
the freedom of the people of the frontier. The
Congress is strongly of opinion that the Military and
financial resources of India should not be employed in
the furtherance of this policy and the Military
occupation of the tribesmen's territory should be-
terminated."
THE GANDHI-IBWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 777
XII — N. W. F. PROVINCE
"Inasmuch as propaganda is said to be going on
in the Frontier Province that the Congress does not
mean well by them and it is desirable that the
Congress should take steps to dispel this suspicion,
-this Congress hereby places on record its opinion
that in any constitutional scheme the N. W. F.
Province shall have the same form of Government
-AS the other Provinces in India."
XIII BURMA
"This Congress recognises the right of the people
•of Burma to claim separation from India to establish
an independent Burma State or to remain an autono-
mous partner in a Free India with a right of
separation at any time they may desire to exercise it.
The Congress, however, condemns the endeavour of
the British Government to force the separation of
Burma without giving adequate opportunity to the
Burmese people to express their view? and against the
declared wishes of their national political organisa-
iions. This endeavour seems to be deliberately
engineered to perpetuate British domination there so
as to make Burma, together with Singapore, by
reason of the presence of oil and their strategic posi-
tion, strongholds of Imperialism in Eastern Asia. The
Congress is strongly opposed to any policy which
would result in Burma being kept as a British
dependency and her resources exploited for British
Imperialism and would also be a menace to a Free
India as well as to the other nations, of the East. The
Congress urges that the extraordinary powers given
to the Government of Burma be withdrawn and the
declaration by the Government that representative
and important organisations of Burmese national
opinion are illegal be also withdrawn, ro that normal
conditions be restored and the future of Burma may
be discussed by her people without hindrance in a
•peaceful atmosphere and the will of the Burmese
people may prevail/1
778 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
XIV. INDIANS IN SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA
"The Congress views with alarm the trend of
events in South Africa and East Africa regarding the
position of Indian settlers in those countries. The
contemplated legislation in South Africa is in contra-
vention of promises and in some respects constitutes
an attack even on legal rights. This Congress appeals
to the Governments concerned to mete out to the
Indian settlers the same measure of justice that they
would claim for their nationals in a Free India. This
Congress renders its thanks to Dinabandhu Andrews
and Pandit Hridaynath Kunzru for their selfless
labours on behalf of the settlers overseas."
It only remains to be remarked that the resolution
on the Fundamental Rights and economic changes was
somewhat sudden in it? appearance before the W. C.
The fact is that the atmosphere of the country determines
the resolution* of the Congress. The question of Funda-
mental Rights was originally handled by Mr. C. Vijia-
raghavachariar at the Amritsar Congress at dead of night
in the bleak cold of the Punjab. Then it gained import-
ance when he himself presided over the Nagpur Session. At
Karachi, there was a certain cleavage between the younger
and the older sections. People were not wanting who
began to doubt whether, after all, the Congress was not
drifting with the old current of Dominion Status, British
Imperialism and a Brown Bureaucracy, and whether
Labour problems, — of the peasants and the workers — and
socialistic ideals were not going by the board. It was
necessary to reassure the country on this subject. Gandhi
was game for any issue provided it was an issue based
on Truth and Non-violence, and it was an issue too of
the village and the poor man.
Subject to these conditions, he had nothing to fear
from socialistic ideals, or economic reform or Funda-
THE GANDHI-ffiWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 779
mental Rights. Jawaharlal Nehru was rather keen on
these matters, not because of the rival groups bent on
criticising the Congress but because these were matters on
which the Nation should be clear in its own mind and
should carry on education and propaganda among the
masses. This was the genesis of the resolution. But it was
also felt that a resolution of such far-reaching importance
should be considered at greater leisure and should be
studied and pondered over by the members of the W. C. as
well a* by the A.I.C.C. This view was accepted and
accordingly power was given to the A.I.C.C. to revise,
amend or add to the main resolution without injuring the
principles and policy underlying it. The resolution,
a? amended by the A.LC.C. in August. 1931 at Bombay,
was as follows: —
"This Congress is of opinion that to enable the
masses to appreciate what 'Swaraj/ as conceived by
the Congress, will mean to thorn, it is desirable to
state the position of the Congress in a manner easily
undnt«top(i by thorn. Tn order to end the exploitation
of the masses, political freedom must include real
economic freedom of the starving millions. The
Congress, therefore, declares that any Constitution
which may be agreed to on its behalf should provide,
or enoblr flic Swaraj Government to provide for the
following:
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES
1. (1) Every citizen of India has the right of
free expression of opinion, the rights of
free association and combination, and
the right to assemble peacefully and
without arms, for purposes not opposed
to law or morality.
<2> Every citizen shall enjoy freedom of
conscience and the right freely to profess
780 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
and practise bis religion, subject to
public order and morality.
(3) The culture, language and script of the
minorities and of the different linguistic
areas shall be protected.
(4) All citizens are equal before the law,
irrespective of casite, creed or sex.
(5) No disability attaches to any citizen, by
reason of his or her religion, caste,
creed or sex, in regard to public employ-
ment, office of power or honour, and in
the exercise of any trade or calling.
(6) All citizens have equal rights and duties
in regard to wells, tanks, roads, schools
and plaees of public resort, maintained
out of State or local funds, or dedicated
by private persons for the use of the
general public.
(7) Every eitizen has the right to keep and
bear arms, in accordance with regula-
tions and reservations made in that
behalf.
(8) No person shall be deprived of his liberty
nor shall his dwelling or property be
entered, sequestered or confiscated, save
in accordance with law.
(9) The State shall observe neutrality in
regard to all religions.
(10) The franchise shall be on the basis of
universal adult suffrage.
(11) The State shall provide for free and
compulsory primary education.
(12) The State shall confer no titles.
(13) There shall be no capital punishment.
(14) Every citizen is free to move throughout
India and to stay and settle in any part
thereof , to acquire property and to follow
any trade or calling, and to be treated
equally with regard to legal prosecution
or protection in all parts of India.
THE GANDHI-IBWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 781
LABOUR
2. (a) The organisation of economic life must
•conform to the principle of justice, to the end that
it may secure a clecemt standard of living.
(b) The State shall safeguard the interests of
industrial workers and shall secure for them, by
.suitable legislation and in other ways, a living wage,
healthy conditions of work, limited hours of labour,
suitable machinery for the settlement of disputes
between employers and workmen, and protection
against the economic consequences of old age, sickness
and unemployment.
3. Labour to be freed from serfdom and condi-
tions bordering on serfdom.
4. Protection of women workers, and specially,
adequate provision for leave during maternity period.
5. Children of school going age shall not be
employed in mines and factories
6. Peasants and worker? thall have the right
to form unions to protect their interests.
TAXATION AND EXPENDITURE
7. The sysf^ni of land tenure and revenue and
rent shall be reformed and an equitable adjustment
made of the burden on agricultural land, immediately
giving relief to the small peasantry by a substantial
reduction of agricultural rent and revenue now paid
by them, and in case of -uneconomic holdings, exempt-
ing them from rent, so long as necessary, with such
relief as may be just and necessary* to holders of
small es/ates affected by such exemption or reduction
in rent, and to the same end, imposing a graded tax
on net income from land above a reasonable minimum.
8. Death duties on a graduated scale shall be
levied on property above a fixed minimum.
9. There shall be a drastic reduction of
Military expenditure so as to bring it down to at
least one-half of the present scale.
10. Expenditure and salaries in civil departments
shall be largely reduced. No servant of the State,
-other than specially employed experts and the like,
782 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
shall be paid above a certain fixed figure, which should
not ordinarily exceed Rs. 600 per month.
11. No duty shall be levied on salt manu-
factured in India.
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PROGRAMME
12. The State shall protect indigenous cloth; and
for this purpose pursue the policy of exclusion of
foreign cloth and foreign yarn from the country and
adopt such other measures as may be found necessary.
The State shall also protect other indigenous indus-
tries, when necessary, against foreign competition.
13. Intoxicating drinks and drugs shall be
totally prohibited, except for medicinal purposes.
14. Currency and exchange shall be regulated
in the national interest.
15. The State shall own or control key industries
and services, mineral resources, railways, waterways,
shipping and other means of public transport.
16. Relief of agricultural indebtedness, and
control of usury — direct and indirect.
17. The State shall provide for the Military
training of citizens so as to organise a means of
national defence apart from the regular Military
forces.
The success of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact and the still
greater success of the Karachi resolutions only added load
after load to the already heavy burdens of Gandhi and the
Congress. At the Karachi Congress one or two important
matters were left over to be attended to or comipleted by
the W. C. and the All-India Congress Committee. The
Sikhs had raised the question of *the flag and the incorpo-
ration into it of a colour acceptable to them. This
matter had been moved even earlier at Lahore, and at
Karachi it only gained an added importance demanding
the attention of the Executive, as the general Congress
could not possibly address itself off-hand to changes of
a detailed nature, such as were involved in the Sikh;
THE GANDHI-IBWIN AGREEMENT Q931) 783-
demand. Accordingly, the new W. C. meeting on the-
1st and 2nd April at Harchandnagar, Karachi, resolved
to appoint a Committee for examining the objections
taken to the existing colours as having been conceived cm
a communal basis and recommending a flag for the
acceptance of the Congress. The Committee was
authorised to take evidence and send up its report before
July, 1931. Another subjecit which had greatly agitated
the Congressmen at Karachi was the wild and vague
report that the remains of the late Sirdar Bhagat Singh,
and Sriyuts Raja Guru and Sukhadev were mutilated
and were not properly cremated, and were otherwise dealt
with in an insulting manner. Accordingly the W. C.
appointed a Committee to examine the allegations forth-
with and to report to the W. C. on or before the 30th
April. We may at once state that Bhagat Singh's
father, who was largely responsible for the step taken
was not able to produce any evidence in that behalf nor
did he appear before the Committee lo help it in any
manner. Accordingly, nothing resulted. Thirdly, we
have already referred to the manner in which the resolu-
tion on Fundamental Rights and economic programme
was passed at the open Congress, and therefore a
Committee was appointed to invite opinions and sugges-
tions from Provincial Congress Committees and other
bodies and persons and to report and to recommend to-
the W. C., on or before the 31st of May, such revision or
amendment or addition as in its opinion may be necessary
to make the resolution fuller and more exhaustive.
Fourthly, we have seen that the Congress had all along-
been insisting upon an independent examination of the
financial transactions of the British in India
by an impartial tribunal and it was necessary
to get our powder and shot ready for the
battle that would necessarily rage over the
-subject. Accordingly a Committee was appointed to
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
-cany out a scrutiny into the financial transactions of the
East India Company and the British Government in
India and the so-called Public Debt of India and to report
upon the obligations which should in future be borne by
India or England. The Committee was requested to
;presen(t its report by the end of May. Then again
another Committee was appointed — it was not mcrcl> a
Committee, but a deputation consisting of Gandhi,
Vallabhbhai and Seth Jamnalalji — to meet the Muslim
leaders to settle the communal question. Tl-ore
remained the political prisoners who were to be released
under resolution No. Ill of the Congress, and
Mr. Nariman was appointed to colleot from all the
Provinces details regarding such prisoners, and others
covered by the resolution. The last question disposed of
before the W. C. dispersed related to the resolution
concerning 'the Congress delegation to the R. T. C. Most
of the members of the W. C. were of the opinion that the
deputation should consist not of a single individual but
of about 15 members. Government were quite willing to
accommodate up to 20. To them, it was undoubtedly a
-strategic advantage to have 15 or 20, not one. In the
discussions <that took place, the point was cleared that
Gandhi was going to London, not to hammer out the
details of a Constitution but to negotiate the funda-
mentals of a treaty. When this point was clarified,
there were no two views on the subject, and opinion was
unanimous that Gandhi alone should represent India. It
was not only unanimous but ungrudging. One man
-would represent India better than many. It would be &
moral asset to the Congress, as signifying unity of leader-
ship in negotiating peace, as it doubtless connoted unity
x>f command in conducting war. The representation of
Congress by a single person with no axe to grind, and
'with no worldly desires beyond peace and goodwill and
4he happiness of the human kind, was in itself an achieve-
THE GANDHI-IRWIN AGREEMENT (1931) 785*
ment in the domain of the moral world which it would be
difficult to appraise. Thus did it happen that the prestige
of Britain was destined to be compromised by the exertion
of the 'half-naked fakir9 of India not only walking up
and down the steps of the Viceregal Lodge in Delhi, but
also negotiating peace on terms of equality in the Kails of
St. James' Palace.
CHAPTER II
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT
The period of strife and struggle was over. Arms
"were laid down but peace was not in sight. The
victories of peace, it is true, are greater than those of war
and in a sense the Congress was able to gain these
victories and conserve them. But the very success of the
Congress was destined to prove its disaster. In the first
place, Congress attained a moral victory the multiple
aspects of which began to unfold themselves rapidly with
the march of time. Here are Congress Committees which
were non-existent till yesterday, once more rising up. in all
their bloom, like the trees in the spring which had
appeared almost withered up and dying. Here is the
Congress flag, once again flying full-mast high on
•Congress offices and Congressmen's houses. Here are
Congress officers, claiming as of right the return by the
Police of every scrap of paper and every rag of cloth that
had once been seized and taken away from them. Here
are processions of volunteers marching in their semi-
military uniforms or their national cosftumes with stars
•and stripes, batons and belts, singing national songs which
were prohibited till only a moment ago, and carrying
flags and festoons.
Above all here are the Congress folks, little girls and
boys, grown-up men and women, picketing at liquor shops
and foreign cloth shops and exhorting people not to drink
and not to dress in 'videshi' fabrics. All these things are
going on with impunity under the eye of the very police-
man who was till yesterday jumping upon these people
like a wolf on a fold. The underlings in the Police were
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 787
not reconciled to such a surrender. The magistracy
•would not look upon it with favour. The Civilians felt
crest-fallen. The bureaucracy thought they had lost
everything. There was a feeling of disappointment and
defeat in jthe myrmidons of Law and Order. The prisoners
were being released every day and were being taken out
jn procession and garlanded and were making
speeches, not always discreet, never perhaps humble,
speeches which smacked of a tone of derision and a
spirit of defiance, and every day the Congress was a
factor to reckon with. Congress office-bearers would
demand the release of a prisoner here or the return of the
property there or the restoration of a public servant
elsewhere. On the 18th of April, Lord Irwin left India
and Gandhi bade him good-bye in Bombay. The
personnel in the Viceregal Lodge changed. Old friend-
ships and old promises were factors unknown to the new
Viceroy. What if Lord Irwin had promised to secure the
release of the Sholapur prisoners? What if he had
offered to examine the cases of the internees individually?
What if the Viceroy had promised to secure the pensions
and the provident fund of the two Deputy Collectors
who had resigned in Gujarat? What if he had promised
to write to the Local Government for the restoration of
properties sold to third parties in Bardoli? What if
Lord Irwin undertook to include in the terms of their
sentences the under-trial periods spent by the Meenit
prisoners in prison?
Lord Irwin left India on the 18th April. Lord
Willingdon had taken charge on the 17th — the previous
day. Viceroys come and go but the Secretariat remains
few ever. The Civilians that rule over the Districts are
the real Viceroys. It was the democratization of the
Indian Government and relief from the autocracy of the
Civilian Collectors that were in the minds of the
788 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
signatories of the Delhi Manifesto of November 2nd,
1929, when they wrote that the spirit of administration
must change from that very day. No, it did not change
after a year's fight; it did not change even after the
signing of the Gandhi-Irwin agreement. The officialdom,
in the country felt the agreement to be an affront to their
Izzat (prestige). There was virtually a revolt every-
where. Day in, day out, complaints poured into the
Congress offices that the terms of the agreement were not
duly implemented. The Congress on its part was most
anxious to observe the conditions imposed upon it by the
Pact. Those conditions chiefly related to the picketing
and the avoidance of the mention of British goods in
preaching boycott. If there were lapses here and there,
the watchdogs of Government were there to call Congress-
men to order. Congressmen did not mind even the
lathi-charges that continued to be practised here, there
and elsewhere. In Guntur, even after fbhe Pact was
signed, the Police indulged in this pastime. In East
Godavari, a most tragic firing took place at Vadapalli
resulting in four persons killed and several wounded,
simply because the people put up Gandhi's portrait on at
car and the Police objected. A situation developed
erelong resulting in this unfortunate and unjustifiable
firing. LafJw-charges and firing had become the second1
nature of the Police. They simply could not help doing
it. Not that such oddities were at all a common
feature, but that even the few cases that occurred were-
under utterly inexcusable conditions.
When the Congress concluded the truce, it was ixr
high hopes that an agreement could be reached between
the various communities in India, and also that Govern-
ment would lend a helping hand to that end. Bub aH
such hopes failed. Gandhi knew quite well that instead
of going to London without a Hindu-Muslim agreqpent
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 789
in hand, he had much rather sit at home. Nevertheless,
the W. C. met on the 9th, 10th, and llth of June, 1931
in Bombay, and at the instance of Muslim friends and
much against the inclinations of Gandhi, it passed a
resolution to the effect that
"The Committee is of opinion that, even should
these efforts unfortunately fail, in order to avoid any
possibility of the Congress attitude being misunder-
stood in any shape or form, other conditions being
favourable, Mahatma Gandhi should represent the
Congress at the R. T. C., if thereto required, for the
presentation of the Congress position."
The W. C. was not without hopes that an agreement
would be possible in England, if not earlier.
We shall presently revert to the subject of the obser-
vance of the conditions of the (truce, but before doing so
give a summary of the transactions of the meeting of
the Working Committee in the month of June. Time
was extended for the submission of the Reports of the
Fundamental Rights' Committee and the Public Debt
Committee. The Committee discountenanced the practice
that had recently sprung up of Congress organizations
issuing certificates to shops and handlooms dealing in
cloth made of other than hand-spun yarn. Some
Congress organizations were permitting the sale of
existing stocks of foreign cloth. This was deprecated.
A list of the prisoners not covered by the truce, which
was prepared by Mr. Nariman, was asked to be submitted
to Gandhi. A Swadeshi Board was to be formed to
certify goods other than cloth. Some election disputes
(Bengal and Delhi) were attended to. A grant of
Us. 250 was voted for the translation of Congress resolu-
tions since 1885— in Hindi.
50
790 THB HI8TOBY OF THE CONOEBBS
Now we resume <tlie story of the truce and how far
its conditions were being observed. The policy of the
Congress was entirely one of a defensive nature. Gandhi
had strictly warned the Congressmen in the country not
to initiate any aggressive campaign, but not to suffer
lying any insults to national self-respect. Demoraliza-
tion was the great demon that Gandhi was .seeking to
avoid. Fear and a sense of helplessness were the things
he insisted on conquering. The following is a summary
of his instructions:—
•
"If they make the working of the settlement
honourablv impossible, if those things permitted us,
Satyagrahis, are denied, it is the clearest warning that
we are entitled to take defensive measures. But we
go further. They say in Madras, 'you shall not put
more than 5 pickets/ I have said previously, 'for
the time being submit/ but hereafter we shall not
submit; we shall pi it 5 at each entrance. But you
may be sure that this will be a nine days' show;
either they will have to recant or go ahead. We do
not create a situation but we must act on the
defensive. If, for instance, a flag demonstration is
prohibited, we cannot put up with it, we must assert
ourselves. If a procession is forbidden, we may even
apply for a license, and if the license is not given, we
break the prohibitory order. But where the monthly
Flag demonstrations and usual public meetings are
concerned, we need not wait and shall not wait for
such permission nor apply for any. We must avoid
helplessness and the demoralization arising therefrom.
"Regarding No-tax campaign, you can only
permit it, you cannot place it as a programme; they
must take it up themselves and bring their comrades
into the movement. When that comes about, it
becomes an economic issue. And where it becomes
an economic issue, the masses will bo drawn into the
movement."
From the side of Governmient, there was abundant
sympathy, and sweeit words were poured forth by Lord
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 791
Willingdon. There "was no reason to doubt the sincerity of
his professions and faith. Bait it did not take long to
discover that the high hopes engendered by the Viceroy's
.airy speeches were not to be realised. By the first week
of July, Gandhi's mind was overcome with doubt as to
whether all was not crumbling.
u. P.
In Sultanpur 90 persons had been prosecuted under
Sec. 107 Cr. P. C. In another place — Bhavan Shahpur —
the tenants were called upon to remove the national flags,
by -the Talukdar, and were taken into custody on their
refusal. All the prominent members of the District
Congress Committee were served with notices under Sec.
144 Criminal P. C. In Muttra a public meeting was
forcibly dispersed by a Sub-Inspector. A Press message
from Lucknow stated that 700 prosecutions were taking
place at the time. All over the country, teachers and
other employees who were suspended or had resigned from
service for political propaganda sought to be restored,
'but in many cases in vain. Undertakings were demanded
of students seeking admission into colleges that they would
not take part in any future campaign. In Bichari lorry
loads of policemen raided the houses of Congress workers,
insulted women and burnt iho national flags. In Bara
Banki general orders under Sec. 144 applicable to areas,
and blank orders signed by the District Magistrate, were
-given to Police Inspectors. Gandhi caps were removed by
the Deputy Commissioner, and people were warned
against their use, as also against going to the Congress.
The same story repeats itself in the different districts of
TJ. P. Some Talukdars, assured of Government support,
reverted to their barbarous methods. Armed Police were
terrorizing the Tillagers. One man died by beating
.•administered by an Estate Zilladar and his men. Practice
792 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGfigSB
of making tenants 'murga', i.e., making them stand like
a cock, became common. The Punitive Police at
Nowshara in the Chowtala in Hissar (Punjab) were not
removed. A retired military sepoy's pension was
forfeited. Inoffensive processions at Tarutan were
iat/ii-charged. Political meetings were forbidden i»
cantonments.
BOMBAY.
Peaceful picketing against liquor was not allowed at
unlicensed places and unlicensed hours in Ahmedabad,
Ankaleswar and in Ratnagiri Districts. Prisoners were
not released. In Bulsar five people were asked to pay
fine for having allowed volunteer camps on their lands
during the campaign and the lands were not restored
unless the fines were paid. A boat sold by mistake by the
Salt Collector long afiter the truce, was not restored, nor
was the owner compensated. The Navajivan Press was
not yet returned. Waxtan lands in Karnatak were not
restored, except on an -understanding not to take part in
any future movement. Several Patels and Tallatis were
not restored. The two Deputy Collectors that had
resigned were not given their pension as Lord Irwin had
promised. Two doctors and a supervisor were not
restored. Eight girls and eleven boys were rusticated
from Government schools for all time. Likewise four
studied in Ankola. In Sirsi and Siddapur Talukas
coercive processes were started against the cultivators,
only partial relief being given in respect of their agrarian
distress.
BENGAL
In Bengal one new circumstance was the demand of
undertaking from legal practitioners. An Ashram seized
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 793
under Ordinance IX was not restored. In Gauhati,
students were asked a security of Rs. 50. In Jorhat,
Prabhat Pheri boys were assaulted on the 19th June
winder orders of Superintendent Bartly.
DELHI
Undertakings were demanded of students.
AJMER-MERWARA
Certain teachers were debarred from service in
Aided school*.
MADR\S
On 13th July a Press Communique was published
anJ officers were circularized that the peaceful picketing
of the truce did not include picketing at Slikari sals-
Members of the Tan j ore Bar were served notices under
Sec. 144 for picketing liquor shops. Volunteers were
not permitted to j>tand nearer than 100 yards from toddy
shops, while picketing and faked charges were brought
against them. They were assaulted at different places
and ordered not to hold umbrellas or flags and the public
were warned against giving them water. At Ellore the
number of picketers at each cloth shop was restricted
to one or two. At Koilpatti, where the number was
restricted to 5, pickets were prosecuted in May. At
'Coimbatore the number was restricted to 6. The fact is
that the authorities were hostile to picketing. In Guntur
an honorary assistant opthalmic surgeon was not restored
to his office unless he wtould express regret for anti-
'Government propaganda.
Guns and gun-licenses forfeited for participation in
the movement were not being returned in numerous
794 THE HISTORY OF THB CONGKE8S
cases. Prisoners who were convicted in groups on
common evidence were not all released, though the
evidence was the same against all. The Sholapur
Martial Law prisoners in respect of whose release Lord
Irwin had made a definite promise were not released.
But all these paled into insignificance before the
flagrant breach of the truce committed by Government
in Bardoli. In this Taluka, it will be remembered,
there was a No-tax campaign. The current revenues
payable were 22 lakhs of rupees, out of which 21 lakhs
were paid. We give below an extract giving Gandhi's
complaint and Government's reply: —
GANDHI'S COMPLAINT
"(1) In Bardoli Rs. 21,00,000 out of
Rs. 22,00,000 have been paid out of the current
dues. It is claimed that Congress workers are
responsible for these payments. When they began
collections, it is common knowledge that they told
the peasants that they were to pay all they could
both of the current dues and arrears. The majority
declared themselves to be hardly able to pay even
the current dues. The authorities after hesitation,
and even flat refusal for some time in some cases,
accepted payments and gave receipts on account of
current dues- Now to demand arrears or current
dues from those who plead inability is a breach of
faith with the workers and the people. So far as
the arrears are concerned, it is contended that if
the authorised arrears arc suspended because of the
fall in prices, as they are, the unauthorised arrears
deserve the same treatement with greater force,
because the men having been civil registers have in
addition to the losses due to low prices, suffered
severe losses through migration. These losses have
been estimated and presented to the authorities.
Nevertheless Congress workers have offered to re-
examine cases suspected by the authorities. What
they resent is coercive processes, fines and display
of the Police who surrounded people's houses."
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT T95
REPLY OP BOMBAY GOVERNMENT
"(1) It cannot be admitted that to demand
arrears or current year's dues from those who plead
inability is a breach of faith with the workers and
the people; inability must be proved and not merely
pleaded. The suggestion that unauthorised arrears
deserve at least the same treatment as authorised
arrears this year has no force. Authorised arrears
only exist when the crops on account of which they
are due were whole or partial failures and the
cultivators could not afford to pay their dues at the
usual season. Unauthorised arrears in Bardoli exist
not because the crops failed but because the culti-
vators refused to pay their land revenue as part of
the Civil Disobedience campaign. The question
whether any particular individual can or cannot pay
owing to losses of any kind is a matter for investi-
gation in each case. In Bardoli there has only
been one attachment of property in connection with
the realisation of revenue. The fact that the
Collector has had regard to deserving cases is shown
by the circumstances that he has suspended land
revenue collections to the extent of about Rs. 18,000
and granted remissions to the extent of about
Rs. 1,900. Police were not used directly for the*
collection of land revenue, but they were taken only
to a few villages which the revenue officers were
afraid to visit for the purpose of collecting land
revenue without the support of the Police, in case
of a disturbance. Their duties were confined to
protecting the person of the Mamlatdar or the
principal revenue officer at the village, to guarding
a house in case attachment proceedings were under-
taken, and in some cases to accompanying the
inferior village servants when sent to call a
defaulter."
All these complaints were handed to the Government
bf India when Gandhi wsnt to Simla about the middle
of July. The developments that took place within the
next ten days were indeed most unexpected. Gandhi
796 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
wrote straight to the Collector of Surat from Bardoli
what lie felt on the subject, and forwarded a copy of
the letter to the Government of Bombay.
The reply of the Governor of Bombay was altogether
disappointing. The Simla authorities supported the
Government of Bombay.
ARBITRATION BOARD
Then there was the question of arbitration which
had been raised by Gandhi. The correspondence that
ensued in this connection is given below: —
Extract from the letter of M. K. Gandhi Esq,
to the Hon'ble Mr. H. W. Emerson. C.S.I., C.I.E.,
C.B.E., Home Secretary to the Government of
India, dated Borsad, the 14th June, 1931:—
"You might be unable to interfere with the
working or not working of the settlement by Local
Governments, or your interference may not go far
enough according to my view of the settlement.
The time has, therefore, perhaps arrived for the
appointment of a permanent board of arbitration
to decide questions of interpretation of ' the
settlement and as to the full carrying out of
terms by the one party or /the other. I would,
therefore, like you to consider this suggestion."
PROPOSAL FOR ENQUIRY
Copy of a letter from M. K. Gandhi Esq., to the
Hon'ble Mr. H. W. Emerson, C.S. I.,C. I.E., C. B. E.,
Home Secretary to the Government of India, dated
Borsad, the 20th June, 1931:—
"I have yooir letter of the 16th June enclosing
extract from an account received from the Madras
Government regarding picketing. It does make a bad
reading if the report is true. But what I am
receiving almost daily from Madras from the workers
who are thoroughly reliable eye-witnesses xqakes me '
THE BRK\CH OF THE SETTLEMENT 797
to distrust the reports that you are receiving. But
I know that this takes us no further. So far as the
Congress is concerned, I want ft to implement the
settlement to the fullest extent. I, therefore, make
an offer. Will you advise Local Governments to
appoint a board of enquiry, consisting of a nominee
on their behalf, and a nominee on behalf of the
Congress, to conduct a summary enquiry into the
allegations on either side, and wherever it is found
that the rule of peaceful picketing has been at all
violated, picketing should be entirely suspended, the
Government undertaking on its parjt to stop prosecu-
tions whenever it. is found that they have been under-
taken in spite of peaceful picketing, and if my
suggestion does not commend itself to you, you will
perhaps suggest something better and more accept-
able. Meanwhile, I am enquiring into <the specific
charge mentioned in your letter."
(14) Copy of a letter from the Hon'ble
Mr. H. W. Emerson. C. 8. L, C. I. E., C. B. E.,
Home Secretary to the Government of India, to
M. K. Gandhi Esq., No. F. SSUjSl Poll, dated Simla,
the 4th July, 1931:—
"In your letter of June 14th, you have suggested
that the time had perhaps arrived for the appoint-
ment of a permanent board of arbitration to decide
questions of interpretation of the order. Again in
your letter of June 20th, you made ft he further
suggestion that in, regard to picketing the Government
of India should advise Local Governments to appoint
a board of enquiry, consisting of a nominee on their
behalf and a nominee on behalf of the Congress to
conduct a summary enquiry into the allegations on
either side, and wherever it is found -that the rule
of peaceful picketing has been violated picketing
should be entirely suspended, the Government under-
taking on its part to stop prosecutions wherever it
is found that they have been undertaken in spite of
peaceful picketing. I much appreciate your offer of
removing the possible causes of dispute arising out
of the settlement, accepting this proposal. To take
the lesser one first, as I understand it, it is mainly
limited to cases in which it is alleged that the methods
798 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
of picketing have contravened the ordinary law and
that the Police have, therefore, prosecuted or
proposes to prosecute the picketer. One effect of
your proposal would be that before bringing the law
into operation there should be a summary enquiry
carried out by a nominee of the Government and a
nominee of the Congress and that further proceedings
would depend on their decision. In other words,
the duty of maintaining law in this particular
respect would be transferred from the Police, who
have statutory duties, to a board of enquiry the
members of which might well arrive at a different
conclusion, while the Police, of course, must act only
in accordance with the law. It is not practicable nor
was it intended by the suUJemcnt that their duty in
this respect should in any way be abrogated.
"In cases of this kind a practical test as to
whether the law has or has not been contravened is
the decision of the Court- which tries the cases, and
unless its decision is reversed on appeal the finding
of the Court that picketing ha? contravened the law,
and consequently the terms of the settlement, should
prima facie be followed automatically by a suspension
of picketing. The above illustrates one of the
difficulties that would also arise in the case of
standing boards of arbitration. The obligation
imposed on the Congress by the settlement relates
largely to matters affecting law and order, the free-
dom of action of the individual, and the carrying on
the administration. That is to bay, any serious breach
of it has important reactions on one or other of
these matters. So far as individual breaches con-
travened the ordinary law, the position would be the
same as for picketing. If general breaches of it
raised questions of policy affecting law and order, or
ithe effective working of the administration, it would
be clearly impossible for the Government to restrict
their freedom of action by reference to a board of
arbitration. This was not contemplated when the
last clause of it was drafted, nor would it be
consonant with the discharge by the Government of
fundamental responsibilities. It seems to me that
the working of this settlement must depend primarily
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 1991
on the faith of the parties to it. So far as the
Government are concerned, they desire to adhere
strictly to its terms and our information shows that
Local Governments have been scrupulous in carrying
out the obligations imposed on them. Doubtful cases
are, of course, inevitable, but the Local Governments
are prepared to give them most careful examination
and the Government of India will continue to bring
to the notice of the Local Governments any cases
that are reported to them, and if necessary, satisfy
themselves in regard to the facts."
(15) Copy of a letter from M. K. Gandhi, Esq.,
to the Hon'ble Mr. H. \V. Emerson, C.S.I., C.I.E.,
C.B.E., Home Secretary to the Government of India,
dajted Simla, the 21st July, 1931 :—
"In accordance with my promise made at th&
Viceregal Lodge this evening I reduce to writing my
request for an impartial tribunal to decide upon
matters of interpretation of the settlement between
the Government and the Congress that might be
submitted to it from time to time, whether on
behalf of the Government or the Congress. The
following arc the matters that require immediate
adjudication unless there is an agreement between
the Government and the Congress as to the
interpretation :
(1) Whether picketing includes the picketing
of liquor shops and auction sales.
(2) Whether it is competent for Provincial
Governments to prescribe the distance at which
picketing can be done so as to render it impossible
for the picketers to be within the sight of the shop
picketed.
(3) Whether it is competent for a Government
to limit the number of picketers so as to make it
impossible to picket all the entrances of a particular
shop.
(4) Whether it is competent for a Government
to defeat peaceful picketing by permitting the sale of
liquor by the picketed shop-keeper at places other
than licensed and during odd hours.
(5) Interpretation of Clauses 13 and 14 in the
application of particular cases, which Provincial
900 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Governments have regarded were nqb coming under
those clauses and the Congress has held otherwise.
(6) Interpretation of the word 'return' in
Clause 16 (A).
(7) Whether a return of guns forfeited after
Hie cancellation of licenses for participation in Civil
Disobedience is covered by the settlement.
(8) Whether the restoration of certain property
•seized under Ordinance 9 and of watan lands in the
Karnatak is covered by the settlement, and if it
is competent for a Government to impose any
•condition oipon such restoration.
(9) The meaning of the word 'permanent* in
Clause 19.
(10) Whether it is competent for the Education
Department to impose conditions upon students who
took part in the Civil Disobedience campaign before
admitting them or, in virtue of perpetual restriction
imposed during the Civil Disobedience campaign, to
debar the admission of students under the ban.
(11) Whether it is competent for a Government
to punish a person or corporation by reason of his or
ite having taken part in the Civil Disobedience
campaign, e.g., forfeiture of pension, or grants and the
like to Municipalities.
"These are not to be treated a? the only matters
to be submitted to the tribunal. It. is possible that
unforeseen cases may ari^e in future, which may be
claimed to come under the settlement. The procedure
to be adopted would be written statements and would
te submitted both on behalf of the Government and
the Congress, and the points would be argued by
counsel. The decision of the tribunal would be binding
on both the parties. As I told you in /the course of
•our conversation, whilst I say nothing at the present
moment as to a tribunal for the examination of
questions of facts in the event of differences between
the Government and the Congress, I have not waived
the demand. Occasion may arise when *the difference
may be so vital as to make it obligatory on my part
to press for a tribunal for the examination of such
cases also. I should, however, hope that we might be
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 801
able to settle all points of difference without reference
to any tribunal."
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA'S REPLY
Copy of a letter from the Hon'ble
Mr. H. W. Emerson, C.S.I., C.I.E., C.B.E., Home
Secretary to the Government of India, to
M.K. Gandhi, Esq., No. D-4980 (A) Poll, dated
Simla, the 30th July, 1931:
"I write to thank you for your letter of July
21st in which (a) you request an impartial tribunal
be appointed for the decision of matters of inter-
pretation of the settlement of March 5th, and (b)
you state specific points which you desire to be
referred to the tribunal if appointed, on the failure
of an agreement between the Government and the
Congress as to their interpretation. In your previous
letter of the 14th of June, you made a suggestion
for the appointment of a permanent board of arbitra-
tion to decide questions of interpretation of the
settlement, and as (to the full carrying out of the
terms by the one party or the other. In a demi-
official letter No. F. 33-1-31 Poll, of the 4th of July,
1931, the reasons were given why the Government
were not able to accept 'the suggestion. In your inter-
view with His Excellency the Viceroy on July 21st,
you expressed the view that- while it might not be
possible for the Government to accept the general
proposition made in your letter of June 14, it would
be unreasonable for them to refuse to accept a more
narrow proposal relating to arbitration on questions
of interpretation of the settlement. After some dis-
cussion, His Excellency suggested that you could
communicate the specific points which you consider
suitable for submission to arbitration, and he
undertook that on their receipt the Government of
India would examine the proposal.
"3. The Government of India have given the
matter their most careful consideration. They
observe that while you do not wish to press at the
moment for a tribunal to examine questions of fact
in the event of difference between the Government
£02 THE HISTORY OF TUB CONGRESS
and the Congress, you do not waive 'this demand and
you suggest that occasions may arise when it may be
necessary to press it. You will doubtless agree that
the only distincjtion between this request and the
suggestions made in your letter of the 14th of June
is that you now desire to hold in suspense the broader
question, while asking for the immediate agreement
•of the Government to arbitration on questions of
interpretation. For the reasons stated in my letter of
the 4th July, the Government of India regret that
they are unable to alter the views already expressed
on the former questions.
"4. They have given further consideration to
the more restricted proposals, namely, the reference
to arbitration of questions relating to interpretation
for reaching a decision. They have given particular
attention to the eleven points stated in your letiter
which you regard as coining within this category and
to the implications which acceptance of arbitration on
these points would necessarily involve, with special
regard to the responsibilities and functions inherent
in the Government. You will no doubt recognise that
it would not be possible for the Government to agree
to any arrangement which involved the suspension of
the ordinary law or of (the regular machinery of
^administration, or which included the appointment of
an external authority to whom the Government
would delegate the responsibility for reaching deci-
sions in matters closely affecting the administra-
tion or of which the effect, direct or indirect, would
"be to provide a special procedure, to <the benefits of
which members of the Congress could lay claim and
from which other members of the public would be
-excluded and which would trench upon the jurisdic-
tion and discretion of the court of law. The settle-
inenjfc of March 5th did not, of course, contemplate
.-any provisions of this kind.
"5. I am now to examine some of the points
stated in your letter with reference to the above
principles. The first three relate to picketing, and
are of a general character. The action that it may
be necessary to take in particular cases of picketing
is obviously dependent on the nafture of the particular
THE BBEACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 803
Circumstance, and the Government can .clearly not
agree to any decision of a general character which
might have the effect of prejudicing the discharge by
the executive or judicial authorities of their respon-
sibility for the maintenance of law and order or of
interfering with the liberty of individuals. General
references of the nature you suggest are precluded
by these considerations, nor can fthe Government
agree to the reference of particular cases, for, apart
from the reasons given in my letter of July 4th, the
effect would often be to give to the individuals con-
cerned in them a position not enjoyed by members
of the public in similar circumstances. With regard
to the fourth point, (the Government of India have
no information which suggests that Local Govern-
ments are condoning breaches of the Excise Law in
the manner suggested. In so far as the matter relates
to the administration of Excise matters within the
law, you will no doubt realise that it is not prac-
ticable to set up a tribunal with power to decide in
effect how the Local Government should conduct the
administration of Excise which, it may be observed,
is a provincial transferred subject. Points (10) and
(12) raise a different issue, but one of great
importance. The questions mentioned in them were
not discussed during the conversations leading to the
settlement regarding them. The reference of these
matters to a tribunal would, therefore, involve
acceptance of a principle which would clearly be
capable of unlimited extension, that the tribunal
should be competent to extend the- operation of the
settlement beyond its original scope and intention and
without the concurrence of the Government.
"6. These instances appear to the Government
sufficiently to indicate that there are insuperable
difficulties in the way of arbitration even although
references be ostensibly confined to matters of inter-
pretation. There would be constant disputes as to
whether the matter was one of interpretation or not,
and rthe arrangement would create new difficulties
rather than remove old ones.
"7. Several of the points have in their aspect
already received the careful consideration of the
804 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Government and in this connection I would refer you
to my letter No. 4291, Poll, dated the 2nd of July,
1931, which related to students, and to my letter
No. D 3801—31, Poll, dated the 28th of June, 1931.
which related <to arms licenses. The list of alleged
breaches of particular provisions 'of the settlement
which you gave to me at Simla contained specific
instances coming within most of the poinjts. This list
was referred within a few days of its receipt to the
Local Governments for communication of the facts,
and /the Government will satisfy themselves as to
whether any breach of the settlement is involved.
They are similarly prepared to satisfy themselves in
regard to future cases of alleged breaches of specific
provisions, for it is a matter of honour with the
Government to observe the settlement and they have
no doubt that this is equally held by you. It is by
approaching the matter in this spirit and not by
resort to arbitration that the Government believe
that difficulties can best be surmounted."
In U. P., coercive measures in connection with
tenants continued . The position of the evicted tenants
caused anxiety to the U.P. leaders including Pandit
Madan Mohan Malaviya. Gandhi sent a telegram to Sir
Malcolm Hailey, the Governor of U.P. But the reply
was disappointing in the extreme. It was under these
depressing circumstances, with complaints pouring in from
all quarters, that Gandhi was obliged to send the
following telegram <to the Viceroy on llth August.
1931:—
GANDHI'S TELEGRAM (llth August, 1931)
"Exceedingly regret to inform you that a letter
from the Bombay Government just received renders
impossible my departure for London. The letter
raises issues of first magnitude, as well of facts as of
law, and contends that the Government must be the
final judges on both. In naked terms, this means
that the Government should be both the prosecutor
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 805
and the judge with reference to masters arising out of
a contract to which they and the complainants are
parties. This is impossible for the Congress to accept.
When I read the Bombay Government's letter
together with Sir Malcolm Hailey's telegram received
in answer to my enquiry, and the reports of continuing
harassment in the U.P., Frontier Province, and
other Provinces, they seem to me complete indication
that I must not sail as I promised. To communi-
cate with you before coming to a final decision, I
have brought the foregoing facts to your notice. I
shall await reply before making an announcement."
VICEROY'S REPLY (13th August, 1931)
"I should regret extremely if, for reasons you
have given, the Congress were to be unwilling to
carry out the arrangement which provided for their
representation at the Conference. I am unable to
accept these reasons as valid, and I cannot but feel
that yo-ur misgivings arise from a misunderstanding
of the policy of the Government and the grounds on
which it restb. In particular, I should have thought
that any misgivings as regards the United Provinces
would have been removed by Sir Malcolm Hailey's
telegram to you of (the 6th August, and as regards
Gujarat by Para 4 of the letter of the Private
Secretary to Sir Earnest Hotson to you of August
10th. I would remind you of my personal letter to
you of July 31st, in which I gave you the fullest
assurances of my personal interea[t in everything that
has to do with the settlement and could, therefore,
have hoped that you would not allow disputes over
the present details to prevent your serving India by
participating in the momentous discussion of the
future Constitution, which may determine the destiny
of the country beyond your time or mine. If,
however, your telegram represents the final word, I
will at once inform [the Prime-Minister of your
inability to attend the Conference."
51
806 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
GANDHI'S FINAL 'NO' (13th August, 1931)
"Thank you for your wire of assurance. I must
read in the light of the present happenings, and if you
can see in Ihem nothing inconsistent with the
settlement, it shows fundamental differences in our
respective outlooks upon the settlement. In the
circumstances, I regret to say that there is no way
left open to me but to confirm the decision already
conveyed. I can only add that I tried my utmost
best to go to London but failed. Please inform the
Prime-Minister accordingly. I presume I may release
the correspondence and wires for publication."
Telegram from His Excellency the Viceroy to
M. K. Gandhi, Esq., dated Simla, the 14th August,
1931:—
"I have informed the Prime-Miniqter of your
decision. I am releasing the relevant correspondence
to the Press at 4 o'clock this afternoon. You are,
of course, free to do the same."
Although it was being apprehended even from the
mornth of June that there might be trouble in the matter
of the Congress participating in the Round Table
Conference, still everybody was hoping till the last
moment that things might righ|t themselves. It is not
untrue to say that they were even hoping against hope,
but the Congress could not sit idle on the off-chance of
miscarriage of negotiations. They had 1 to be fully
prepared for the contingency of the agreement working
itself out in all its fulness. Thus while Gandhi was
carrying on his correspondence with the Viceroy and the
Governments of Bombay and U. P., the Congress Execu-
tive was carrying on its normal work to which we must
now turn for a moment. The Working Committee met on
July 20th, and authorised the publication of the Report
prepared on Indo-British financial obligations. The
Fundamental Rights' Committee had held its sittings at
Masulipatam and prepared its Report, which the Working
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 807
•Committee resolved to place before the A.I.C.C. The
.Hindustani Seva Dal was the cause of certain mis-
.apprehensions in regard to its relations to the Congress,
and, therefore, the Dal was recognized as the Central
Volunteer Organisation of the Congress, working directly
under the authority of the Working Committee or such
person as it might appoint in this behalf. Its functions
were categorically mentioned. Provincial Congress
Commitees were authorised and required to form duly
recognised volunteer corps, all the members of which are
required to be members oi the Congress, and must con-
form to the disciplines of the Central Volunteer Organi-
zation. The Seva Dal, which had held its first All-India
Conference at Cocanada and was doing splendid work
ever since under the guidance and leadership of
Dr. Hardiker, was made an affiliated body of the
Congrebs, pledged to its Creed of legitimate and peaceful
means for attaining Swaraj. Then came the magnum
opus of the Congress. It was a scheme of agreement in
regard to the communal question, which we give in
cxtenso here.
W. (Vs STATEMENT ox COMMUNAL QUESTION
The following statement was issued by the Working
•Committee: —
"However much it may have failed in the
realisation, the Congress has, from its very inception,
set up pure nationalism as its ideal. It has
endeavoured to break down communal barriers. The
following Lahore resolution was the culminating point
in its advance towards nationalism:
'In view of the lapse of the Nehru Report, it is
unnecessary to declare /the policy of the Congress
regarding communal question, the Congress believing
that in an Independent India communal questions
808 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
can only be solved on strictly national lines. But as-
the Sikhs in particular, and /the Muslims and the
other minorities in general, had expressed dissatis-
faction over the solution of communal questions
proposed in the Nehru Report, this Congress assures-
the Sikhs, 'the Muslims and other minorities that no
solution thereof in any future Constitution will be
acceptable to the Congress that does not give full
satisfaction to the parties concerned.'
"Hence the Congress is precluded from setting
forth any communal solution of the communal
problem. But at this critical juncture in the history
of -the Nation, it is felt that the Working Committee
should suggest for adoption by the country a solution,
though communal in appearance, yet as nearly
national as possible and generaly acceptable to the
communities concerned. The Working Commitjtee has
therefore after full and free discussion passed the
following scheme: —
'1. (a) The article in the Constitution relating
to Fundamenal Rights shall include a
guarantee to the communities concerned of
their cultures, languages, scripts, educa-
tion, profession and practice of religion,
and religious endowments.
(b) Personal laws shall be protected by
specific provisions to be embodied in the
Constitution.
(c) Protection of political and other rights
of minority communities' in the various
Provinces shall be the concern and be
within the jurisdiction of the Federal
Government.
'2. The franchise shall be extended to all adult
men and women. (Note: — The Working Committee-
is committed to Adult Franchise by the Karachi
resolution of the Congress and cannot entertain any
alternative franchise. In view, however, of mis-
apprehensions in some quarters, /the Comjmittee
wishes to make it clear that in any event the
franchise shall be uniform and so extensive as to
. reflect in the electoral roll the proportion in the-.
, population of every community).
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 809
*3. (a) Joint electorates shall form the basis
of representation in the future Constitu-
tion of India.
(b) For the Hindus in Sindh, the Muslims
in Assam and the Sikhs in the Punjab and
the North-West-Frontier Province, and
for Hindus and Muslims in any Province
where they are less -than 25 per cent, of
the population, seats shall be reserved in
the Federal and Provincial Legislatures on
the basis of population with the right to
con-tcst additional seat*.
'4. Appointments shall be madf by non-party
Public Service Commission? which shall prescribe the
minimum qualifications, and which .-hall have due
regard to efficiency of the public service as well a£ to
the principle of equal opportunity to all communities
for a fair share in the public services of the country.
'5. In the formation of Federal and Provincial
cabinets, the interests of minority communities should
be recognised by convention.
*6. The North-AYest-FroiV.ier Province and
Baluchistan shall have the same form of government
and administration as other Provinces.
'7. Sindh shall be constituted into a separate
Province, provided 'that the people of Sindh are
prepared to bear the financial burden of the separated
Province.
'8. The future Constitution of the country shall
be federal. The residuary powers shall vest in the
federating unite, unless, on further examination, it is
found to be against the best interests of India.'
"The Working Committee has adopted the
foregoing scheme as a compromise between the pro-
posals based on undiluted communalism and undiluted
nationalism. Whilst on the one hand the Working
Committee hopes that the whole Nation will endorse
the scheme, on the other it assures those who take
extreme views and cannot adopt it that «the Committee
will gladly, as it is bound «tof by the Lahore
Resolution, accept without reservation any other
-scheme if it commends the acceptance of all the
parties concerned."
810 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
The pledge for exclusion of foreign cloth and yam
was drawn up and it was resolved that any pledge in
connection with the exclusion of foreign cloth and yarnr
inconsistent with the following pledge, shall be held to
be invalid: —
"We pledge ourselves that we shall observe the
following conditions so long as the Working
Committee of the Congress does not give express
permission by resolution to do otherwise: —
'1. We undertake not to purchase or sell any
foreign yarn made from cotton, wool or silk, or cloth
manufactured from such yarn.
'2. We undertake not to purchase or sell any
yarn or cloth manufactured by mills that have not
accepted the Congress conditions.
'3. We undertake not to sell in this country
any foreign yarn made of cotton, wool or silk,
or cloth manufactured from such yarn or silk that
may be lying with us.1 "
Then it was resolved that the Aniti-Untouchability
Committee, which had merged in the campaign of last
year, should be revived and, therefore, instructed
Syt. Jamnalal Bajaj to take the necessary steps
for the purpose. The Committee would have such
powers of co-operation and the like that may be
required.
On the question of the Textile Mills Exemption
Cornmitteee and Labour conditions, the Working
Committee was of opinion that "the Textile Mills Exemp-
tion Committee should endeavour, wherever possible and
necessary, to prevent by amicable arrangement any
penalisation or victimization of Labour in the mills which
have signed the Congress declaration, and to help in the
bettering of Labour conditions in these mills."
It will be seen that in regard to the communal
settlement, the residual powers were left in <the hands of
THE BEEACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 911
the federating units. It is a fashion to speak of these
residuary powers. They are an academic perfection buft
in practice no one has been able to define them. The
question may arise in regard to Provinces which are
strangers to one another, federating anew with one
another, but in a country like India where central and
provincial subjects have for long been carefully demar-
cated, such a discussion is a purely theoretical pastime. Be
that as it may, the final solution itself was the suggestion
of Gandhi who, with his usual resourcefulness, added the
subjunctive clause, ''unless, on further examination, it is
found to he against the best interests of India." The fact
is that the Muslims wanted to have a reserve power iu
their hands, — in the hands of the Provinces, — so as to be
able to deal effectively with Provinces having a
majority of Hindus which might ill-treat the Muslims.
Where a partner is suspicious, the best thing is to allow
him a safeguard. But provision was left in the scheme
for a future re-examination, and this satisfied all parties.
The All-India Congress Committee met once again
on August 6th, 7th and 8th, 1931, and passed very
impart ant resolutions, the first of which related to the
attempted assassination of His Excellency the Acting
Governor of Bombay and the assassination of Judge
Garlic in Bengal. In deploring as well as condemning
these outrages, the Committee pointed out the heinousness
involved in the attempt on the life of the Governor who
was invited by the Fergusson College as its honoured
guest.
The report of the 'National Flag Committee waa
considered and it was resolved that "the National Flag
shall be three coloured, horizontally arranged as before,
but the colours shall be Saffron, White and Green, in the
812 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
order stated here from top to bottom, with the spinning-
wheel in dark blue in the centre of the white stripe, the
colours standing for qualities, not communities. The
saffron shall represent courage and sacrifice, while peace
and truth, and green shall represent faith and chivalry
and the spinning-wheel the hope of the masses. The
proportions of the flag should be as'three to two." The new
national flag was required to be hoisted on August 30th,
the last Sunday of the month, which was to be celebrated
as the Flag Day. The Fundamental Rights Committee's
Report was considered and the rights and duties already
mentioned were adopted.
The Fundamental Rights resolution, as it stood in its
final shape, was also adopted at this meeting.
The Working Committee, meeting about the same
time in Bombay, dealt with the question of Bhagat
Singh's cremation and came to the conclusion, as we have
already mentioned, jthat "there is no warrant for the
serious allegations that were made." An important
decision was taken in respect of the North-West
Frontier Provincial Congress Committee and the Afghan
Jirga and the Khudai Khidmatgars. The Committee
having conferred with the representatives of the N. W. F.
Province, resolved on the re-constitution of the Frontier
P. C. C. and the incorporation of the Afghan Jirga in it.
It was further resolved that Khudai Khidmatgars should
become a pant of the Congress Volunteer Organisation.
The following statement, embodying the decisions of the
Working Committee was issued on behalf of the
Committee: —
"Some misunderstandings having arisen in regard
to Congress work in the North-West Frontier
Province and the relations between the Provincial
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 813
Congress Organisation and the Afghan Jirga and
Khudai Khidmatgars, the Working Committee met
Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan and Khan Aligul Khan,
Hakim Abdul Jalil, Mr. Peer Baksh, Khan Amir
Mohammad Khan and Shrimaiti Nikho Devi and
discussed future work in the N. W. F. Province. As
a result of these discussions, misunderstandings were
removed and the Frontier leaders agreed to work
together in accordance with certain decisions arrived
ait. It was pointed out that the Afghan Jirga was
working the Congress programme and the Khudai
Khidmatgars were acting as volunteers for giving
effect to this programme. But a& the Afghan Jirga
had a separate constitution of its own, it was no part
of the Congress organisation. Confusion had also
arisen owing to the use of a variety of flags by the
Jirga.
"It was agreed by the Frontier leaders that, the
present P. C. C. and the Afghan Jirga should coalesce
and the new provincial organisation, formed in
accordance with the Congress Constitution, should
represent the Congress in the Province. This nowly
elected Committee will be the Frontier P. C. C. In
the language of the Province, it may be described
as the Frontier Province Jirga. Similarly the district
and the local Congress Committees may be described
as local Jirgas, the fact that 'they are Congress
Committees being also clearly stated. The Khudai
Khidmatgars, it was agreed, should become Congress
volunteer organisations in accordance with <the
Working Committee's recent resolution. The name
Khudai Khidmatgars may however be retained. The
whole organisation should be conducted in accordance
with the Constitution, rules and programme of the
Congress. The flag to be used henceforth will of
course be the National Flag.
"At the request of the Working Committee, the
Frontier Leader, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, has
undertaken to shoulder the burden of leading the
Congress movement in the Province."
The Working Committee also passed a resolution to
ihe effect that it had reluctantly come to the conclusion
814 - THE HISTORY OF THE CONURESS
that, consistently with the terms of the settlement and the
national interest/ the Congress could not and should not
be represented at the Round Table Conference. But the
Committee declared that the Delhi Settlement was still in
force as indicated by the following proposition: —
"In view of the resolution relating to the Congress
non-participation in the Round Table Conference
passed by the Working Committee on August 13, the
Committee desires to make it clear that the resolu-
tion should not- be construed as ending the Delhi
Settlement. The Committee therefore advises the
Congress organisations and all Congressmen to
continue to comply, until further instructions,
with the terms of the settlement, in so far as they
are applicable to the Congress/1
Emergency powers were, however, given to the*
President, in the event of emergency arising, so as to leave
no time for calling the Working Committee. "The
President is hereby authorised to act in the name of and
on behalf of the Working Committee."
Jlani Bhuvan was thick with rumours, the whole
day, of expectations and hopes that eleventh hour peace
efforts on the part of Sir T. B. Sapru and Mr. Jayakar
might enable Gandhi to proceed to London, but
towards sunset important Congress leaders, coming out
of Mani Bhuvan, began to tell the expectant Press
correspondents that there was absolutely no chance of
eleventh hour negotiations fructifying and Gandhi's
changing his decision. Hopes were still entertained by
some optimists that, after all, things might take a better*
turn but all doubts were finally set at nought when
Gandhi left Mani Bhuvan at 8-45 P-M. and finally
boarded a third class compartment of the Gujarat Mail.!
at the Bombay Central Station.
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT SIS'*
Sir Prabhasankar Pattani had half an hour'g
interview with Gandhi that afternoon. Interviewed by
the Associated Press, Sir Prabhasankar Pattani (who had
cancelled his passage to England by the S. S. Mooltan\
was unwilling to say anything more than that he had-
cancelled his passage for many reasons.
Thus ended the first scene in the Act of the Round
Table Conference. By the 15th of August, Dr. Sapru,.
Mr. Jayakur and Mr. A. Rangaswami lyengar left
Bombay after paying a visit or two to Gandhi. A
perusal of the correspondence published on the subject
reveals the mentality of the Government officials. The
Secretariat threw the Pact overboard; possibly it was
disturbed by the tragic incident at Poona. Every now
and then the Congress activities were disturbed by some
act of violence at the psychological moment. The firing
at the Acting Governor of Bombay, Sir E. Hotson, in
the Fergusson College in Poona, by a young student,
about this time was unfortunate. But Sir E. Hotson
himself maintained the same equanimity as Lord
Irwin had maintained on the 23rd of December, 1929.
Gandhi expressed his sorrow at the Poona incident and
congratulated the Acting Governor on his escape. The
Working Committee as well as the A. I. C. C. passed
suitable resolutions condemning the outrage. But this
is only an interlude. There were deeper causes for the
virtual breaches of the Gandhi-Irwin Agreement. The
concrete breaches have already been categorised.
Government published answers to each of Gandhi's
charges on the 24th of August, and the Congress publish-
ed, in October, a detailed rejoinder to these replies-
These breaches were undoubtedly one cause for Gandhi
refusing to attend the Round Table Conference and
communicating his decision, endorsed by the Working:
Committee, in a telegram addressed to the Viceroy oa
tH6 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
*he 13th of August. It was Mr, Emerson's letter dated
July 30th (vide supra) which really had clinched the
•situation. Not less decisive was the letter from the
•Governor of Bombay dated 10th August. Sir Malcolm
Hailey's telegram, though couched in polite and polished
language, was an equally determining factor. But the
greatest of these was* the adoption of coercive processes
in the collection of taxes in Bardoli. 21 lakhs out of 22
Jakhs was paid and the Congress contended that the
•defaulters were in distress and wanted time. There was
.a sum of about 2 lakhs due to Government by way of
.arrears of previous years, most of which was 'authorised*
-on account of the distress in Gujarat Government set
-about collecting the current dues as well as arrears at
ihe point of Police threats and Police 'zoolum.' It was
•their contention that the Congress should not be the
•body at whose bidding Government revenues should be
paid or withheld. They distinctly wrote in their
•correspondence that such an implication was not contain-
ed in the Agreement much less could it be tolerated by
•Government. Congress was prepared to prove that
Police were requisitioned to overawe the people and in
several cases to exercise undue influence in order to
-collect the extra revenue. After all, the extra revenue
-so collected did not amount even to a lakh of Rupees.
Government's point was that the last word in the
payment of taxes should not rest with the Congress, but
that Government and its authority, Pax Britannica and
British rule, still were there. They wanted to assert and
jprove these. Moneys collected were only token collect-
ions. They did not care for the revenue as such. They
Beared for prestige, that very prestige which was
apostrophised by Montagu in 1912.
There was a second and a very important reason
^rhy Gandhi would not go to England. This was the
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 817"
failure of the Government of India to nominate Doctor
Ansari as a delegate to the Round Table Conference^
Of course, the Congress would have taken him. Besides
being a Congressman; he represented a great Party in*
India, the Nationalist Mussalman Party. The Mussal-
mans were not all reactionary. There was a distinct
group which was nationalistic in mind and plumped for
Puma Swaraj — Afukammal Azadi. But it is an operc
secret that Lord Irwin had made a distinct promise at
the instance of Gandhi to nominate three individuals,
namely, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Mrs. Sarojini
Naidu and Doctor Ansari. While the two former were
nominated, Doctor Ansari was cut out. Lord Willingdon
was in a pitiable position. It was not as if he did not
know what Lord Irwin had committed himself to. But
it suited Britain^ interests to make it appear at the
Round Table Conference that Mussalman India was
against Swaraj. In answer to the demand for the
fulfilment of Lord Irwin 's promise, Lord Willingdon
pleaded that the Mutsalman delegates were opposed to
Doctor Ausari's delegation. Of course, they would be.
If they were not, they would not be Mussalman delegates,
they would be Indian delegates. How could they tole-
rate the selection of Doctor Ansari with his unchalleng-
able position in the country and a vast following and
nationalistic ideals, and with outspoken and vehement
resistance to communalism? The Congress had prepared
a formula on the communal question and it must be
vouched for at the Round Table Conference by a Hindu
and a Mussalman. Government knew it, and apparently
Government wanted to paralyse the Congress by cutting
the Mussalman limb. Gandhi took, under the circum-
stances, the only course open to the Congress consistent .
with national honour and declined to go to London for
the R. T. C.
-.818 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGBESS
Once again preparations were made for the outbreak
of hostilities. All that a Satyagrahi wants to this end
is intimation. There are no material preparations
necessary — such as lathis and man-power as on the side
• of Government. On the popular side, volunteers would
be coming as need presented itself. Of course we must
realise that there is a limit to human endurance and
-even in the Satyagrahic struggle, it is the last man and
the last rupee that tells. Of this, we shall have occasion
to speak later once again. But on the 15th August, it
was all a story of war mentality. No doubt Lord
Willingdon had been adopting an attitude of perfect
politeness, asking Gandhi not to break, advising Gandhi
to approach him, whenever he had any difficulty. But
•Gandhi's approaches were of no avail. The country
was plunged into gloom. Pandit Madan Mohan
Malaviya and Sarojini Devi cancelled their passages by
the Mooltan by which Sapru, Jayakar :ind lyengar left.
-Gandhiji could only explain his position in a simple
; formula: —
"If there was a contract between the Govern-
ment and the Congress, and if there was a dispute
as to the interpretation of the contract, or if there
was a breach on either side, surely the rules
governing all contracts must be applicable to this
contract and, in my opinion, the more so because it
is a contract between a great Government and a
great organisation claiming to represent the whole
Nation. That the contract is not legally enforceable
imposes a double obligation upon the Government
to submit to an impartial tribunal questions in
dispute between the contracting parties, if they
cannot agree. The Government, in their wisdom,
have rejected a very simple and a very natural
suggestion of the Congress, that such matters in
* dispute should be referred to an impartial tribunal."
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 819
Indeed Gandhi never banged the door against peace.
He said he would "dash to London the moment the way
is clear" if only the local authorities implemented the
settlement. He publicly expressed what had all along
been lurking in the minds of every political thinker,
''the great Civilians here do not want me to attend the
Conference, or if they do, they do so under circumstances
which a national organisation like the Congress can
never tolerate." The Civilian element in the country
was sedulously fostering the view that Gandhi wanted
to set up a parallel Government in the shape of the
Congress and that such a subversive institution should
not be tolerated. Accordingly, Gandhi wrote a private
letter to Lord Willingdon as he was leaving Bombay
for Ahmedabad, that it was far from his intention to
eet up a parallel Government with himself as its head,
that he had never insisted upon a Board of Arbitration,
though he claimed it as a matter of right and that all
that he wanted was simple justice- Here is the full
text of the letter:—
"Events have moved so fast that I have not had
the time to acknowledge your very kind personal
letter of July 31.
"I recognise the sincerity running through the
communication, but the latest developments have
made that letter past history and, as I said in my
wire of August 13, the sum-total of all circum-
stances betrays a fundamental difference of outlook
between us.
"I can only give you my assurance that it was
not without the greatest and most anxious delibera-
tion that I came to the conclusion that, in view of
your decision, I could not, consistently with my
obligation here, attend the Round Table Conference.
"I was grieved when I heard that your decision
was affected by the opinion, ascribed to you, that %
had insisted upon a Board of Arbitration and that 1
820 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
was trying to set myself up as the head of a parallel
Government.
"As for a Board of Arbitration, it is true that I
have claimed it as a matter of right, but, if you recall
our conversations, I never insisted upon it. On the
contrary, I told you 'that so long as I got the justice
to which I was entitled I would be quite satisfied.
You will agree that this is wholly different from
insisftdng on a Board of Arbitration.
"As to the alleged parallel Government, I
thought I had dispelled the illusion when, in reply to
a jocular remark by you, I had told you that I did
not claim to be a district officer, but that my
co-workers and I had acted as voluntary Patels or
village headmen, and that too, with the consent and
knowledge of the district officers. I should, therefore^
be sorry if these two opinions, which I submit were
erroneous, had affected your decision.
"The purpose, however, of writing; this letter is
to inquire whether you regard the Delhi Settlement
as now at an end, or whether it is to still continue in
spite of the abstention of the Congress from participa-
tion in the Round Table Conference. The Congress
Working Committee arrived at the following decision
this morning:
'In view of the resolution relating to Congress
non-participation in the Round Table Conference
passed by the Working Committee on August 13,
the Committee desires to make it clear that this resolu-
tion should not be construed as ending the Delhi
Settlement. The Committee, therefore, advises the
Congress organisations and all Congressmen to
continue to comply, until further instructions, with
the terms of the Delhi Settlement in so far as they
are applicable to the Congress/
"From this you will observe >that the Working
Comjmittee has no desire to embarrass the Govern-
ment at the present juncture, and thait, therefore, it
is prepared to continue honourably to work the
settlement; but such working must depend upon a
' reciprocal attitude on the part of the Provincial
Governments.
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 821
"As I have told you so often, through correspond-
ence and in conversations, this reciprocity has
been found to be progressively missing. Information
continues to be received at the office of (the Working
Committee of Government activity which can be only
interpreted ito be a token of a design to crush the
Congress workers and normal Congress activities."
Gandhi concluded the letter with a request for an
early reply and for early relief in the master of complaints
if the settlement was to abide, as otherwise his co-workers
were anxious to have permission at least to adopt
defensive measures. Gandhi did not mind if the
Congress was not accepted by Government as the inter-
mediary between it and the people. He did not want to
embarrass or humiliate the Government, but the fact
remained that it was Government, not the Congress, that
was terminating the truce, through the determined
antagonism of -the Civil Services. Gandhi was not
failing to distinguish essentials from non-essentials. He
was convinced that the Civil Service was not ready to
recognize the right of India to full freedom. "Therefore,
till all the members of that Service are converted," said
Gandhi, "there is no scope for the Congress to enter upon
negotiations for full freedom. It must go through
further suffering, however costly the process may be.
Bardoli, therefore, was for me an acid test. It was
designed to gauge the Civilian temper. Looked at in
that light, it was not a small thing." ^
The publication by Gandhi of the charge-sheet, which
was really authorised by the telegram of the 14th August
from Simla, was regarded by some as a challenge to
Government. Dr. S.apru and Mr. Jayakar wirelessed
from S. S. Mooltan to that effect and added that it
embarrassed them in their negotiations for peace with the
Viceroy and the S. of S. Gandhi was prepared even for a
52
*22 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
unilateral enquiry by an impartial tribunal into the allega-
tions made against the Congress. The Viceroy's reply to
Gandhi's letter was nothing reassuring. He referred to
4'the activities of the Congress during the past five
months" and said they were contrary both to the letter
and the spirit of the Delhi Settlement and had involved
a constant menace to the maintenance of peace, parti-
cularly in U. P. and N. \V. F. Province. His Excellency
held the failure of the Congress to attend the R. T. C.
involved the failure of one of the main objects of the
settlement, but added that "Government would continue
to avoid resort to special measures so far as possible
restricting action to the requirements of the specific
situation." Gandhi warmly reciprocated the Viceroy's
desire to observe the feettlement and issued instructions to
Congressmen for its meticulous observance. He also
wired to the Viceroy for an interview to talk over matters.
This was agreed to, whereupon Gandhi, Vallabhbhai
J. Patel, Jawaharlal and Sir Prabhasankar Pattani, — the
solitary friend who had not rushed up to London in the
Mootian on the 15th August, — met the Viceroy. The
Viceroy held a meeting of the Executive Council. Ulti-
mately, after several hitches, matters were squared up and
Gandhi left Simla by a special train so as to catch the
train on the line which would enable him to sail on the
29th August.
Thus, as a result of conversations between Gandhi and
representatives of the Government of India at Simla, it
was agreed that Gandhi should proceed to London in order
to attend the Round Table Conference, on behalf of the;
'Congress, and Gandhi sailed accordingly on August 29th
from Bombay.
* * * *
The agreement was published by the Government of
India in an official Communique to which were attached
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLE «KENT 82$
letters horn Gandhi to Mr. Emerson, Secretary, Home
Deparment, Government of India, and from Mr. Emerson
to Gandhi. The letters were integral parts of the agree-
ment. The text of the Communique and the letters is
•given below:
OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUE
1. As a result of conversation between His
Excellency the Viceroy and Mr. Gandhi, the Congress
will now be represented by Mr. Gandhi at the Round
Table Conference.
2. The settlement of March 5, 1931, remains
•operative. The Government of India and <the Local
Governments will secure the observance of the
specific provisions of the settlement in those cases,
if any, in which a breach is established and will give
their careful consideration to any presentation that
may be made in this respect. The Congress will
fulfil their obligations under the settlement.
3. In regard to collections of Land Revenue in
the Surat District, the point in issue is whether in
those villages of Bardoli Taluka and Valod Mahal,
which were visited by Revenue officials, accompanied
by a party of Police, during the month of July, 1931,
more severe demands, having regard to their material
•circumstances, were made from revenue payers and
enforced by coercion exercised through the Police,
than were made from and met by revenue payers of
other villages of the Bardoli Taluka. The Govern-
ment of India, in consultation and full agreement
with the Government of Bombay, have decided that
an inquiry shall be held into this issue in accordance
with the following terms of reference: —
"To inquire into the allegations that khetedars
in the villages in question were compelled by means
of coercion exercised through the Police, to pay
revenue in excess of what would have been demanded
if «the standard had been applied, which was adopted
in other villages of the Bardoli Taluka, where
collections were effected after March 5, 1931,
without the assistance of the Police, and to ascer-
tain what sum, if any., was so paid."
824 THE HISTORY OF THB CON GUESS
Within the terms of reference, evidence may be*
produced on any matter in dispute. The Govern-
ment of Bombay have appointed Mr. R. C. Gordon,
I.C.S., Collector, Nasik, to hold the inquiry.
4. In regard 'to other matters hitherto raised
by Congress, the Government of India and the Local
Governments concerned are not prepared to order an
inquiry.
5. In regard to any further matters of
complaint by the Congress, nob coming within the
specific provisions of the settlement, such complaints
will be dealt with in accordance with the ordinary
administrative procedure and practice, and if any
question of an enquiry arises, the decision as to
whether an inquiry shall be held and, if so, the form
it shall take, will be made by the Local Govern-
ment concerned, in accordance with such procedure
and practice.
Letter from Mr. Gandhi to Mr. Emerson: Simlar
August 27, 1931: —
"Dear Mr. Emerson,
I have to acknowledge with thanks your letter
of even date, enclosing a new draft. Sir Cowasji
has kindly also communicated <to me the amendments
suggested by you. My colleagues and I have very
carefully considered the amended draft, which we
are prepared to accept, subject to the following
remarks:
"In paragraph 4, it is not possible for me, on
behalf of the Congress, to subscribe to the position
taken oip by the Government. For, we feel that where,
in the opinion of the Congress, a grievance arising
out of the working of the settlement is not redres-
sed, an inquiry is a necessity of the case, because of
the fact that Civil Disobedience remains under
suspension during the pendency of the Delhi Pact.
But if the Government of India and Local Govern-
ments are not prepared to grant an inquiry, my
colleagues and I have no objection to the clause
remaining. The result will be, that whilst the
Congress will not press for inquiry in regard to "the
other matters hitherto raised," on its behalf, if un-
fortunately any grievance is so acutely felt that it
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 825
becomes a paramount duty of the Congress to seek
some method of relief, in the absence of an inquiry,
in the shape of defensive direct action, the Congress
should be held free to adopt such remedy, not-
withstanding the suspension of Civil Disobedience.
"I need hardly assure the Government that it
would be the constant endeavour of the Congress to
avoid direct action and to gain relief by discussion,
persuasion, and the like. The statement of the
Congress position given here has become necessary
in order to avoid any possible misunderstanding in
the future or a charge of breach of faith on the part
of Congress. In the event of a successful issue to
the present discussions, I assume that the
Communique, this letter and your reply would
be simultaneously published.
Yours Sincerely,
M. K. Gandhi."
Government of India, Home Department, Simla,
August 27, 1931:—
"Dear Mr. Gandhi,
I write to thank you for your letter of to-day's
date, in which you accept the draft Communique
subject to the observations contained in your letter.
The Governor-General-in-Council has noted that it is
not the intention of the Congress to press for any
inquiry into those matters hitherto raised by them,
but that while you give an assurance 'that it will be
the constant endeavour of the Congress to avoid
direct action, and to gain relief by discussion, per-
suasion, and the like, you wish to make clear the
position of the Congress in regard to any future
action that they may decide to take. I am to say
that the Governor-General-in-Council shares your
hope that no resort to direct action will be taken. In
regard to the general position of Government, I am
*to refer you to the letter of His Excellency the
Viceroy, dated August 19, to your address. I am to
say that the Communique, your letter of to-day's
date and this reply will be published simultaneously
by Government.
Yours sincerely,
H. W. Emerson."
826 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
It will be observed that an enquiry was to take place
in Bardoli. Regarding all other existing grievances where
relief was not forthcoming, the Congress had reaffirmed
its right to resort to defensive direct action, notwith-
standing the continuance of the Delhi Agreement. In
regard to future grievances, there might or might not be
an enquiry. Where there was no enquiry and relief was
not given, the Congress might also, if it so choee,.
commence direct action in defence of the people's rights.
Congress Committees and Congressmen werer
however, to bear in mind that the Delhi Agreement
continued and there should be no breach of it on their
part, without reference to the President. Wherever
there was a grievance against the Government or its
officials, every effort should be made to get it remedied
by methods of peaceful persuasion. Where these efforts
failed, the matter must be referred to the President for
his advice and directions.
Some of the existing grievances were mentioned by
Gandhi in a charge-sheet he drew up against Government
and to this the Government replied. All Congress
Committees concerned were asked to consider carefully
the charge and the reply and send their rejoinder to the
latter, to the All-India Congress Committee, Ahmedabad.
All additional and further instances of breaches, as well
as other grievances, were also to be sent immediately to
him.
Gandhi did set sail for London but he had no hopes
of success in spite of his general optimism. He hoped,
however, that Provincial Governments, the Civil Service
and the English mercantile houses would help the
Congress to realise its mission. The action of Gandhi and
of the President in entering into a fresh agreement with
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 827
Government in Simla dated 27th August, was duly
ratified by the Congress Working Committee at its next
meeting held at Ahmedabad on September 11, 1931. One
other important matter disposed of at this meeting of
the Working Committee was relating to Indian collieries
which were to be recommended to all Industrial concerns
Jft this country particularly to Textile Mills, provided
these collieries signed a pledge, much on the lines of the
Textile Mills, sympathising with the aspirations of the
people, and had no less than 75 per cent, of their share
capital as well as directorate held by Indians. There
should* be no foreign interest in the Managing Agent's
Firm. They should assist the propagation of Swadeshi
by regulating their prices and quality aright. The manage*
mcnt should not engage itself in propaganda hostile to
the national movement. Indians should be exclusively
employed, except where special reasons exist. Insurance,.
Banking and Shipping business should be passed only to
Indian Companies. Likewise, auditors, solicitors, shipping
agents, brokers and contractors should all be Indians.
All purchases for business should as far as possible be of
articles of Indian manufacture. Persons connected with
the management should wear Swadeshi cloth and a
satisfactory scale of wages and conditions of work and
life should be secured to the operatives of the mines.
Audited Balance-sheets of mines should be supplied to
the Congress every year.
Before we proceed to the stirring events of October
and November, both in India and in England, let us make
a reference to the voyage of Gandhi and his party*
Gandhi was accompanied by Mahadev Desai, Devadas
Gandhi, Pyarelal and Mira Ben. Mrs. Sarojini was with
him. The kit that they were allowed to take was of the
meagrest description; it was sufficiently meagre on account
of the shortness of notice and of the uncertainty of the
voyage, but made more so on account of the stern looks
828 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
of Gandhi. They had a hearty welcome at Aden, where
the Arabs and the Indians together presented an address
after some difficulty. The Resident would not allow the
national flag to be hoisted at the meeting and the poor
people could not assert themselves until Gandhiji him-
belf cut the Gordian knot by suggesting to Mr. Framroz
Cowasji Dinshaw, the President of the Reception
Committee, that he should phone to the Resident, tell him
that he could not think of receiving an address under those
conditions, that there was a truce between the Govern-
ment of India and the Congress, and the Government must
not resent the flag, if only under the truce. The argument
went home, and the Resident saved an ugly situation by
consenting to the Indian National Flag flying at the place
where Gandhiji received the citizens' address. •(
Replying to the address, and thanking them for the
purse of 328 guineas that was presented to him, Gandhiji
said:—
"I thank you for the honour you have done me.
I know that the honour is not meant for me personally
or for my friends. It is an honour done to the
Congress whom I hope to be able to represent at the
Round Table Conference. I came to know that there
was a hitch in your proceedings on account of the
national flag. Now it is inconceivable for me to find
a meeting of Indians, especially where national
leaders are invited, without the national flag flying
there. You know that many people sustained lathi
blows and some have lost their lives in defending the
honour of the flag, and you cannot honour an Indian
leader without honouring the Indian national flag.
Again there is a settlement between the Government
and the Congress, which is no longer a hostile party
but a friendly party. It is not enough, therefore, to
tolerate or permit the Congress flag, but it must be,
given the place of honour where Congress representa-
tives are invited."
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 829
On board the ship, Gandhi was leading his normal
life as in the Ashram, with prayers, his spinning-wheel
-and his amusements with children. Gandhi is nothing
if he is not a business man as well, and he created a
flutter of surprise one evening when he announced to the
friends gathered that he had sold a shawl worth Rs. 700
for a sum of Rs. 7,000 to a friend on board. Gandhiji
received greetings from Madame Zaglml Pasha and Nahas
Pasha, President of the Wafd Party. The former's was
naturally a very touching message, while the warmth of
the latter can be judged from the text which is published
below: —
•The Great Leader Al Mahatma Gandhi"
'Rajputana.'
"In the name of Egypt who is now fighting for
its liberties and its independence, I welcome in you
the foremost leader of that India who is also
struggling to attain the same end, and I convey to
you my hearty wishes for a j?afe journey and a happy
return. I also ask God to grant to you success in
your quest, — a success equal to the greatness of
your determination. I hope to have the pleasure of
meeting you on your homeward journey, and trust
t-hat the land of the Pharoahs will then be favoured
by your visit, thus enabling the Wafd and the
Egyptian Nation at large to express to you, what-
ever be the result of your journey, both their apprecia-
tion of your noble achievements to promote the
welfare of your country, and their reverence for the
greatness of the sacrifice made by you in support of
your principles. May God prolong your life, and
crown your endeavours with a victory far-reaching
and abiding. Our representatives, both at Suez and
at Port Said, will have the honour of conveying to
you by word of mouth our welcome and our best
wishes.
Mustafa El Nahas Pasha,
President of the Wafd."
830 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
The Egyptian deputations were not accorded permis-
sion to see Gandhi at Port Said, but the Indian deputation
was permitted to see him at Cairo. It was with great
difficulty that a single representative of Nahas Pasha'
could get permission to see him. It was when he was
approaching Marseilles that he made his budget, "not for
one but for many."
When Gandhi reached Marseilles, a warm welcome
was awaiting him at the hands of Mademoiselle
Madeleine Holland, the sister of Romain Holland who
was unable to be present in person on account of ill-health.
She was accompanied by Monsieur Privat and his good
wife. M. Privat is the Swiss professor who has become
famous by the Government of India describing him
later in the 1932-33 movement, as "an obscure and
unknown member of the teaching profession." He was
also greeted by a number of Frencli students. Gandhi
stayed in London in Kingsley Hall in East End with
Miss Muriel Lester "in the midst of noisy public houses
and destitute and squalid private houses." Numerous
invitations were awaiting him in London and still more
numerous were the invitations to spend a quiet week-end
in country places. One friend enclosed a cheque for 50
pounds on reading in The Times that morning a report
of the address delivered by Gandhi at the Frieads'
Meeting House in Euston Road, and the message broad-
cast to New York from Kingsley Hall.
Gandhi preferred in London the East End to the
West End, the hospitality of Miss Muriel Lester against
that of the British Government, the company of the poor
in opposition to that of the wealthy. 'Unclei Gandhi/ bare
of foot except for his Indian sandals, bare of shirt except
for his chadar, was the popular figure round whom
gathered the children of East End every morning. Gandhi
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 831
and his evening prayers, Gandhi the guest alike of Lanca-
shire labourers, and of Bishops and Archbishops, Gandhi
and his famous visit in his usual dress to His Majesty the
King — all these are aspects which do not directly concern
this work, but which are of perennial interest to the
Indians to whom life is one and indivisible, and is
incapable of being vivisected into the various compart-
ments which have now become almost traditional
Gandhi at the R. T. C. is the figure that must arrest
our attention now. His speech at the Federal Structure
Committee is a fitting introduction to the rest of his
speeches in London at the Conference table. He gave a
terse but comprehensive summary of the Congress, ite
history, its composition, its outlook, its methods and its
object, which we have made virtually the Introduction to
this humble book. He paid a tribute to Mr. A. O. Hume
who had assisted at the birth of the Congress and nursed*
it. He pointed out the fundamental differences between
the Government and the Congress, between the Congress
and other parties; he road out the Karachi resolution and
explained it briefly. He pointed out how the Premier's
statement fell short of the Indian ideal pictured by the
three beams of Central Responsibility, Federation, and
Safeguards in Indian interests. He dwelt upon the
supreme need of the hour, which was not merely a political
constitution but a scheme of partnership between two
equal nations, and contrasted his former position of a
British subject with his 'present' position of a 'Rebel' —
contrasted really the Empire Ideal with that of the
Commonwealth. He quoted the parallel of business
changing hands and spoke of stock-taking between the
out-going and the in-coming partners, and finally assured
that we were not interlopers in the domestic crisis of
England, for it was only if England held India not by
£32 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
force but by the silken cord of love, that India herself
could help England in balancing her budget.
Speaking at the Minorities Committee, Gandhi gave
expression to some home truths. He cleared the situa-
tion of much of its fog by declaring in unambiguous
language that the different Communities were encouraged
to press, with all the vehemence at their command, their
own respective views, and pointed out that this question
was not the fulcrum, but the central fact was constitu-
tion-building. He asked whether it was to settle the
communal question that the delegates were brought 6,000
miles from their homes. They were invited to London to
have the satisfaction, before they went away, of having
built up an honourable and practicable framework for the
freedom of India, which would await only the imprimatur
of the approval of Parliament. He twitted Sir Hubert
Carr in respect of his Minorities' Scheme saying that he
would not deprive him and hi? associates of tho feeling ol
satisfaction that evidently actuated them, but, in his
opinion, what they had done was to dissect a carcase.
Apparently Government's scheme was only a scheme for
Indians sharing power with the bureaucracy, not one
designed to achieve Responsible Government. "I wish
them well and the Congress is entirely out of it. The
Congress will wander," said he, "no matter how many
years, in the wilderness, rather than bend itself to a
proposal under which the hardy tree of freedom and
Responsible Government can never grow." Finally he
concluded with that mighty vow which nearly cost his
life a little while later. "One word more as to the so-called
'untouchables' " said he, "I can understand the claims
advanced on behalf of other communities, but the claims
advanced on behalf of the 'untouchables' are to me the
unkindest cut of all. It means a perpetual bar sinister.
We do not want the 'untouchables' to be classified as a
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 833-
separate class. Sikhs may remain such in perpetuity, so
may Muslims and Christians. Will the untouchables
remain untouchables in perpetuity? I would far rather
that Hinduism died than that untouchability lived. Those
who speak of the political rights of untouchables do not
know India and do not know how Indian society is
constructed. Therefore, I want to say with all the
emphasis 1 can command that if I was the only person to
resist this tiling, I will resist it with my life." On the
suggested arbitration by the Premier, Gandhi was not un-
willing to such a course provided it related only to the
Muslims and Sikh?. He would not be a party to the
separate representation of other communities. The
Premier asked a plain question on this subject: "Will you.
each of you, every member of the Committee, sign a
request to me, to settle the community question and
pledge yourself to accept my decision? That, I think, is
a very fair offer." It mil be remembered that when the
decision of the Premier was finally published sometime in
June, 1932. the question arose whether it was a Govern-
mental decision on a par with the rest of the proposals of
the White Paper, or whether it was the Premier's Award.
The members of the Bound Table Conference not having:
all signed such a request, there could be no award and.
therefore, the* decision was only a proposal and could not
be regarded as sacrosanct.
By the 18th of November, 1931, the Cabinet was fed
up with the Round Table Conference. Lord Sankey
brought a fresh surprise from the Premier that day in
announcing the latter's intention to wind up the
Committee after the speeches, and summoning the plenary
session next week. Mr. Benn speaking for the
Opposition protested, pointing out that Government were
killing the Conference. Sir Samuel Hoare suggested that
they had better face the facts and realise that in the
$34 THE HISTORY OF THE CONCBESS
circumstances it would be better to bring the chapter to
a close and await the Premier's Statement regarding the
machinery to be set up anew. The Army question was
being debated and Gandhi made some more plain state-
ments on the subject. Before doing so, he declared his
intention to wait in England if necessary, as he had gone
to London to explore every possible avenue to achieve an
honourable settlement. The Congress, he asserted, was
capable of shouldering all responsibilites that flow from
Responsible Government, i.e., from a complete control of
Defence and External Affairs with of course necessary
adjustments. The Army, he pointed out, was really an
army of occupation and its members, no matter to what
race they belonged, were all foreigners, because he could
not speak to them, they could not approach him openly,
and they were taught to regard Congressmen as other
than their own countrymen. "There is an absolute wall
between them and us," said Gandhi. "The British Army,"
he said "was there for the defence of the British interests,
for resisting foreign aggression and putting down internal
revolt." In fact, these were the purposes of the whole
Army. But the British Army was there to hold the
balance evenly. The whole Army must pass under
Indian control in its entirety. "But the Army would not
accept my command," said Gandhi, "nor ther Conunander-
in-Chief, nor the Sikhs nor the Rajputs. But I expect
even so to exercise that command with the good will of
the British people. The British troops may also be told
that they are there to protect, not British interests but
India against foreign aggression." All this, Gandhi said,
was only his dream.. He knew that he could not infect
the British statesmen or public with the idea or with the
ideal that this dream should be their cherished mission,
and until that is realized he would wait till eternity, if
he could not get control of the Defence. India knew bow
to defend herself. Mussalmans and Gurkhas, Sikhs and
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 83S
Rajputs can defend India. The Rajputs are responsible
for a thousand victories, not one.
The fact is that Gandhi had faith in Englishmen
some day doing their duty, and said, "we must infect
the British with that love for India. If the British people
think that we shall require a century before that can be
done, then for that century the Congress will wander
through that terrible fiery ordeal; it must go through that
jstorm of distress, of misrepresentation and, — if it
becomes necessary and if it is God's will, — a shower of
bullets." He spoke of the safeguards and said that
although they were stated to be in the interests of India,
yet he would reciprocate Lord Irwin's statement who used
Gandhi's name and said that Gandhi also admitted that
they must be in the mutual interests of India and
England. "I endorse," said Gandhi, "that I do not
conceive of a single safeguard that will be only in the
interests of India, not a single safeguard that will not be
also in the interests of Britain, provided that we contem-
plate a partnership, a partnership at will and a partner-
ship on absolutely equal terms." Speaking at the plenary
session of the Conference, Gandhi made plain to the
people assembled, that he was under no delusion that
liberty could be obtained by argumentation or even by
negotiation. But he felt called upon to point out how,
after having declared that no decisions would be taken by
the test of majority at the Conference or at the
Committee, the conveners jotted down opinions of a
large majority in report after report of such committees,
and did not even mention the name of the 'one'
dissenting. Who was that 'one'? Was the Congress one of
the many parties there? He had already claimed that it
represented 85 per cent, of the population. Now he
would claim by right of service, it claimed to represent
even the Princes, the landed gentry and the educated
836 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
classes. All other delegates represented sectional interests*
The Congress was the one body which hud no communal-
ism about it. It had its platform as a universal one,
recognising no distinction of race, colour or religion. It
had an exalted creed to which it may be that people
could not come up, but the Congress was a daily growing
organisation reaching the remotest villages. Yet it wa^
being treated as one of the parties, but let it be
remembered that it was the only body that could deliver
the goods, being bereft of all commi'nal bias. Some
people were feeling that it was trying to run a parallel
Government. Well would he endorse the charge, if it
could be run by non-violence, eschewing the dagger of
the assassin, the poison bowl, the bullet and the spear,
A damaging reference had been made to the Calcutta
Corporation, but it was only fair to the Mayor, who, when
called upon by the Congress to explain, owned up the
mistake and made handsome reparation in regard to the
policy of violence. The Congress stood not for violence
but for non-violence. Hence its Civil Disobedience move-
ment. Even this was not tolerated. But no one could resist
it. General Smuts himself could not. What was
resisted in 1908, had to be yielded in 1914
Civil Disobedience succeeded in Borsad and Bardoli.
Lord Chelmsford had recognised it. There were
a few men in England like Professor Gilbert Murray
who would ask Gandhi not to think that Englishmen did
not suffer when Indians suffered. Lord Irwin tried to
govern India by his Ordinances. He failed. "Whilst
there is yet a little sand left in the glass," said Gandhi,
"I want you to understand what the Congress stands for.
It stands for liberty, call it by whatever name you will."
The difficulty that Gandhi felt was that there was not one
mind and one definition of any idea recognized by the
Conference. When words have different meanings and1
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 837
different implications to different people, no agreement
could be possible.
A friend had drawn his attention to the Statute of
Westminster and asked whether he had noted the defini-
tion of the word 'Dominion.' ' Yes,' he did. The Dominion*
were enumerated but not defined. They could not adopt
even the earlier definition of 1926 which was to the effect
that "Dominions are autonomous communities within the
British Empire equal in Status, in no way subordinate
one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external
affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the
Crown and freely associated as members of the British
Commonwealth of Nations." Egypt was not there.
Gandhi felt relieved because he was out of it. He wanted
Complete Independence. An English statesman had told
him that he did not know what Gandhi meant by
Complete Independence. Partnership with England? Yes;
partnership for mutual benefit. Gandhi only craved for
friendship. A Nation of 350 million people does not need
the dagger of the assassin, the poison bowl, the sword, the
spear or the bullet. It needs simply a will of its own, an
ability to say 'no7 and the Nation is to-day learning to
say 'no/
He then dwelt upon safeguards and pointed out ho?f
he had been informed by three experts that no respon-
sible Minister could carry on administration when 80
per cent, of the resources are irretrievably mortgaged. He
was not asking for the protection of the illegitimate
interests of India. He would not allow the safeguards
in Indian interests to be prejudicial to English interest*,.
Even Mr. Jayakar and he did not agree on these safe-
guards; much less could Sir Samuel Hoare and himself.
"India," he added, "survived many problems, the
problems of plague and malaria, of snakes and scorpion*
S3
858 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
and tigers. It will not be baffled. For heaven's sake,
give me, a frail man 62 years gone, a little bit of
chance. Find a little corner for him and the organisation
that he represents. You distrust that organisation,
though you may seemingly trust me. Do not for one
moment differentiate me from the organisation of which
I am but a drop in the ocean. I am no greater than the
organisation to which I belong. I am infinitely smaller
than that organisation, and if you find me a place, if
you trust me, I invite you to trust the Congress also.
Your trust in me otherwise is a broken reed. I have no
authority save what I derive from the Congress. If you
will work the Congress for all it is worth, then you will
cay, good-bye to terrorism, then you will not need
terrorism. To-day you have to fight the school of
terrorists which is there, with your disciplined and
organised terrorism, because you will be blind to the
facts or the writing on the wall. Will you not see the
writing that these terrorists are writing with their blood,
will you not see that we do not want bread made of wheat,
bu we want the bread of liberty, and without that
liberty, there are thousands to-day who are sworn not
to give themselves peace or to give the country peace."
When the Conference concluded on the 1st of Decem-
ber, Gandhi proposed a vote of thanks to the Chair and
pointed out that they had come to the parting of ways
and their ways would take different directions, — the
dignity of human nature, he said, required that we must
face the storms of life. "I do not know in what directions
my path would lie, but it does not matter to me. Even
though I may have to go in an exactly opposite direction,
you are still entitled to a vote of thanks from the bottom
of my heart." With these ominous words did he bid
good-bye jto the Round Table Conference. The position
ihen was that one of the conditions on which the Congress
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 839
agreed to participate in the R. T. C., the abandonment of
jstark repression, was altogether broken. Gandhi was
.greatly worried by the ugly situation developing in
Bengal and II. P., as he considered that the sanctioning
>of the repressive policy in India was wholly inconsistent
with the desire expressed in London to part with power
and give India freedom.
When Gandhi had left for the Round Table Con-
ference, there was the understanding that an enquiry
should be held into the allegations of Police excesses in
connection with the collection of Revenue in Bardoli.
Mr. R. G. Gordon, I.C.S., was appointed special officer,
with powers under the Land Revenue Code, within the
District of Surat for the purpose of the Bardoli inquiry,
which commenced on the 5th of October '31. Mr. Bhula-
•bhai Desai and Sirdar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Congress
President, were present, the former of whom repre-
sented the Congress. At the very outset, the Govern-
ment Pleader objected saying that Mr. Desai's appear-
ance was unauthorised and irregular, find argued that
the Congress by its Constitution could only appoint a
legal representative at a special session of the Congress,
toy a resolution duly passed. The objection was over-
Tuled. It was agreed by both sides that the people
should pay Revenue to the utmost of their capacity.
They must even borrow and pay if they were not
amongst the Satyagrahis that had suffered substantially.
Mr. Desai quoted various letters, articles and telegrams,
•amongst which there was a telegram from Bardoli that
•*Rayam' village was raided by the Collector accompanied
T)y 15 policemen. Also the villages of Timberva, Raja-
pure, Lambha, Managpore, Navafaly, of Valod Godhe,
Alghod and Jamania. The inquiry proceeded some
Jength, Then the Congress asked for all orders of the
840 THE HISTOBY OF THE OONGPESS
Government of India and the Government of Bombay
which had been issued between March 5th and August
28th, because they "would and must throw considerable
light on the question of standard which is referred to in
the agreement." Mr. Gordon was unable to see whjr
Government should be asked to produce evidence to
prove things for them. "Presumably before the Con-
gress made these allegations," he said, "they were in full
possession of the material upon which they were based,
and it was for them to produce their materials and to
prove their case." The inquiry officer said that if there
was any definite order of Government to which Congress
desired to refer, that was a different matter. Thereupon
the Congress stated the reasons for asking for the papers
desired by them and they indicated the nature of the-
documents in the possession of the opponents. Mr. Gordon-
passed the order on 12-11-31: "It is impossible to agree
to the vague and unreasonable demands made in the
reference now in question." Mr. Desai objected to this
order which presumed that the decision of the Congress
to ask for the production of Government records was
made at that late stage in order to fill up a large hiatus
discovered in their own evidence, and felt that it was a
clear indication to the Congress as to the spirit in which
the opponents intend to co-operate in an inquiry intended
for ascertainment of essential facts, and also an indica-
tion as to their desire to act for 'public good.' "And
having regard to that spirit, I am the more fortified in
the conclusion to which I have regretfully come." "The-
if end of the enquiry has appeared to be hostile and one-
sided," wrote Vallabhbhai in his Manifesto to the farmers,
"but I was prepared to go to the end until our Counsel*
was satisfied that further prosecution of the enquiry was
futile." In fact, the refusal to produce papers in the-
possession of the Government removed ther one salutary-
check on the cross-examination of Government witnesses,,
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 841
and it was realised that "such mutilated inquiry was
-worse than useless." Accordingly, Vallp.bhbhai withdrew
from the inquiry and sent the following Cable to London
to Gandhi on 13th November, '31: —
"Examined 62 Khatedars and 71 witnesses be-
longing to the seven out of the eleven villages allow-
ed. Five villages disallowed as not falling within
the terms of reference. After imi>ortant admissions
in part cross-examination of the Mamlatdar, first
Government witness, inquiry officer held we were
not entitled to production and inspection of Govern-
ment documents of any kind relating to the issues
in the inquiry. Trend of inquiry distinctly hostile
and one-sided. In agreement with Bhulabhai, with-
drew from inquiry to-day. Yallabhbhai.'1
Tn the U-P., a situation of first cla^ importance was
•developing, which ultimately shaped the destiny, it may
be said, of Indian politics for the next few years. The
agrarian condition of the tenants in the U.P.. mostly of
those under Talukdars and Zamindars, was anything but
•enviable. Their distress was appalling. There was no
relaxation shown in the methods of collecting rents. The
intermediaries had neither the sense of responsibility
that animates a Government, nor did they understand
the pinch of depression which was oppressing the poor
•cultivators. They were middlemen, h:\ppily situated,
•secure in the protection afforded by a benevolent
'Government, free from the cares and worries of labour,
and always invoking the interference of the authorities on
•grounds of sedition, Non-co-operation, lawlessness and
anarchy, of any friends of the ryot and public men who
'chose to plead his cause. It is one of the tragedies of
life in India that whatever service is rendered to the
•dumb millions, especially in administrative and political
matters, should be through the agency of Congressmen,
lor, other schools of thought, while they argue for the
842 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGEESS
ryot and sincerely sympathise with his causes, do not
descend to the plane of action. Accordingly the Con-
gressmen in the U.P., were all marked and made the-
victims of the wrath of the Zamindars and Talukdarsr
with the active support of Government. The corres-
pondence about the agrarian crisis in the United Pro-
vinces relating to the months of October, November and
December 1931 has been published and is very interest-
ing, but too big to be published here. A short but
sufficiently detailed summary however is included in the
publication by way of Toreward' to an official publi-
cation.
Immediately after the Delhi Settlement, the United"
Provinces Provincial Congress Committee put themselves
in touch with the Provincial Government. A large
number of letters were exchanged. Pandit Govind
Ballabh Pant was specially appointed by the Provincial
Congress Committee to bring to the notice of Govern-
ment the various grievances of the people and to put
before them the view-point of the Congress. The con-
tinuing agrarian crisis particularly occupied the attention
of the Provincial Congress Committee, and the corres-
pondence largely dealt with this. Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru also wrote frequently to the Local Government.
Both Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant and Pandit Jawa-
harlal Nehru had several interviews with the Chief Secre-
tary and other officials. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru also
sought an interview on two occasions with His Excellency
Sir Malcolm Hailey but this could not be arranged.
Gandhi interested himself in the United Provinces agra-
rian crisis, and besides writing to the officials of the
Government of India and the Local Government, inter-
viewed Sir Malcolm Hailey.
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 813
The condition of the United Provinces peasantry
became progressively worse during the months that
followed the Delhi Settlement. Inadequacy of remis-
sions, in spite of the heavy fall in prices, resulted in
great distress and this was intensified by large numbers
of ejectments and coercive processes. In many rural
areas the tenantry were subjected to a reign of terror and
atrocities were perpetrated on them. The United Pro-
vinces Provincial Congress Committee appointed several
Enquiry Committees to visit the affected districts and
to report on the prevailing agrarian conditions and the
distress. These reports, supported by evidence taken on
the r.not, were then considered by a special Provincial
Agrarian Enquiry Committee. The reports of this
Special Committee, known as the Pant Committee, was
published in September 1931.
Meanwhile attempts continued to be made by
Gandhi and the United Provinces Provincial Congress
Committee to obtain relief for the unhappy and suffer-
ing peasants. In the Simla conversations between
Ganuhiji and the Government of India in August, 1931,
the United Provinces agrarian crisis was specially con-
sidered and it was pointed out by Gandhiji that failing
relief the peasantry would be entitled to defensive direct
action or Satyagraha. In the letter dated August 27,
1931, addressed by Gandhi to Mr. Emerson, Home Secre-
tary to the Government of India, which formed an
integral part of the Simla Agreement, it was expressly
mentioned that "if unfortunately any grievance is so
acutely felt that it becomes a paramount duty of the
Congress to seek some method of relief, in the absence
of an enquiry, in the shape of defensive direct action,
the Congress should be held free to adopt such remedy,
notwithstanding the suspension of Civil Disobedience/*
844 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
This statement of the position of the Congress was noted
in the reply of Mr. Emerson to Gandhi, dated August 27.
It may be added that the President of the Congress,
Sirdar Vallabhbhai Patel, addressed the Government
of India on several occasions on the United Provinces
agrarian crisis.
It will thus be seen that the Congress in the United
Provinces did everything in their power to co-operate
with the Government in finding a solution of the agra-
rian problem. Related letters were sent after the
Simla Agreement but no relief was forthcoming for the
ejected tenants and others, and coercive processes and
enforced collections, often accompanied by physical
violence, continued long after the usual period for
collections.
Before any satisfactory solution was found for the
last season's difficulties and ejectments, a new situation
arose with the beginning of the new Fasli year 1339
when the question of fresh collections had to be con-
sidered. The peasantry, exhausted and worn out by a
continuous struggle against heavy odds, had to face a
repetition of this. The remissions announced by the
Local Government were considered wholly inadequate
and no arrangements were made for the ejected tenants
or for the arrears or for local calamities. On the top
of this came the official announcement in many districts
that if the full rent as demanded was not paid within a
month, even the remissions sanctioned might be with-
drawn. Further, it was stated that the tenants could
only raise any objections after they had paid up the
rent demanded. These announcements brought about an
immediate crisis. It has to be borne, in mind that in
THE BRfiACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 845
fixing the remissions neither the Congress nor any other
representative of the tenants was consulted.
The Allahabad District Congress Committee raised
the issue immediately after the official announcements
were made, and pointed out that it was not possible for
the peasantry to pay the amounts demanded. Most other
districts were in the same or in a worse position. The
Local Government was again approached and it was
pointed out how unfairly the tenants were being treated
in regard to remissions, ejectments, arrears and local
calamities. A Conference was arranged between some
local officials and the Settlement Commissioner on the one
hand and Congress representatives on the other, in order
to discuss specially the case of Allahabad District as
exemplifying most districts in the United Provinces.
This Conference proved ineffective, as it was stated on
behalf of Government that they were not prepared
to discuss any of the vital matters in issue. They could
only discuss the application of the rules already laid
down by them. The crux of the problem was thus not
touched.
During the last months repeated attempts were made
on behalf of the United Provinces Provincial Congress
•Committee to arrange a Conference with representatives
of the Local Government who would be in a position to
discuss all the aspects of the problem. The Provincial
Congress Committee appointed a special committee with
full powers to negotiate with Government. These
attempts did not succeed either.
In the course of the correspondence it was made
clear on behalf of the Congress that they were prepared
to accept any solution, however arrived at, provided it
sufficient relief to the peasantry. When the time
846 THE HISTORY OF THE OONQBB8S
for collections came, advice was repeatedly sought by
the tenants as to what they should do. The United
Provinces Congress Committee wished to take no steps
to put an end to negotiations which might result in a
settlement. At the same time, they could not remain
silent when advice was sought and they could not advise
payment of a demand which, they were convinced, was
grossly unfair and likely to ruin the peasantry whom
they represented. The Congress thereupon, after obtain-
ing permission therefor from the President of the All-
India Congress Committee, advised the peasantry to
withhold payment of rent and revenue temporarily,
pending negotiations. They made it clear, however,
that they were ready and willing to negotiate and, as
soon as relief was given, to vary their advice. They
further suggested to the Government that they would
withdraw their advice as to withholding payment if
Government would suspend collections while negotiations
were going on. The suggestion was not accepted by
Government who wanted the advice to be withdrawn
first. The United Provinces Provincial Congress Com-
mittee had no alternative left but to repeat its advice to
the peasantry to withhold payment. In spite of these
developments, the Provincial Congress Committee adher-
ed to the position that it was prepared to explore all
avenues leading to a settlement and to withdraw its
advice regarding non-payment as soon as sufficient
relief was in sight or collections were suspended. Govern-
ment's view was to meet popular reprepentatives at a
Conference only if, as they called it, the No-tax
campaign was suspended. But on their own part they
had put into prison hundreds of Congressmen 'sharp
shooting,' so to speak, all tall poppies and all earnest
workers — a policy which culminated in the arrest of
Jawaharlal and Sherwani and Purshottamdas Tandon &•
days before the arrival of Gandhi from England. As ft.
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 847"
matter of fact, Jawaharlal and Sherwani had been,
served notices that they should not leave their places.
Jawaharlal soon after had attended a meeting of the
Working Committee on the eve of Gandhi's return to*
Bombay. He could not possibly obey this order as-
against the imperious, public calls on his time and per-
sonal presence at various important meetings, and when*
he broke the order, he was arrested and so was Sherwani
and both were subsequently sentenced for breach of
Internment orders.
Then there was- the third centre of strife in Bengal.
During the period of truce, atrocious scenes were
enacted- They were probably meant as reprisals against
the terrorist outrages in the district. A non-official
Committee of Enquiry was appointed or. the happenings
in the town and district of Chittagong on August 31,
1931, and the three subsequent days. Certain non-
official Europeans and hooligans broke at night into the-
premises of a Printing Press and with*huge hammers and4
iron rods broke the machinery and belaboured the-
manager and others connected with the Press. The
Working Committee having considered the report on
the 27th, 28th and 29th November 1931 at Delhi, record-
ed "its severe condemnation of the local Police and
Magistracy wlio, with the assistance of certain non-
official Europeans and hooligans, inflicted terrible losses
and indignities on innocent people in pursuance of a
policy of terrorization." The Committee noted with-
satisfaction that there was no communal strife in Chitta-
gong in spite of deliberate efforts to create one by the-
employment of hooligans whose activities were intended!
to give the occurrence a communal colour. The Com-
mittee was of opinion that "the least that the Govern-
ment of Bengal should do was to compensate those who*
had suffered and to punish all those whose responsibility-
'848 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
for the incidents was established." While the people
-outside the Jails were being thus victimized by the
'Black and Tan' methods of Bengal, those inside jails
-and detention camps were being subjected to even more
•severe treatment. The tragedy which had occurred in
the Hijli detention camp for detenus resulted in the
death of two and in injury to 20 detenus. The Working
Committee "while awaiting the report of the com-
mission of enquiry appointed by the Government,"
felt that "the Government were specially responsible for
the lives and well-being of unarmed men detained in
> custody by Government without trial, against whose
detention the Nation had for long protested; and the
callous disregard of this fundamental duty must be met
with punishment of those who were guilty." It was at
this same meeting that the U-P. situation was considered
and the Working Committee expressed the opinion that
the question of defensive action should first be con-
.sidered by the U.P. P.C.C., before permission could be
.granted, as asked 'for by the Allahabid District Con-
gress Committee, "to offer Satyagraha as against the
present agrarian policy of the U.P. Government, and in
particular the oppressive collection of lent and revenue
at a time when the agriculturists were unable to pay on
.account of acute economic depression." The Committee
accordingly referred the application to the U.P-P.C.C.
rand in the event of its being of opinion that the case
#as a fit one for defensive Satyagraha on the part of the
agriculturists in terms of the Simla Agreement dated
August 27th, 1931, the Committee authorised the Presi-
dent of the Congress to consider the application and to
.give such decision on it as he may consider necessary.
Incidentally we may add that the Working Com-
mittee at this very meeting protested against the pro-*
posal to impose an additional duty on Salt as a breach
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 849*
of faith by the Government of India re. the implications
of the Delhi Settlement. It passed another resolution
regarding Currency and Exchange policy. It will be
remembered that on September 21, the Bank of England'
took a three-day holiday in view of the shortage of its
gold, and England went off the Gold Standard. The
problem at issue was whether the Indian rupee was to
be tied down to the coat tails of the pound sterling or
whether it should be left to find its own level in terms
of gold. The former course which was adopted by
Government was conceived solely in the interests of
England so as to provide inter alia a back-door pre-
ference for Britain's imports into India, and deplete the
gold resources of the Indians. A resolution was passed'
to this effect.
There was a fourth fire kindled by Government at
the Northern gateway of India- The Khudai Khidmat-
gars have figured already in the history of India as well
as in these pages. They are a splendid lot, — these
Frontier men who had been brought together and drilled
and disciplined for national Non-co-operation. There
were over a lakh of these who were Working under the
guidance and inspiration of Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan
Saheb. These Khudai Khidmatgars were till the month
of August unattached to the Congress. Gandhi had,
ever since the truce, been striving to obtain permission
to go to the Frontier and study the organisation which
•had given such a wonderful account of itself. He had
asked Lord Irwin for permission in this behalf but they
•said 'not yet/ The same answer was being repeated
throughout the year and so he had sent Davadas Gandhi
to the Frontier Province, and this young friend produced
a marvellous Report which was considered by the Work-
ing Committee, and a great ' achievement was wrotight
"wlien the Khudai Khidmatgars were made a part of the-
:850 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Congress organisation. With this culminating act, the
organisation should have been above all suspicion but
Government were not willing to allow a seemingly semi-
military organisation — albeit they were Congress volun-
teers— with band and bugle, dressed cap-a-pie in red
Tobes and owning allegiance to a towering personality
who, by his character, humanity, sacrifices and services,
had already earned the title of Frontier Gandhi and
been fast becoming the observed of all observers:, the
cynosure of all eyes. Who knows, beneath his meek
countenance and Satyagrahi looks, there might not be
a deep design to set up a buffer State on the Frontier,
to contract an alliance with the Amir, to befriend the
Tribes on the Frontier, and to lead an expedition into
India? A lakh of red robed army — Pathans all. They
were not to be trusted. And so, on the pretext that
Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan did not co-operate with
Government because he did not care to attend a Durbar
rJbeld by the Chief Commissioner of the N.W.F. Pro-
vince and preached Complete Independence, the innocent
iKhan Saheb and his devoted and equally innocent
brother, Dr. Khan Saheb, were put into prison just a
few days before Gandhi's return to India in 1931. Thus,
by the time Gandhi returned to India, a pretty mess
was created. In Gujarat the enquiry into excesses which
was promised to Gandhi and on the promise of which
lie had left for London, proved abortive on the 13th
November. Let it be noted that it wa? not an impetu-
ous and explosive Vallabhbhai that resiled from the
enquiry in a fit of disgust, but it was the sober and
aedate Bhulabhai that withdrew after due deliberation.
In U.P. the partial relief that was given by the landlords
.through the influence and intervention of Government
Teas inadequate and unsatisfactory and Government
•would not meet popular representatives unless they ate
.the humble pie and withdrew their injunction advising
THE BREACH OF THE SETTLEMENT 851
suspension of rent. The situation that was thus deve-
loped led to the arrest, as already mentioned, of Jawa-
harlal and Sherwani, five days before Gandhi's return,
and although the news was wirelessed to the steamer on
which Gandhi was sailing home, it was withheld from him.
Gaffar Khan and his brother and son were detained as
State prisoners from the N.W.F. Province. The Bengal
situation did not consist of one occurrence or one event,
although the happenings at Chittagong and Hijli con-
stituted two such, but one festering sore that had been
left open for long and appeared to be destined to remain
open and raw for an unlimited length of time.
It was in the midst of such a situation that Gandhi
returned to Bombay on the morning of the 28th
December, 1931.
S.irojmi N:ndu
1925 : C awn pore
S Srmivasa lyengar
1926 • (iuahati
Dr. Ansari
1927: Madras
Jawharlal Nehru
1929 : Lahore
Part VI
SYNOPSIS
CHAPTER I
BACK TO THE WILDERNESS
Meeting at Azad Maidan — Gandhi's Vow repeated
— Gandhi studying the Situation — Telegrams between
Gandhi and the Viceroy — Working Committee Resolu-
tions— BenthaU's Circular — Government preparations for
renewed hostilities — Emergency Powers Ordinance — •
Intensive fight — Political Conferences — Fate of Ashrams
— In Bihar — In Andhra — In Bengal — In Bombay — In
C. P. — In Delhi — In Gujarat — In Kamataka — In Kerala
— In N. W. F. — In Sindh — In Tamil Nadu — Events in
Bengal, Gujarat and Kamataka in 1933.
CHAPTER II.
FROM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY
Gandhi's fast to death — The Poona Pact — Poona
Pact accepted — The Message of Freedom — Meaning of
Fasting — Gandhi applies the reins — Wide response to*
Gandhi's call for Harijan uplift — Gandhi once more &
prisoner — Gandhi allowed to carry on UntoucMbitity
Propaganda — Gandhi's Vow at the Minorities Commit*
tee — Gandhi's Letter to Sir Samuel Hoasre — Separate
Electorates harmful — "Shall fast unto death" — Govern-
ment Terrorism — An article of faith — Sir S. Hoards reply
— Terrorism necessary — Gandhiji's Letter to Prime"
Minister — Decision to Fast — "Not to compass release" —
54
854 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGBESS
Premier's Reply— Government decision explained— Safe-
guards temporary — Reservation minimum — Government
decision stands — Final reply to Gandhi — Decision un-
changed—Gandhi's Letter to Bombay Government— "The
dream of my life" — A cry for justice — Fight for humanity
— Issue suppressing Swaraj — The Yeravada Pact — Other
Fasts — The Poet's Verdict — The Poet's change of view
— Rajendra Babu issues Statement — The Calcutta Ses-
sion held under ban — Resolutions — Gandhi's 21 days'
fast — Gandhi contemplates march to Ras — Arrest and
release — Re-arrest — The Bihar Earthquake — Jawaharlal's
arrest and imprisonment — Council-entry programme.
CHAPTER III
MARKING TIME
Suspension of Civil Resistance — The Paina Deci-
sion—The Working Committee at Patna—The Socialist
Party — Government ban and Congress reorganisation —
Wardhcb and Bombay decision — Sirdar Vallabhbhais
release — Benares meeting of the Working Committee—'
Jawaharlal's release and Re-arrest — The Nationalist
Party — Release of Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan — Last
meeting of Working Committee — Gandhi's withdrawal
from Congress — Details regarding 21 days' fast —
.Self-purification — "There must be will behind fast" — A
pleasant surprise-^-Gandhi's • Statement — Interrupted
thread — "I shall not abuse release" — Vallabhbhai PateVs
<care for Gandhi — No room for smallness — "Not a party
"to cat and mouse game" — Referendum at Guruvayoor—
Gandhi's Letter to Dr. Ansari — Gckndhi's Statement —
Congress reorganisation — Reply to critics — A substitute
Jor Violence — Constitutional by instinct — An optimist —
Authority ~of General in Non-violent Warfare — Spiritual-
ity in Politics — Bardoli Decision — Congratulations to
SYNOPSIS 855
Pathans — Suspension of Civil Disobedience, act of wise
Statesmanship — Need of severe discipline — Woes of
Bengal — Incarceration of masses — Nehru, Gqjjor and
Vallabhbhai — Bigger jail outside — Previous History —
Council work of little value — Different conditions —
Advice to Socialists — Confidence in Pandit Mcdaviya —
Government's good-will — Gandhi's Statement after retire-
ment — Difference in outlook — Terrible oppression-*
Social group — Question of States — Untouchability — *
Non-violence — Failure of Non-violence — Satyagrdha —
Purna Swaraj — Means and end, convertible terms-*
Differences sterilised Congress Programme — Corruption
in our ranks — Congress to be tested — Khaddar Franchise
— Habitual wearer of Khaddar — Delegates to be res-
tricted to 1,000 — Conclusion — A. I. V. I. A. — Gandhi's exit
— New Congress — Bombay Session — Rajendra Babu's
Address — Bombay Resolutions — Exhibitions and demon-
stration— Congress Parliamentary Board — Election Cara-
paign — Assembly verdict on J. P. C. Report — Jinnah'S
Amendment — Working Committee on mthdraxwdL of C. D.
— Disciplinary rules — Famine in Andhra — All-India Pro-
test Day re. J. P. C. Report — Unity talks — Govern-
ment's repressive policy continued — The Congress
Museum — The Detenu Fund — Bengal's prohibition —
Bengal Government's Communique — Congress Pwir
dent's Rejoinder — Congress reorganisation in the N. W.
Frontier — Frontier will fight Communalism — The Quetta
Earthquake — The Working Committee's Resolution —
Acceptance of Office — The Congress and the States —
Resolution on office acceptance — 50 years' Anniversary of
the Congress — A. I. ,C. C. meets in Madras — The Govern-
ment of India Act — The Congress President's growing
responsibility.
856
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSION
The Presidents — The Religion of Politics — Prof.
Gilbert Murray on Gandhi — Success and Failure — The
Programme of the Congress — The three planes of
Constructive Work — Village Leadership.
II
The new Technique, Satyagraha — Its Contribution
to Life and Politics — The Evolution of Satyagraha — The
Principle of Non-violence — 'Tapasya' — Lingering doubts.
Ill
The Manhood of Nation on Trial — A Graph of our
Progress — Swaraj a Process — Conclusion.
Part VI
CHAPTER I'
BACK TO THE WILDERNESS
There were gathered in Bombay representatives of
Till parts and Provinces of India to accord a fitting wel-
come to the Tribune of the People. Gandhi greeted the
friends that went on board the steamer to welcome, him.
patting many, thumping a few and pulling the venerable
Abbas Tyabji by his beard. There was a formal welcome
in one of the Halls of Customs House and then a proces-
sion in the streets of Bombay which kings might envy in
their own country, but which political leaders and ambi-
tious statesmen always get from an admiring populace.
How much more then should the people of India have
felt when they were welcoming not an adventurer carving
out a kingdom, not a statesman wringing out concessions
from an unwilling monarch, not a warrior decorated with
marks of honour for deeds of prowess on the battle-field,
but a Saint and Satyagrahi who had renounced the world
but yet was of it and in it, who had no axe to grind but
was himself being ground down between the mill-stones
of an active legalized terrorism above and a .passive
impotent thraldom below, whose only purpose in life was
the emancipation of his Motherland and the evolution of
a feeling of fellowship, friendliness, and fraternity
•amongst the nations of the world. That day the men-
folk of Bombay were on the roads and the womenfolk
were gathered on the balconies of the sky-scrapers of the
city. Almost the first thing that Gandhi did was to
address the public of Bombay, — indeed the people were
•assembled on the Azad Maidan — and in grave and
solemn tones, Gandhi poured out his heart to the vast
858 THE HISTOKY OF THE CONGRESS
concourse of men and women before him, saying that he
would strive his best and strain every nerve to work for
peace.
In this speech, he again repeated his terrific vow
that he would not have the dismemberment of the
'untouchables ' from the Hindu fold and would resist any
attempts that way, with his very life. Let it be confess-
ed that neither on this occasion, nor when he had spoken
at the Minorities Committee in London, did it occur to
any one that Gandhi would on this issue declare a fast
unto death. Either the vow escaped attention altogether
or made no further impression upon the hearers' and the
readers' minds than as a piece of the usual rhetoric- But
everyone knows that Gandhi indulges in no exaggeration
and never allows himself to make any wild statement.
His 'yea' is 'yea' and his 'noy is 'no.' They must be
taken at their value and do not admit of any 'bear' and
'bull' transactions.
For three days together, Gandhi was acquainting
himself with the woes of the different Provinces. What
was he to do? Here was Subash Babu with four com-
panions from Bengal, who, though thov chose to meet
Gandhi independently and severally, sti«l gavp the same
account of Repression following on the Bengal Ordinance.
The U. P. friends had their Ordinance, and the N. W. F.
had its Ordinance. During the truce period, these
Ordinances were holding the field. Gandhi playfully called
these Ordinances his New Year gifts from Lord Willing-
don. But he was not the man to plunge the country
into the depths of suffering without exploring like a true
Satyagrahi every avenue to peace. Deputations were
waiting on hijn from morning to evening and repeating
the same tale of official excesses in Province after
Province. The country was passing through dire distress
BACK TO THE WILDERNESS 859
and depression. Yet Karnataka got no relief in spite of
the long struggle it was engaged in. In Andhra, the
taxes were to be raised in periodical revisions of settle-
ment by 18% P.C. and the Governor of Madras vas
threatening the promulgation of an Ordinance if the
people should talk of the suspension of payment of taxes.
These were the woes of the country narrated to
Gandhi by his friends. He himself had a tale of woe to
tell his friends, which he brought from London.
He was never willing to go to the R.T.C. The
shadows of the coming Conference were cast even in the
months of July and August. But the Working Com-
mittee had insisted on his going. He had an opportunity
later, on the ground of breach of the truce, of avoiding
the London visit. But the Labour Government was
anxious that he should be bundled into the steamer some-
how. He went to London and saw things for himself.
The first thing he told his colleagues was that the reali-
zation of a thing was quite different from its visualiza-
tion. He knew the Moderate mentality in India but he
was not prepared for the scenes enacted in London. He
knew the temperament of the Muslims and their reaction-
ary bent of mind, but he was not prepared for the vivi-
section that was practised at the R.T.C. He had made
up his mind that the Congress should not lend its support
thereafter to any kind of communalism. Its cult must
be one of pure and unadulterated Nationalism. He said
that India had no chance if she went on dallying with the
communal problem in the same old fashion. He wanted
an assurance from his Mussalman and Sikh friends that
they would agree to any future Constitution of India
being fashioned, only on the basis of Indian Nationalism
untainted by any communal considerations. He was
really tormented by these thoughts and experiences and
had to face the situation in front of him with calmness
860 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
and equanimity — qualities that have never failed him.
He had abundant confidence in himself and in his coun-
trymen. They had trusted him and he returned the trust.
He. saw a huge chasm before him- Could he bridge it, or
should he make a bridge of men, living and dead, on
which to cross the yawning gulf? With these conflicts
surging in his breast, with this storm raging in his bosom,
he set about his business. The Working Committee was
with him. It was not a Committee of fourteen colleagues
that he was counting upon. The country was his Work-
ing Committee. Accordingly he gave a telegram to Lord
Willingdon which got a reply— long, detailed, and mina-
tory. Gandhi sent a rejoinder without any avail. We
give below the telegram in extenso: —
1. Telegram from Mr. Gandhi, to His Excel-
lency the Viceroy, dated the 29th December, 1931.
"I was unprepared on landing yesterday to
find Frontier and U.P. Ordinances, shootings in Fron-
tier and arrests of valued comrades in both, on top
of Bengal Ordinance, awaiting me. I do not know
whether I am to regard these as indication that
friendly relations between us are closed or whether
you expect me still to sec you and receive guidance
from you as to course I am to pursue in advising
Congress. I would esteem wire in reply."
2. Telegram from the Private Secretary to the
Viceroy, to Mr. Gandhi, dated the 31st December,
J931, No. 306 C.
"His Excellency desires me to thank you for your
telegram of the 29th instant in which you refer to
Bengal and United Provinces and N-W.F.P. Ordin-
ances. In regard to Bengal it has beett and is neces-
sary for Government to take all possible measures to
prevent dastardly assassination of their officers and
private citizens.
"2. His Excellency wishes me to say that he and
his Government desire to have friendly relations with
all political parties and with all sections of the public
and, in particular, to securing co-operation of all in i
great work of constitutional reforms which they are
BACK TO THE WILDERNESS 861
Determined to push forward with minimum delay.
Co-operation, however, must be mutual. His Excel-
lency and his Government cannot reconcile activities
of Congress in the United Provinces and N.W.F.P.
with spirit of friendly co-operation which good of
India demands.
"3. As regards United Provinces, you are doubt-
less aware that while the Local Government were
engaged in devising means to give all possible relief
in the existing situation, the Provincial Congress
'Committee authorised a No-rent campaign which is
now bring vigorously pursued by Conjrres? organisa-
tions in that Province. This action on the part of
the Congress bodies has compelled Government to
take measures to prevent a general state of disorder
and spreading of class and communal hatred which
the campaign, if continued unchecked, would inevit-
ably involve.
"4. In North-West Frontier Province, Abdul
Gaffar Khan and bodies he controlled have continu-
ously engaged in activities against Government and
in fomenting racial hatred. He and his friends have
persistently refused all overtures bv the Chief Com-
missioner to secure their ro-operation. and, rejecting
the declaration of tlio_Prime-Minister. have declared
in favour of Complete Independence. Abdul Gaffar
Khan has delivered numerous speeches open to no
other construction than an incitement to revolution,
tuid his adherents have attempted to stir trouble in
tribal area. The Chief Commissioner, with the
approval of His Excellency's Government, has shown
utmost forbearance and to the last moment continued
his efforts to secure assistance of Abdul Gaffar in
carrying into effect, with the least possible delay,
the intentions of His Majesty's Government regard-
ing constitutional reforms in the Province. The
'Government refrained from taking special measures
until activities of Abdul Gaffar Khan and his
associates and, in particular, open and intensive pre-
paration for an early conflict with Government,
created a situation of such grave menice to peace of
Province and of tribal areas as to make it impossible
further to delay action. His Excellency understands
that Abdul Gaffar Khan was in August last made
862 THE HISTORY OP THE CONGRESS
responsible for leading Congress movement in Pro-
vince; and that volunteers7 organisations he controll-
ed were specially recognised by All-India Congress
Committee as Congress organisations. His Excel-
lency desires me to make it clear that his responsi-
bilities for peace and order make it impossible for
him to have any dealing with persons or organisa-
tions upon whom rests the responsibility for activities
above outlined. You have yourself been absent,
from India on the business of Round Table Con-
ference, and in the light of the attitude which you
have observed there, His Excellency is unwilling to
believe that you have personally any share in respon-
sibility for, or that you approve of, recent activities
of Congress in the United Provinces and North-West
Frontier Province. If this is so, he is willing to see
you and to give you his views as to the way in which
you can best exert your influence to maintain a spirit
of co-operation which animated proceedings of
Round Table Conference, but His Excellency feels
bound to emphasise that he will not be prepared to
discuss with you measures which Government of
India, with the full approval of His Majesty's
Government, have found it necessary to adopt in
Bengal, United Provinces and North- West Frontier
Province. These measures must in any case be kept
in force until they have served the purpose for which
they were imposed, namely, preservation of law and
order essential to good Government. On receipt of
your reply, His Excellency proposes to publish thi?
corresponden ce . "
3. Telegram from Mr. Gandhi, to the Private
Secretary to His Excellency the Viceroy, dated the
1st January, 1932.
"I thank His Excellency for wire in reply to
mine of 29th instant. It grieves me, for, His Excel-
lency has rejected, in a manner hardly befitting his
high position, an advance made in friendliest spirit.
I had approached as seeker wanting light
on questions, while I desired to under-
stand Government version of very serious
and extraordinary measures to which I made
reference. Instead of appreciating my advance,
BACK TO THE WILDERNESS 86S
His Excellency has rejected it by asking me to repu-
diate my valued colleagues in advance and telling me
that, even if I become guilty of such dishonourable
conduct and sought an interview, I could not even
discuss these matters of vital importance to the
Nation.
"In my opinion, constitutional issue dwindles into
insignificance in face of Ordinances and acts which
must, if not met with stubborn resistance, end in utter
demoralisation of Nation. I hope no self-respecting
Indian will run the risk of killing national spirit for a
doubtful contingency of securing a Constitution, to
work which no Nation with a stamina may be left.
Let me also point out that, as to the Frontier Pro-
vince, your telegram contains a narration of facts
which, on face of them, furnish no warrant for arrests
of popular leaders, passing of extra-legal Ordinance,
making life and property utterly insecure, and shoot-
ing unarmed peaceful crowds for daring to hold
demonstrations against arrests of their trusted leaders.
If Khan Saheb Abdul Gaffar asserted the right of
Complete Independence, it was a natural claim and
the claim made with impunity by the Congress at
Lahore in 1929, and by me with energy put before
the British Government in London. Moreover let me
remind the Viceroy that despite knowledge on Govern-
ment's part that Congress mandate contained such
claim, I was invited to attend London Conference as
Congress delegate- Nor am I able to detect in a
mere refusal to attend Durbar an offence warranting
summary imprisonment. If Khan Saheb was foment-
ing racial hatred, it was undoubtedly regrettable. I
have his own declarations to the contrary made' to me,
but assuming that he did foment racial hatred, he
was entitled to open trial, where he could have de-
fended himself against accusation. Regarding United
Provinces, His Excellency is surely misinformeS,
because there was no 'No-rent' campaign authorised
by Congress, but whilst negotiations were proceeding
between Government and Congress representatives,
the time for collection of rente actually arrived and
rents began to be demanded. Congressmen were,
therefore, obliged to advise tenants to suspend pay-
•4MS4 THE HISTORY OP THE CONGRESS
ment pending the result of the negotiations, and Mr.
Sherwani had offered on behalf of the Congress to
withdraw this advice if the authorities suspended col-
lections pending negotiations. I venture to suggest
that this is not a matter which can be so summarily
dismissed as your wire has done. Controversy in the
United Provinces is of long standing and involved
well-being of millions of peasantry known to be econo-
mically ground down. Any Government jealous of
the welfare of the masses in its charge would welcome
voluntary co-operation of a body like the Congress,
which admittedly exercises great influence over the
masses and whose one ambition is to serve them faith-
fully ; and let me add that I regard <the withholding of
payment of taxes as an inalienable ancient and
natural right of a people who have exhausted all other
means of seeking freedom from an "unbearable econo-
mic burden. I must repudiate suggestion that the
Congress has slightest desire to promote disorder in
any shape or form.
"As to Bengal, the Congress is at one with the
Government in condemning assassination and should
heartily co-operate with the Clovernmerit in measures
that may be found necessary to stamp out such crimes.
But whilst t'ho Congress would condemn in unmeasur-
ed terms the methods of terrorism, it can in no way
associate itself with Government terrorism as is be-
trayed by the Bengal Ordinance and acts done there-
under, but must resist, within the limits of its pres-
cribed creed of non-violence, such measures of legalis-
ed Government terrorism. I heartily assent to the
proposition laid down in your telegram that co-opera-
tion must be mutual, but your telegram leads me
"irresistibly to the conclusion that His Excellency
demands co-operation from the Congress without
returning any on behalf of Government. I can read
in no other way his peremptory refusal to discuss
these matters which, as I have endeavoured to show,
have at least two sides. Popular side I have put, as
I understand it, but before committing myself to
'definite judgment, I was anxious to understand the
other side, i.e., the Government side, and then tender
my advice to the Congress.
BACK TO THE WILDERNESS 86S
"With reference to the last paragraph of your
telegram, I may not repudiate moral liability for the
actions of my colleagues, whether in the Frontier
Province or in the United Provinces, but I confess
that I was ignorant of the detailed actions and acti-
vities of my colleagues whilst I was absent from
India, and it was because it was necessary for me to
advise and guide the Working Committee of the Con-
gress and in order to complete my knowledge, I sought
with an open rnind and with the best of intentions an
interview with His Excellency and deliberately asked
for his guidance. I cannot conceal from His Excel-
lency my opinion that the reply he has condescended
to send was hardly a return for my friendly and well-
meant approach, and if it is not yet too late, I would
ask His Excellency to reconsider his decision and see
me as a friend without imposing any conditions what-
soever a* to the scope or subject of discussion, and
I, on my part, can promise that I would study with
an open mind all the facts that he might put before
me. I would unhesitatingly and willingly go to the
respective Provinces and, with the aid of the authori-
ties, study both sides of the question and if I came to
the conclusion after such a study that the people were
in the wrong and the Working Committee including
myself were misled as to the correct position and that
the Government was right, I should have no hesita-
tion whatsoever in making that 'open confession and
guiding the Congress accordingly.
M Along with my desire and willingness to co-
operate with Government, I must place my limita-
tions before His Excellency. Non-violence is my
absolute creed. I believe that Civil Disobedience is
not only the natural right of people, especially when
they have no effective voice in their own Government,
but that it also is an effective substitute for violence
or armed rebellion. I can never, therefore, deny my
creed. In pursuance thereof and on the strength of
•uncontradicted reports, supported by recent activities
of the Government of India, to the effect that there
may be no other opportunity for me to guide the
public, the Working Committee has accepted my
advice. and passed resolutions tentatively sketching a:
866 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
plan of Civil Disobedience. I ana sending herewith
text of the resolution. If His Excellency thinks it
worth while to see me, operation of the resolution will
be suspended pending our discussion, in the hope that
it may result in the resolution being finally given up.
I admit that correspondence between His Excellency
and myself is of such grave importance as not to brook
delay in publication. I am, therefore, sending my
telegram, your reply, this rejoinder and the Working
Committee's resolution for publication."
RESOLUTION OP THE WORKING COMMITTEE.
"The Working Committee has heard Mahatma
Gandhi's account of his visit to the West and con-
sidered the situation created by the extraordinary
Ordinances promulgated in Bengal, United Provinces
and the Frontier Province and by the actions of the
authorities, including the numerous arrests made,
among those of Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, Mr. Sher-
wani and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, and by the shoot-
ings in the Frontier Province of innocent men result-
ing in many deaths and many more being injured.
The Working Committee has also seen the tele-
gram from His Excellency the Viceroy in reply to the
telegram sent by Mahatma Gandhi to him.
"The Working Committee is of opinion that
these several acts, and others of lesser gravity, that
have taken place in some other Provinces, and the
telegram from His Excellency, seem to make further
co-operation with the Government on the part of the
Congress utterly impossible unless the Government
policy is radically changed. These acts and the tele-
gram betray no intention on the part of the bureau-
cracy to hand over power to the people and are
calculated to demoralise the Nation. They also
betray a want of faith in the Congress from which
co-operation is expected by the Government.
"The Working Committee yields to no one in its
abhorrence of terrorism, on any account whatsoever,
resorted to by individuals, such as was recently wit-
nessed in Bengal, but it condemns with equal force
terrorism practised by Government as shown by its
BACK TO THE WILDERNESS 86$
jecent acts and Ordinances. The Working Committee
marks the deep national humiliation over the assassi-
nation committed by two girls in Comilla and is firmly
convinced that such crime does great harm to the
Nation, especially when through its greatest political
mouth-piece — the Congress — it is pledged to non-
violence for achieving Swaraj. But the Working
Committee can sec no justification whatsoever for
the Bengal Ordinance which seeks to punish a whole
people for the crime of a few. The real remedy lies
in dealing with the known cause that prompts such
crime.
"If the Bengal Ordinance has no justification for
its existence, the Ordinances in the United Provinces
and the Frontier Province have still less. The Work-
ing Committee is of opinion that the measures taken
by the Congress in the U.P. for obtaining agrarian
relief are and can be shown to be justified. The
Working Committee holds that it is the unquestion-
able right of all people suffering from grave economic
distress, as the tenantry of the United Provinces is
admittedly suffering, to withhold payment of taxes if
they fail, as in the United Provinces they have failed,
to obtain redress by other constitutional methods.
"In the arrest and imprisonment of Mr. Sher-
wani, the President of the United Provinces Congress
Committee, and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the Work-
ing General Secretary of the Congress, who were pro-
ceeding to Bombay to confer with Mahatma Gandhi
and to take part in the meeting of the Working Com-
mittee, the Government have gone even beyond, the
limits contemplated by their Ordinance, in that'
there was no question whatsoever of these gentlemen
taking part, in Bombay, in a No-tax campaign in
the United Provinces.
"So far as the Frontier Province is concerned, on
the Government's own showing, there appears to be
no warrant for either the promulgation of the Ordi-
nance or the arrest and imprisonment without trial of
Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan and his co-workers. The
Working Committee regards the shooting in that Pro-
vince of innocent and unarmed men to be wanton and
inhuman^ and congratulates the brave men of the
•68 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Frontier Province upon their courage and endurance
rind the Working Committee has no doubts that, if
the brave people of the Frontier Province retain their
non-violent spirit in spite of the gravest provocations,
cause of India's Independence.
"The Working Committee calls upon the Govern-
ment of India to institute a public and impartial
enquiry into the events that have led up to the pass-
ing of these Ordinances, the necessity of superseding
the Ordinary Courts of Law and Legislative machinery
and the necessity of several acts committed there-
under. And thereafter, if a proper enquiry i< set up
and all facilities are given to the Working Committee
for the production of evidence, it will In- prepared u>
assist the enquiry by leading evidence before it.
"The Working Committee has considered the
declaration of the Prime-Minister made before tht
Round Table Conference and the debates in thf
Houses of Parliament, and regards the declaration a-
wholly unsatisfactory and inadequate in terms of tin
Congress Demand and places on record its opinioi.
that nothing short of Complete Independence carrying
full control over the Defence and External Affair^
and Finance, with such Safeguards as may be demon -
strably necessary in the interests of the Nation can be
regarded by the Congress as satisfactory.
"The Working Committee notes that the British
Government was not prepared at the Round Table
Conference to regard the Congress as representing
and entitled to speak and act on behalf of the Nation
as a {whole, without distinction of caste, creed or
colour. At the same time the Committee recognise*
with sorrow that communal harmony could not be
attained a* the said Conference. The Working Com-
mittee invites the Nation, therefore, to make ceaseless
effort -to demonstrate the capacity of the Congress to
represent the Nation as a whole and promote an at-
mosphere that would make a Constitution framed or.
a purely national basis acceptable to the various com-
munities composing the Nation. Meanwhile, the
Working Committee is prepared to tender co-opera-
tion to the Government, provided His Excellency the
BACK TO THE WILM3BNE93
Viceroy reconsiders his telegram and adequate relief
is granted in respect of the Ordinances and its recent
acts, free scope is left to the Congress in any future
foirther negotiations to prosecute the Congress claim
for Complete Independence, and the administration of
the country is carried on in consultation with popular
representatives, pending the attainment of such
Independence.
"In the absence of any satisfactory response from
the Government in terms of the foregoing para-
graph, the Working Committee will regard it as an
indication on the part of the Government that it has
reduced to nullity the Delhi Pact. In the event of a
satisfactory response not forthcoming, the Working
Committee calls upon the Nation to resume Civil
Disobedience including non-payment of taxes under
the following conditions and illustrative heads: —
(1) No Province or district or tahsil or village
is bound to take up Civil Disobedience unless the
people thereof understand the non-violent nature of
the struggle with all its implications, and are ready
to undergo sufferings involving loss of life and pro-
perty.
(2) Non-violence must be observed in thought,
word and deed in the face of the gravest provocation,
it being understood that the campaign is not one of
seeking revenge or inflicting injuries on the oppres-
sor but it is one of converting him through self-
suffering and self-purification.
(3) Social boycott with the intention of inflict-
ing injury on Government officers, Police or anti-
nationalists should not be undertaken and is wholly
inconsistent with the spirit of non-violence.
(4) It should be borne in mind that non-violent
campaigns are independent of pecuniary assistance;
therefore, there should be no hired volunteers but
their bare maintenance and maintenance of the
dependents of poor men and women who might have
been imprisoned or killed is permissible wherever it
is possible. The Working Committee, however,
expects workers in the cause to continue the struggle
even though they might have to suffer privations.
55
870 THE HI8TOBT OF THE CONGBESS
(5) Boycott of all foreign cloth, whether British
or of other countries, is obligatory under all circum-
stances.
(6) All Congress men and women are expected
to use hand-spun and hand-woven khaddar to the
exclusion of even cloth manufactured in the
indigenous mills.
(7) Picketing of liquor shops and foreign
cloth shops should bo vigorously conducted chiefly
by women but always so as to ensure perfect non-
violence.
(8) Unlicensed manufacture and collection of
•salt should be resumed.
(9) If processions and demonstrations are
organised, only those should join them who will stand
Jaf/ii-charges or bullets without moving from their
respective places.
(10) Even in non-violent war boycott of goods
manufactured by the oppressors is perfectly lawful,
inasmuch as it is never the duty of the victim to
promote or retain commercial relations with the
oppressor. Therefore, boycott of British goods and
concerns should be resumed and vigorously prosecuted.
(11) Civil breach of non-moral laws and of
laws and orders injurious to the people wherever it is
considered possible and advisable may be practised.
(12) All unjust orders issued under the Ordi-
nances may be civilly disobeyed."
4. Telegram from the Private Secretary to His
Excellency the Viceroy, to Mr. Gandhi, dated the
2nd January, 1932.
No. 3-S. — "His Excellency desires me to acknow-
ledge receipt of your telegram of 1st January which
has been considered by him and his Government.
"They much regret to observe that under your
which are stated in your telegram and the resolution.
"They regard this attitude as the more deplor-
able in view of the declared intentions of His
advice the Congress Working Committee has passed
a resolution which involves general revival of Civil
Disobedience unless certain conditions are satisfied
BACK TO THE WILDERNESS 871
^Majesty's Government and the Government of India
*to expedite the policy of constitutional reform con-
tained in the Premier's statement.
"No Government, consistent with the discharge
of their responsibility, can be subject to conditions
sought to be imposed under the menace of unlawful
action by any political organisation, nor can the
'Government of India accept the position implied in
your telegram that their policy should be dependent
on the judgment of yourself as to necessity of meas-
ures which Government have taken after the most
careful and thorough consideration of the facts, and
after all other possible remedies had been exhausted.
"His Excellency and his Government can hardly
believe that you or the Working Committee contem-
plate that His Excellency can invit^ you. with the
hope of any advantage, to an interview held under
the threat of resumption of Civil Disobedience.
"They must hold you and the Congress respon-
sible for all the consequences that may ensue from
the action which the Congress have announced their
intention of taking, and to meet which, Government
will take all necessary measures."
(UXDHl's FINAL TELEGRAM
5. Telegram from Mr. M. K. Gandhi, to the
Private Secretary to His Excellency the Viceroy,
dated the 3rd January, 1932.
"Thanks your wire even date. I cannot help
•expressing deep regret for decision of His Excellency
and his Government. Surely it is wrong to describe
"honest expression of opinion as threat- May I
remind Government that Delhi negotiations were
-opened and carried on whilst Civil Disobedience was
-on, and that when Pact was made Civil Disobedience
was not given up but only discontinued? This posi-
tion was re-asserted and accepted by His Excellency
and his Government in Simla in September last,
•prior to my departure for London. Although I had
made it clear that under certain circumstances
Congress might have to resume Civil Disobedience,
"Government did not break off negotiations. That
3t was made clear by Government that Civil Dis-
872 THE HISTORY OP THE CONGBESS
obedience carried with it penalty for disobediencer
merely proves what civil resisters bargain for, but
does not in any way affect my argument. Had Govern-
ment resented attitude, it was open to them not to
send me to London. On the contrary, my departure
had His Excellency's blessings. Nor is it fair or
correct to suggest that I have ever advanced the
claim that any policy of Governmont should be
dependent on my judgment. But I do submit that
any popular and constitutional Government would
always welcome and sympathetically consider sug-
gestions made by public bodies and their representa-
tives and assist them with all available information
about their acts or Ordinances of which public
opinion may disapprove. I claim that my messages
have no other meaning than what is suggested in last
paragraph. Time alone will show v/hose position
was justified. Meanwhile I wish to assure Govern-
ment that every endeavour will be made on the part
of Congress to carry on struggle without malice and
in strictly non-violent manner. It was hardly
necessary to remind me that Congress and I, its
humble representative, are responsible for all the
consequences of our actions."
For the sake of convenience all the telegrams are
given together but they cover a range of six days. On
the 30th of December, Mr. Benthall who was commer-
cial representative for India on the Il.T.C. had seen
Gandhi and had a long talk. There was no doubt that
Gandhi's attitude was alarming to the commercial
community, and well might that be, for later events and
experiences proved what a mighty weapon boycott was in
the hands of the Nation. Yes, but this same Mr. Ben-
thall and his fellow loyalists expressed their view in
language which, at this distance of time, has lost none of
its poignancy. We give some extracts from the
'confidential' circular issued by them: —
"We went to London determined to achieve some
, settlement if we could, but our determination in that '
BACK TO THE WILDERNESS 878
Tegard was tempered with an equal determination,
that there should be no giving way on any essential
part of the policy agreed to by the (European)
Associated Chambers of Commerce in regard to
financial and commercial Safeguards; and by the
European Association on general policy. It was
obvious to us, and we had it in mind throughout the
Conference, that the united forces of the Congress,
the Hindu Sabha and (the (.Indian) Federated
Chambers of Commerce would be directed towards
whittling down the Safeguards already proposed."
"If you look at the result? of this last session,
you will see thait Gandhi and the (Indian) Federated
Chambers are unable to point to a single concession
wrung from the British Government as the result of
their visit to Sit. James' Palace. He landed in India
with empty hands."
"There was another incident, too, which did him
no good. He undertook to settle ithe communal
problem and failed before all the world."
"The Muslims were a solid and enthusiastic
team: AH Imam, the Nationalist Muslim, caused no
division. They played their cards with great skill
throughout; they promised us support and they gave
it in full measure. In return they asked iis that we
should not forget their economic plight in Bengal and •
we should 'without pampering them' do what we can
to find places for them in European firms so that
they may have a chance to improve their material
position and the general standing of their
community."
"On the whole, there was one policy of the
British Nation and the British Community in India,
-and that was to make up our minds on a national
policy and to stick to it. But after the general elec-
tions, the right wing of the Government made up its
mind to break up the Conference and to fight the Con-
ference and to fight the Congress. The Muslims, who
•do not want responsibility at /the Centre, were
delighted. Government undoubtedly changed their
-policy and tried to get away with Provincial
Automony , with a promise of Central reforms. We had N
made <up our minds that the fight with the Congress
874 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
was inevitable; we felt and said that the sooner it
came the better, but we made up our minds that for
a crushing success we should have all possible friends
on our side. The Muslims were alright; the Mino-
rities Pact and Government's general attitude ensured
that. So were the Princes and the Minorities."
"The imporant thing to us seemed to be to carry
the Hindu in the street as represented by such people
as Sapru, Jayakar, Patro and others. If we could
not get them to fight the Congress, we could at least
ensure that they would not back the Congress, and
that, by one simple method of leaving no doubt in
their minds /that there was to be no going back on the
Federal Scheme which broadly was also the accepted
policy of the European Community, and we acted
accordingly. We pressed upon the Government that
the one substantial earnest of good faith which would
satisfy these people was to bring in the Provincial and
Central Constitutions in one place. Provincial Auto-
nomy could not be forced upon India; the Muslims
alone could not work it. Congress Provinces facing a
bitter Centre present grave political difficulties; each
Province would be a Calcutta Corporation on i*s own.
So we joined with strange companions; Government
saw the arguments, and the Conference, instead of
breaking <up in disorder with 100 per cent, of Hindu
political India against us, ended in promises of
co-operation by 99 per cent, of the Conference,
including even such people as Malaviya, while
Gandhi himself was indisposed to join the Standing
Committee."
"The Muslims have become firm allies of the
Europeans. They are very satisfied with their own
position and are prepared to work with us."
"It must not, however, be supposed that when
we agree that Reforms are necessary, we advocate
democratic reform in every Province. All that we
mean is such change in the system of Government as
will improve its efficiency."
These extracts sufficiently show how the Tory-
Government and its allies worked to defeat the object of
BACK TO THE WILDERNESS 875
the declaration that the Labour Government had made
promising to concede to India her due. But it would be
wrong to believe that the pact between the Muslim
reactionaries who were prepared to sell their country for
a mess of pottage,1 and the British reactionaries who
wanted to keep Indians down for ever, was an impromptu
performance. The foundations for it were laid in India
and England long before the second session of the
Conference. In fact when Gandhiji and Lord Irwin
came to an understanding between themselves, those of
the reactionary clement in India which did not like this
alliance immediately gathered farces and organized them-
selves into a united force to defeat the Indian National-
ists. It wa* in Simla, at the headquarters of the Indian
Government, that a part of this conspiracy was hatched.
The Working Committee having picked up the
gauntlet thrown by Mr. Emerson and Lord Willingdon,
the members departed to their places and found on return
home that they had not much or anything to do. Govern-
ment rearlly took up the fight where it had been left on
the 4th March, 1931. They had ordered thousands of new
lathis during the truce period. In fact the truce period
was the period of preparation on the part of Government
for renewed hostilities, the outbreak of which was immi-
nent almost any month during the truce and inevitably
on Gandhi's return. Three Ordinances had already been
promulgated and three more were in the pocket of the
Viceroy, to be released the moment they were called for.
The Govenment offensive commenced on the 4th January,
1932. Every Congress organization and every allied
organization was banned, and Congressmen, whether they
i The recent revelations in the Indian Legislative Assembly about
the demand of H. H. The Aga Khan to be made a Ruling Prince of
someterritoiy in India, as a reward for his services at the Round
Table Conference, throw much lurid light on these transactions.
H75 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
did any overt act or not in defiance of the Law or the
Ordinances, which came to be spoken of as the Lawless
Law, were got hold of, arrested and sentenced. We had
no reason to complain either. The truce was at an end
and the drill-master cried, "As you were." In fact, if
only the Congressmen had been so desired, they would
have found their way to their old jails and taken their
lodgings in their old quarters. Bu,t Government had
apparently not the courage required for such an unusual
and 'illegal' course. Nor would they like the dramatic
settings which it would give to •the Civil Disobedience
movement.
While Government began where they had left, the
Congress had to begin it all over again. The JcrfW-charge
of Government was a later development in the first
movement (1930). In 1932, it was the first friend that
greeted the Satyagrahis. Lord Willingdon, it was widely
believed, hoped to be able to put down this outbreak in
six weeks, but six weeks arc such a short time and
Satyagraha is such a long drawn struggle that his hopes
could not be realised. Gandhi was intending to go -to tKe
Talukas in Gujarat which had borne the brunt of the
struggle in 1930, but before he could do so, he and his
trusty lieutenant Vallabhbhai were both arrested and
spirited away as State prisoners in the small hours of the
4th of January, 1932. Khan Saheb and Jawaharlal had
already led the van. The rest of the Indian politicians
led the rear. The Satyagrahis came forward in their
thousands. In 1921 they were thirty thousand in
number and that was considered a big number.
In 1930-31, within a short interval of 10. months,
ninety thousand men, women and children were convicted
and sentenced. No one knows how many were beaten,
but the number cannot be less than 3 or 4 times the
number imprisoned. People were either beaten down into
BACK TO THE WILDERNESS 87?
of &11 activity, or simply tired down by a 'cat
.and mouse' policy. The old game of beating prisoners
was renewed. Office secrets were asked to be divulged.
"Where are your papers, your books, and your lists of
subscriptions and volunteers?" That was the demand of
Government and young men were harassed and unutter-
able things were said, unspeakable punishments were
planned and executed. Imagine an advocate of the High
Court being subjected to the torture of his hair being
plucked out one by one as a mark of Police displeasure
at his not giving out his name and address.
New occasions called for new Ordinances. Though
they were promulgated from time to time, it would be
• convenient to refer to them together. Reference has
already been made to an Ordinance which was issued in
Bengal while Gandhiji was still in London. It was said to
be for the purpose of suppressing the terrorist movement
in Bengal and for speedier trial of offences in connection
therewith. It gave power to any officer of Government
authorised by the Local Government to require any person
whom he suspected to give his identity and movements
and to arrest and detain him for a day for verifying his
statements; and in making his arrest the officer might ruse
any means that might be necessary. The Local
• Government might require the occupier or owner of
any building to place it at the disposal of Government
for any time with all its furniture etc., with or without
• compensation. Similarly a District Magistrate could call
upon the owner or possessor of any article or thing to
place it at his disposal, with or without compensation.
'The District Magistrate could prohibit or limit access to
any building or place including Railways etc. He could
also regulate traffic, require a person to submit a return
•of vehicles or other means of transit owned or possessed
by hint or commandeer the same. He could prohibit or
878 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
regulate sale of arms and ammunition or take possession
of the same. He might require a land-holder or a teacher
or any other person to assist in the restoration of Law
and Order. He could issue search warrants. The Local
Government could impose collective fines on the inhabi-
tants of a particular area, could exempt a particular
person or class from any liability, and the amount of fine
apportioned to any individual could be recovered as a
fine or arrears of Government Revenue. Any disobedience
would entail imprisonment of six months, or fine, or both.
The Local Government was authorised to make rules to
prevent communication with absconders and secure
information of their movements, to prevent attacks on
persons or property of the King's subjects, to secure the
safety of His Majesty's forces and Police and provide for
the custody of prisoners. No action taken under the
Ordinance could be challenged in Civil Courts. New-
Courts of Criminal jurisdiction known as Special
Tribunals or Special Magistrates might be constituted for
trying cases which the Local Government might deter-
mine for their trial. Special rules of procedure
were laid down for these Special Tribunals. The Special:
Courts might proceed under certain conditions with the
trial, in the absence of the accused.
The United Provinces Emergency Powers Ordinance-
which was issued on the 14th December, 1931, authorised1
the Local Government to declare any dues paid to-
Government, local authority or landlord, to be a notified'
liability which was made recoverable as arrears of Land'
Revenue. The Local Government could direct any
person, believed to be acting prejudicially to public safety,
not -to reside in a particular area, to remove himself"
from a particular area, to conduct himself in a particular
way. This order was to remain in force for a month..
The Local Government may require the owner of a*
BACK TO THE WILDERNESS 879*
particular land or building to place it at the disposal of'
the Government with all its fixtures and furniture, with
or without compensation. The District Magistrate might
prohibit or limit access to any building or place, require
any person to take such order as he might be directed
with any vehicle or means of transport in his possession.
Any authorised officer of Government might require any
landholder, local authority, or teacher to assist in the
maintenance of Law and Order. Any person suspected
of instigating non-payment of a notified liability was
punishable with imprisonment of two years, or fine, or
both. Any person inducing a public servant to disregard
his duty or dissuading any person from entering Police
or Military service was punishable with imprisonment for
a year or fine.
A Local Government could impose collective fines off
the inhabitants of a particular area which could be
recovered as Land Revenue. Any person repeating the
contents of any proscribed document was punishable with
six months' imprisonment or fine. A fine imposed upon
a young person under 16 years could be realised irom
his parent or guardian, who could be convicted to
imprisonment in default as if he himself had committed
the offence. Such order could not be challenged in a Civil
Court.
The three Ordinances relating to the North-West
Frontier Province were issued on the 24th of December,
1931. One of them ran on the lines of the U. P.
Ordinance and provided against non-payment of
liabilities. The other two were known as N. W. P. P.
Emergency Powers Ordinance and the N. W. F. P.
Unlawful Association Ordinance. Under the former any
euthorised officer could arrest or detain any suspected
person for a day without warrant, for a period of two
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
months which could be extended by the Local Govern-
ment. The Local Government could direct any person
to enter 9r remain or not in any area, to remove himself
from such area, and generally to conduct himself in a
particular way for a period of one month. A failure to
comply with such orders was made punishable with
imprisonment for two years. The Local Government
•could take possession of any private building. The District
Magistrate might regulate, prohibit or limit access to any
•building, and traffic by any road or waterway. The
Local Government might control the supply and sale of
any commodity, requiring traders and manufacturers to
submit returns of their dealings in such commodity or to
:place the whole or a portion of their stocks at the disposal
•of the Government. Similarly it might require the owner
of any article or thing to place it at the disposal of the
Government. The District Magistrate could require a
return of vehicles or any means of transport or their
possession to be delivered. The District Magistrate could
regulate the sale of arms and ammunition. The Local
'Government may appoint anybody as Special Police
Officer or require a landholder or teacher or a local
authority to assist in the maintenance of Law and Order.
The Local Government might require the owner or person
in charge of an utility service to take any specified action
in respect thereof, and on failure of compliance assume
-control of such service. The District Magistrate could
•control operation of the post, telegraph, telephone and
-the wireless, intercept articles or messages, require
•accommodation in any Railway train or vessel, order any
-specified person or goods not to be carried to any destina-
tion, or exclude or eject any passenger from a train, stop
#ny train at a particular station, and require special
-conveyance of troops and Police. He might depute a
Police officer* to attend any public meeting even though the
meeting was held in a private place and the admission was
BACK TO THE WILDERNESS 88 H
by tickets. Special powers were conferred regarding;
searches. Any person inducing a public* servant to
disregard his duties or dissuading a person from entering
the Police or Military service, or propagating any
statement or rumour likely to create hatred or contempt
towards a public servant or to cause alarm to the public
was liable to imprisonment for a year, or fine, or both.
The Local Government could impose a collective fine on
the inhabitants of an area which was realisable like Land
Revenue. Any person repeating the contents of a
confidential document was liable to imprisonment for six
months and fine. Parents or guardians of young men
under 16 years were liable to pay fines imposed on their
wards and in default to imprisonment. Special Courts
under Special Judges, Special Magistrates and Summary
Courts were constituted and their jurisdictions defined
and special procedure laid down for trial and appeal.
Under the other Ordinance, the Local Government
might notify any place as a place which is used for an
unlawful association and the Magistrate could take
possession of such a notified place, ejecting therefrom any
person found therein. The Magistrate could also take
possession of movcables and the Local Government might
declare them forfeited. Any person entering or remaining
on a notified place committed criminal trespass. The
Local Government could forfeit moneys etc., belonging to
an unlawful association and seize the same and prohibit
any person in possession of moneys believed to be for an
unlawful association from dealing with such money
except under Government orders. The Local Government
could authorise the examination of books of such persons
or enquiries touching the origin and dealings in sucfi
moneys.
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
On the 4th of January, four new Ordinances wer*
.issued known as (1) the Emergency Powers Ordinance,
.(2) Unlawful Instigation Ordinance, (3) Unlawful
Association Ordinance, and (4) Prevention of Molestation
and Boycott Ordinance. Under the first Ordinance,
powers similar to those already detailed above were taken
.relating to arrest and detention of persons, restricting their
.movements, commandeering of buildings, restricting access
to buildings and Railways, controlling traffic, controlling
supply and sale of any commodity of general use or its
seizure, relating to control of means of transport, control
• of sale of arms and ammunition, appointment of Special
Police Officers, obligation on landlords and teachers etc.,
to assist in the maintenance of Law and Order, control
of Public Utility Sen-ices, withholding and interception
of articles and messages transmitted by post, wire or air,
. commandeering accommodation on Railways and vessels,
control of traffic thereon, and attendance of Police officers
at meetings. Similarly Special Courts, special procedure*
new offences and special punishments, were provided as in
the case of the Frontier Regulation. The Indian Press
"Emergency Act was made more stringent by a Special
Section of the Ordinance.
Under the Unlawful Instigation Ordinance the
•Government could notify any liability as a notified
liability and any person instigating non-payment of i,
notified liability could be imprisoned for six months an*,
also fined. A person to whom a notified liability was due
could ask the Collector and the Collector could realise it
as arrears of Land Revenue.
Under the Unlawful Association Ordinance the Local
» Government could seize, as in the case of the North-West
Frontier Province Ordinance referred to above, and take
; possession of any buildings, moveable property and funds
BACK TO THE WILDERNESS 883
belonging to an unlawful association. The Local
Government could also forfeit such funds and require any
person in custody of such funds not to deal with them
except with Government permission, and order examina-
tion of books etc., relating to such funds. Any association
could be declared unlawful which, in the opinion of the
Governor-Gencral-in-Council, interfered with the adminis-
tration of Law and Order and constituted a danger to
the public peace.
Under the Prevention of Molestation and Boycott
Ordinance, whoever molested and boycotted or abetted
the molestation or boycott of another person was liabh to
six months' imprisonment or fine. A person was said
to molest another when he obstructed or used violence or
intimidated another or any one in whom such other
person was interested, or loitered at or near a house of
such other person, or persistently followed him from place
to place, or interfered with his property, or dissuaded any
person from entering, approaching or dealing at such
place, with a view to cause such other person to abstain
from doing, or to force him to do, a thing or to cause loss
to him. Boycott was defined as refusal to deal or do
business with, or supply goods to, or to let a house or land
to, or to render any customary service to, any purson or
to any one in whom such person is interested, or refusal
to do any of the above things on ordinary terms and in
ordinary course, or abstention from professional or
business relations. The performance of a mock ceremony
resembling a funeral ceremony done with intent to annoy
a person was declared to be an offence punishable with
imprisonment for six months or with fine.
It would thus appear that under these Ordinances
very wide powers were taken and they were extended to
practically the whole country.
$84 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
When the Ordinance period expired, they were-
renewed in a consolidated form for another term, and in
November, 1932, they were validated by regular legisla-
tion. Unlawful associations, molestation and boycotting,
and the Press were all brought under the operation ot
these Ordinances.
So early as on the 26th of March, 1932, Sir Samuel
Hoare in the House of Commons admitted that the
Ordinances were very drastic and severe. They covered
almost every activity of Indian life. They were drawer
up in that comprehensive form because "the Government,*
with the full knowledge at their disposal, sincerely
believed that they were threatened with an attack on the
whole basis of Government and that the Ordinances were
essential if India was to be prevented from drifting into
anarchy." Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya had sen* a
1,100 word telegram to England but the Postal authorities
refused to send it at the prescribed rates. It will be
remembered that the Press Law (Act XXIII of 1931)
passed during the truce period expired on October 9th,
1931. The Criminal Law Amendment Bill of 1932
contained provisions to place the Press Law (Act of
XXIII of 1932) permanently on the Statute Book. The
provisions of this Press Law resemble those of the Press
Act of 1910. Besides the Government of India Ordinances
and Ordinance Bills or Acts, the Bombay Government
brought forward, in November, 1932, a Provincial
Ordinance Bill in which adequate safeguards were provided
against a No-tax campaign as well. Wilful refusal to pay
the arrears of a notified liability involved a punishment
of one year's imprisonment, with or without fine. In
prosecutions under this section, unless the contrary was
proved, it was to be presumed that failure or refusal to
pay arrears of a notified liability was wilful. All these
Ordinances and repressive -measures were in fact undo?
BACK TO THE WILDERNESS 885
contemplation even in year of truce (1931). The fact IB
that the Secretary of the Bombay Branch of the European
Association wrote a letter, in 1931, to the Secretary, Home
Department, Government of Bombay, after the presenta-
tion of an address to him on the 15th October, 1931, by
the Europeans of Poona. The delegation then suggested
to Government to take firm and immediate action in the
event of a recrudescence of the Civil Disobedience move-
ment,— all this when the R.T.C. was sitting in London,
with a view ostensibly to conciliate the Congress school
of thought, — and made specific suggestions that the
Congress flag should be forbidden and likewise all parading
or drilling of volunteers, that all ex-Civil Disobedience
men should forthwith be brought under restraint, treated
as enemy subjects in war and interned, that Congress
funds should be stopped at the source and unearthed by a
special Ordinance, that mills which agreed to Congress
conditions should be made to withdraw their pledges on
pain of being denied Rail transit of their goods, that no
one should be permitted to benefit financially from
political agitation and boycott.
The events of 1932-33 ran on much the same lines as
those of 1930-31. Only, the fight was more intensive and
more determined. The repression was ever so much more
ruthless and the suffering was ever so much more deep.
The Government offensive started with the arrest of
Gandhi and the President of the Congress, Sirdar
Vallabhbhai Patel, in the early hours of the 4th of
January. The above mentioned Ordinances of 1932 were
issued the same morning and extended to several
Provinces. Within the next few days, they were applied
to practically the whole country. Many Provincial and
subordinate Committees, Ashrams, National Schools and
other National institutions were declared unlawful, and
56
886 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
their bouses, furniture and funds and other moveables
seized. Most of the leading Congressmen in the country
were suddenly clapped into jails. The Congress organisa-
tion was thus apparently left without leaders, without
founds, and even without any local habitation. The
Congressmen who had been left behind were not, in spite
of this sudden and determined swoop, without resources.
Every one took up the work wherever he happened to be.
The Working Committee had decided that vacancies 011 it,
unlike in 1930, be not filled up and Sirdar Vallabhbhai,
anticipating his own arrest, had made out a list of
several persons who would act in his place during his
absence, one after another. The Working Committee had
transferred all its powers to the President, and the Presi-
dent in his turn transferred them to his successors who, in
their turn, could nominate their own successors with
similar powers. In the Provinces also, wherever it was
possible, the whole power of the organisation was
delegated to one person and similarly these powers
percolated to a series of individuals exercising the rights
of a Congress Committee in Districts, Thanas, Talukas
and even villages. It was these individuals who came to
be popularly known as 'Dictators.'
One of the difficulties which faced the organisers of
any Civil Disobedience campaign related to the laws
which could be selected for disobedience. It is evident
that any law and every law may not be disobeyed. The
Ordinances with their wide ramifications solved this
difficulty for the Congress. In the different Provinces
different items were selected, while there were certain
items prescribed from time to time by the Acting Presi-
dent of the Congress. Thus, picketing of liquor shops and
foreign cloth shops and of British goods was an item
common to all Provinces. In the United Provinces on a
pretty large scale, and in a portion of Bengal,
BACK TO THE} WILDERNESS 887
.non-payment of rent was an important item.
In places in Bihar and Bengal, payment of Chau-
Jtidari tax was withheld. In the Central Provinces
and the Berars, Karnatak and some places in U. P.,
the Madras Presidency and Bihar, Forest Laws were
•disobeyed. Salt Laws were defied in many places by
manufacture, collection, or sale of illicit salt. Meetings,
.and processions were of course prohibited and were held
in spite of such prohibition. At an early stage of the
struggle, a favourite item of the programme was the
observance of what came to be known as special days.
Theso were in connection with special events or
individuals, or for special purposes, e.g., Gandhi Day,
Motilal Day, Frontier Day, Martyrs Day, Flag Day and
.a number of other days.
As already stated, the Government had taken pos-
session of Congress offices and Ashrams. Attempts were
made in manj* places to get back symbolical possession
•of these places in Government hands, thus disobeying the
Ordinance which made entry into those places a tres-
pass. These attempts came to be known as 'raids.'
Under the Ordinances the service of any Press was not
available to the Congress. This deficiency was made up
by the issue of unauthorised bulletins, leaflets, news-
sheets, reports, etc., which were typed, cyclostyled, dupli-
cated, or even printed, but without the names of the Press
or the printers as required by law, sometimes under the
names of non-existent Presses and persons. It is remark-
able that in spite of Police vigilance these news-sheets
and bulletins were issued regularly and continued to
furnish information to the country, as a whole, of all that
-was happening. The service of the Po,?t-0ffice and the
Telegraph was denied to the Congress, and it established
tions and argumentation were resorted to, to dissuadq
io place in a Province but also from the All-India Office
88& THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
to the Provinces- Sometimes the volunteers carrying:
these postal articles were detected and naturally arrested
or otherwise dealt with. This system which had really
been started towards the latter part of the movement of
1930 was almost perfected in 1932. The Government
were unable to locate even the offices of the A.I.C.C. or
the Provincial Committees, from whence not only the
bulletins but also instructions for the carrying on of the
movement emanated, and when once either an office or
an individual conducting it was located and put out of
action, another sprang up and carried on the work.
Another item which created much enthusiasm among the
people and caused not a little embarrassment to the
Police, was the holding of a session of the Congress
followed by a series of Conferences in the Provinces and
the Districts all over the country. In some places an
attempt was made to interfere with the regular working
of the Railways by volunteers pulling the alarm signal
in Railway trains and bringing them to a stop. An
attempt was even made to make the Railway working
difficult by large numbers of people boarding trains with-
out tickets, simply to cause loss to the managements, but
these found no encouragement from responsible quarters
and were stopped.
The Boycott took a most intensive form and special
items were selected for concentrated work. Thus in some
places separate weeks were devoted to intensive propa-
ganda for boycott of foreign cloth, of British medicines,
British Banks, Insurance Companies, foreign sugar,
kerosine oil, and British goods generally.
It is not to be supposed that Government after
arresting the leaders would become quiet and mild. All
the powers referred to in the Ordinances were used. But
there were certain other forms of repression which even..
BACK TO THE WILDERNESS 889
the Ordinances, drastic as they were, did not sanction or
-contemplate. Needless to say that arrests were made
in large numbers but they were made with discrimina-*
tion, the total number of convictions being anything not
less than a lakh. It soon became apparent that, in spite
•of camp jails and temporary jails being opened, the
numbers that offered themselves for arrest could not all
be accommodated. It was therefore necessary to make a
selection, and only those who were supposed to possess
gome organising capacity or were prominently associated
with the Congress organisation were ordinarily impri-
soned. Nor was it an easy matter to deal with them in
prison. More than ninety-five per cent of the persons
•convicted were placed in the CC' class. There was a very
small sprinkling of Congressmen placed in the 'B' class,
while the 'A' class was maintained only in name in
several places, and very sparingly granted in others. It
will be recalled that early in 1930 this classification had
been introduced, and while Government had resolutely
refused to recognise political prisoners as a class by
themselves, their statements had led people to believe
that most of the Civil Disobedience prisoners would, by
reason of their education, social status, and mode of
living, fall in class 'B' at least. Graduates, Professors,
Lawyers, Editors, well-to-do traders and businessmen,
rich Zamindars, high grade agriculturist*, philanthropic
•workers, — men whom the Government themselves recog-
nised as well-to-do by imposing heavy fines running
often into four figures, — were all thrown pell-mell into
the last class, with the food and clothing of ordinary
•convicts. No wonder that, apart from other considera-
tions, men and women who had sought imprisonment fop
the sake of their convictions and, as they felt, for the
noble cause of gaining freedom for their country, were
not likely to submit to humiliating conditions such aft
sitting in a particular posture in a row or lifting their
890 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
hands on order and so on. The conditions of prison life*
were also not such as to be easily tolerated by a class off
persons well brought up and having their own ideas about
them. All this very often brought them into conflict
with prison authorities, which resulted in the imposition'
of various kinds of jail penalties sanctioned by the rules>
and not unoften in beatings and other kinds of torture
which can easily be practised within prison walls where
there is no fear of detection. One particularly atrocious
case of assault and beating for refusal to submit to the
humiliating condition of sitting in a particular posture
led to the prosecution and conviction of a jailor and his
assistant and some others in Nasik Jail, but Za£/a-charges
on Civil Disobedience prisoners were not uncommon. The
conditions of life in the temporary jails, with their tin
sheds which gave protection neither against the heat of
May and June nor the cold of December and January,
with their over-crowding and consequent insanitary con-
ditions, were quite intolerable. There were, no doubt,
some jails where the treatment was tolerably fair but
that was rather the exception than the rule. Some of the
permanent jails also were no better. . It was reported
that the health of the political prisoners in many of ther
jails, particularly in camp jails, was far from satisfac-
tory. Dysentery was common in all the seasons, while
the rains and cold weather brought pneumonia and seri-
ous lung trouble to not a few. Many died as prisoners.
The conditions in the permanent jails in some places were
not much better. The treatment depended naturally on
the character and temper of the immediate jail officials,,
and these, with some notable exceptions here and therer
were neither considerate nor even fair.
t\
The Police had early taken to the device of dis-
persing crowds and processions by Za£/w'-charges. There
hardly an important place in any Province where
BACK TO THE WILDERNESS 891
the movement showed signs of life which did not experi-
ence these lal/ii-charges. In many places, the injuries
caused were serious and the number of those injured
large. It was a practice with the crowds to collect
together to see what was happening where some Satya-
grahis were marching in procession, holding a meeting,
carrying on what is called a 'raid' or engaged in picket-
ing, and when the /af/ti-charge was made, no discrimina-
tion was made between those who had assembled as
sight-seers and those who had gone with the set purpose
of disobeying the law. It was not unoften that the sight-
seers were the victims of these ZafTu-charges and the
Satyagrahis were arrested and otherwise dealt with. The
Satyagrahis, too, had their share of these assaults, not
only in a crowd where they were mixed up with other
people but within the quieter and less exciting environ-
ments of a Police lock-up or a prison cell. It was com-
monly reported that in many places unmentionable atro-
cities and tortures were perpetrated, the variety and the
cruelty of which varied with the intelligence, resource-
fulness and callousness of the particular officers con-
cerned. Even women and boys and children were not
spared. The Government had discovered that while the
Satyagrahis were prepared for prison, besting and torture,
and many of them even to be shot, there were many who
would succumb if an attack was made on their property.
Accordingly heavy fines were imposed on conviction.
Sometimes they rose to five figures. Three and four
figures were common enough. Where non-payment of
Revenue, rent or taxes was resorted to, for realisation of
such dues and taxes and for realisation of fines, the pro-
perties of not only the defaulters and the convicts but
also the property of joint families and sometimes of rela-
tives were attached and sold. This by itself would be
nothing if, as a result of such attachment and sale, pro*
perties of much value were not sold off virtually for a
892 THE HISTORY OF THE CONOBESS
song. Besides the legally correct form of distress and
attachment, what really mattered evea more was the
extra-legal and the illegal harassment and loss amount-
ing in not a few cases to wanton loot and waste- Not
only were moveables like furniture, household utensils,
jewellery and even cattle and standing crop attached and
sold and sometimes destroyed, but the very lands and
homesteads were not spared. There are many in Gujarat,
the U.P. and Karnatak who are landless even to-day and
whose suffering was entirely voluntary, in the sense that
they refused to pay what they could easily have paid if
they cared to save themselves and their property. These
sufferings were none-the-less imposed upon them, because,
if the object was the realisation of the dues only, they
need not have been deprived of all that they lost. The
agriculturists of Gujarat who joined in the non-payment
of Revenue and rent campaign, went through sufferings
which it is impossible to describe, but they did not bend.
There were many places where extra Police were posted
as a punitive measure and their cost realised from the
inhabitants. From four or five places only in Bihar
where such extra Police were posted in the Province, no
less than four lakhs and seventy thousand was realised
as Punitive tax. The terror and havoc created by the
posting of additional force was so great in parts of the
district of Midnapore in Bengal that the bulk of the
Hindu population of two Thanas in the district actually
evacuated their homes and shifted to the neighbouring
areas in the midst of indescribable suffering resulting in
the death of women.
Besides such Punitive tax, collective fines were also
imposed on many localities and the inhabitants made to
pay them. In several places in the country, firing was
resorted to and many persons killed and many more
BACK TO THE WILDEBNESS 893
.-injured. In this respect the N.W.F.P. suffered the
rseverest losses in killed and injured.
It is unnecessary to burden this description with
details. It would be invidious to mention names of
persons or places. If we attempted anything like an
.adequate account of all the acts of defiance on the part
of Congressmen and women, and all the legal, illegal and
•extra-legal measures adopted by the Government and its
officials and all that the people had to suffer in conse-
quence, it would cover a volume by itself. The move-
ment was country-wide and the Provinces vied with one
another in putting forth their best effort It was not
•confined to British India alone. Some of the Indian
States as, for example, Baghelkhand contributed their
mite to it and workers and people belonging to many of
the States joined in the fray and suffered
The Ashrams and Congress offices which had been
taken possession of were demolished or even set fire to.
The newspaper Press was hard hit. Many of the
newspapers were called upon to furnish securi-
ties. The securities of many of them were forfeited and
many had to stop publication on account of failure to
deposit security or seizure of press or fear of action by
•Government.
In the midst of all this havoc and terror, one thing
.stands out most prominently. Never did the people
resort to any serious acts of violence nnd the lesson of
non-violence had gone deep down and enabled the move-
unent to be continued for months and months, when the
"Government had expected to finish it in a few weeks.
'Nor would it be an exaggeration to say that it would
Ihave been even more difficult to control it than it actually
894 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
was, had it not been for the extra-legal and the extra-
Ordinance methods which were employed in dealing with
it and which in themselves constituted the very negation
of all law and civilised Government. All open avenues
of communication having been closed, the Congress
workers, many of them, almost unconsciously slided into
methods of secrecy and in this too they proved themselves
quite resourceful and quite a match to the widespread
ramifications of the Police — ordinary, secret and special.
We have already referred to the maintenance of Congress-
offices, regular publication of bulletins, timely promulga-
tion of instructions to Congressmen ?.nd the public in
respect of programmes to be observed. Although Satya-
graha does not need much money, a campaign on such
an extensive scale could not be conducted without it. At
no stage did the work come to a standstill for want of
funds. They came, nobody knew from where. The
anonymous donor paid without knowing to whom he
paid. It is remarkable how under such conditions the
moneys received were scrupulously used for the purposes
of the campaign, and how strict accounts were main-
tained even in those exciting times when the whole office
was carried about in people's pockets. The secrecy-
enabled the movement to be guided ancj conducted by a
Head, but at the same time it reduced what ought to
have been an open battle of defiance regardless of con-
sequences, and carrying its own appeal to the nobler
instincts of our people, to a mere battle of wits which
only evoked admiration of cleverness.
We may not close this description without referring:
to two sessions of the Congress which were held in the
month of April 1932 and 1933 in Delhi and Calcutta,
respectively. The session at Delhi was held in spite of
Police vigilance which succeeded in spotting and arresting,
large numbers of delegates on their way to Delhi.
BACK TO THE WILDERNESS 895>
The Congress session was held under the clock tower
in Chandni Chowk. In spite of Police vigilance, about
500 delegates found their way to the meeting place. The
Police, suspecting the announcement regarding the place
*of meeting as a mere ruse, were looking for the delegates
somewhere in New Delhi, and others were busy dealing
with a procession of Akalis elsewhere, and before they
could arrive at the Cliandni Chowk in sufficient numbers,,
the delegates had assembled and commenced business. It
is said Seth Ranchhod Das Amritlal of Ahmedabad
presided. The Annual Report was presented and four
resolutions were passed, — the first reiterating Complete
Independence as the goal of the Congress, the second
whole-heartedly endorsing the revival of Civil Disobe-
dience, the third congratulating the Nation on its splendid
response to Mahatma Gandhi's call and expressing com-
plete faith in his leadership, and the fourth re-affirming
deep faith in non-violence and congratulating the country,
particularly the brave Pathans of the Frontier Province,
upon their non-violence in face of acts of gravest provo-
cation from the authorities.
Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was the President-
elect of the Delhi Congress but he was arrested en route^
During the whole of this period he was the only leader
of note amongst Congressmen who was out, and ever
since the date he landed after his return from the Round
Table Conference, in spite of growing years and frail
health, he never spared himself and was ever busy issuing
statements exposing the high-handed action of the author-
ities, ever encouraging and inspiring Congress workers by
his indomitable will and phenomenal energy. In all
moments of doubt and difficulty, it was to him that the
Congress workers turned and were never disappointed.
CHAPTER II
FBOM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY
It will be remembered that at the second Round
'Table Conference Air. MacDonald, the Premier, offered
to arbitrate on the communal question if every one
present put his signature to that agreement in that behalf,
and that that arbitration never materialised. The Premier
took an unusual course, for it is considered improper for
any one to offer his own arbitration instead of leaving
the parties to invite him to arbitrate, and therefore he
naturally failed. Accordingly the decision that the
Government gave upon the Minorities question was a
proposal on a par with the rest of the proposals embodied
in the White Paper, and not an Award. It will be
remembered further how Gandhi indicated his determina-
tion at the second R.T.C. to resist the dismemberment of
the 'untouchables' from the Hindu community with his
life. Now came the time for testing Gandhi's fateful vow.
.He had written so early as in March 1932 a letter to the
.Secretary of State on the subject which we extract here
(vide infra) and which speaks for itself. The Lothian
•Committee had arrived in India on January 17th, to
•determine franchise and electoral seats. Time was flying,
their Report would be ready and the British have the
knack of doing things while we are cogitating. So, after
furious thinking and after anxious meditation, Gandhi
•drafted his letter to Sir Samuel Hoare on the llth March,
1932, conveying his decision to 'fast unto death* in case
<5overnment decided to carve out separate electorates for
i,he untouchables or depressed classes. Sir Samuel sent
Tiis reply on the 13th April, 1932. It was a piece of
petrified routine. He must await the Lothian recommen-
FBOM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 89T
citations. Of course, Gandhi's views would be taken into
account at the proper time.
It was on the 17th of August that Mr. MacDonald's
decision — which has wrongly come to be spoken of as an
Award — was announced. (See Appendix XI). It was a
wanton attempt on the Premier's part to put Gandhi in
the wrong if he should oppose it. The depressed classes
were not only to have separate electorates, but additional
votes and the right to contest seats in the general
electorate. This was a bounty with a vengeance. On
August 18th, Gandhi decided his course of action and'
intimated the same to the Prime-Minister, adding that the
fast would begin on September 20th noon (1932).
Mr. MacDonald replied on the 8th September — somewnat
at leisure — and the whole correspondence was published on
the 12th September. That the Premier should have
thought fit to impute to Gandhi inimical intention in
respect of the depressed classes has to be referred to here,
only to be condemned. We shall not discuss here the
merits of the communal decision. Part of it has been
scrapped and replaced by the Poona Pact, and the other
part remains yet to be scrapped. Now we are on the
question as to how the Poona Pact was hammered out.
That was the direct result of Gandhi's fast to death.
That fast was to begin on the 20th September, 1932.
The interval of one week between the publication of"
correspondence and the commencement of the fast was a
period of utter stress and strain to the Nation, — yea, to
the whole world, — a period of tension, in which people,
institutions and nations tried to do whatever immediately
occurred to them. Interviews were sought and rejected.
Cables flew from the ends of the earth to Poona. Exhorta-
tions and argumentation were restored to, to dissuade
Gandhi from his determination. While friends were-
•898 THE HI8TOBY OF THE CONGRESS
anxious to save bis life, enemies were watching the process
with a derisive interest. While the great Russian Church
was on fire, people were rushing to hear the tintinabulary
crash from near. When storm breaks and floods uproot
trees, submerge houses, demolish buildings, and sweep
away roads and bridges, when conflagrations rage and
destroy life and property, when natural cataclysms occur,
they rouse the idle interest of the curious and the greedy
interest of the wicked. Some such outbreak of emotions
-was witnessed when Gandhi, in reply to the Premier,
•declared that his fast would -begin. It threw the country
into a state of alarm, consternation and confusion. All of
us have witnessed death-bed scenes in our life. People
•gather round the dying person, and when the doctor
arrives, he ia almost to feel like one of them, — not like the
physician that must send people ooit, each about a business
improvised for the occasion. When a series of remedial
measures are suggested, hot water fomentations, smelling
salt, medicine, turpentine, brandy, this, that and the
other, people disperse each to do his bit for the dying
patient or the living physician, and the latter gets some
little peace of mind to think and act. Here was Gandhi,
not accidentally struck by appendicitis as he was 8 years
previously in the same jail, but deliberately taking to his
death-bed and entering upon a fast. No wonder then that
the country should have been thrown into a state of
paralysis, from which, however, the patient himself raised
it to life and activity.
The Premier's decision was to be scrapped. He would
not do it himself. It must therefore be done by agreement
amongst the Hindus themselves. A Conference was
therefore a desideratum. Was it to be on the 19th or the
20th? That was the question. Gandhi's life must be
saved. It was creditable that a leader of the depressed
classes should have made the first move in the matter,
FBOM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 899
M. C. Rajah, Rao Bahadur, condemned the separate
electorates. Sapru demanded the release of Gandhi.
Congressmen naturally strove to mobilize thought and
arrange a settlement. But Pandit Malaviya, always on
a level with his age, immediately thought of organising a
Conference of leaders. In England, Mr. Andrews,
Mr. Polak and Mr. Lansbury began to invite the attention
of the English people to the serious character of the issues
involved and an appeal was made, which was influentially
signed, for a special prayer throughout the country. In
India the 20th of September was observed as a day of
fasting and prayer and Shantiniketan participated in the
observance. It did not take long for the movement
inaugurated to secure an amendment of the Premier's
decision, and to sublimate itself into a wider movement
for the removal of untouchability. Temples were being
thrown open to the untouchables in Calcutta, Delhi and
•other places. It was hoped that Gandhi would be released
as soon as he began his fast, but as it was discovered that
Gandhi's so-called release would take the shape of an
internment at some suitable place of private residence
under certain restrictions of movement, Gandhi wrote to
•Government sparing them the expense and the trouble of
such a change and expressing his inability "to conform to
•any conditions." Government readily agreed and refrained
from forcing any arrangements upon Gandhi which were
distasteful to him.
It is not possible for us to take the reader through a
detailed history of the developments which resulted ir the
Poona Pact. The Conference convened by Pandit
Malaviya met first in Bombay but it shifted its scene of
labour soon to Poona. We would refer those interested
in these details to the magnificent publication entitled
'The Epic Fast1 by Pyarelal, Gandhi's Private Secretary,
but suffice it to say that Dr. Ambedkar was soon drawn
900 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
into the negotiations, and with the aid of men
Syt. Amritlal Thakkar, Syt. Rajagopalachari, Sir Chunilal
Mehta, Pandit Malaviya, Birla, Sirdar Patel, Mrs. Naidu,
Mr. Jayakar, Dr. Ambedkar, M. C. Rajah, Rajendra
Prasad, Hridaynath Kunzru and others, a scheme was
formulated which met with the acceptance of all parties
by the fifth day of the fast. The depressed classes were
to forego their separate electorates and content themselves
solely with the general Hindu electorates (in which, of
course, they were already included, as well, by the terms
of the British Award), subject to important safeguards
which the caste Hindus are to concede to them. In the
first place, they are to have a specific number of reserved
seats (148) out of those assigned by the British Award to
the general constituencies in the various Legislatures.
In the second place, they are to elect by themselves, four
candidates for each reserved seat, the general electorate
being confined, in its subsequent choice, to one of these
four. The settlement as a whole is to last until altered
by common agreement. The depressed classes primary*
elections are to last for a maximum period of ten years.
The Poona agreement was accepted by the British
Government in so far as it would modify the Premier's
decision, subject to reservation of judgment on points in
the Poona agreement that fell outside the scope of the
Award. The depressed class leaders had reason to be
grateful because the Poona Pact secured them double the
number of the seats granted in the Prime-Minister's
decision, and a measure of representation somewhat in
excess of the proportion of their population. The question
of a t referendum at the end of ten years became the
subject of a last moment controversy but Gandhi fixed1
five years instead of ten if there should be a referendum,
for, in postponing it to ten years, people would suspect
that what Ambedkar wanted was not to "test the bonafider
FROM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLET N9
of the caste Hindus but time to organize the depressed
classes for an adverse referendum." "Five years, or my
life" was the ultimate reply of Gandhi. Ultimately it
was decided to leave the whole question to be decided by
mutual agreement in the future— a formula evolved by
Syt. Rajagopalachari and approved of as 'excellent' by
Gandhi. On the 26th, Syt. Rabindranath Tagore visited
Gandhi just when the news of the Cabinet having accepted
the agreement was received. Simultaneous statements
were issued in England and India on the morning of the
26th announcing the acceptance of the Poona agreement.
Mr. Haig made a statement in the Assembly embodying
the following points : —
(1) It accepted for recommendation to Parlia-
ment the scheme of representation of the depressed
classes in the Provincial Legislatures, adopted under
the Yeravada agreement, in place of the scheme of
separate electorates in that behalf that had been
adumbrated in the Premier's decision.
(2) It accepted the number of seats in the
Provincial Legislatures assigned to the depressed
classes under the Yeravada agreement.
(3) As regards the clauses in the Yeravada
agreement, referring to the guarantees for the welfare
of the depressed classes, it recognised them as a
definite pledge of the intentions of the caste Hindus
to the depressed classes.
(4) As regards the method of electing depressed
class representatives to the Central Legislature and
the level of franchise, it stated that whilst the Govern-
ment could not definitely commit itself to the terms
of the agreement, as the whole question of representa-
tion in Central Legislature and the franchise was
under consideration, the Government was not
against it.
(5) It recognised the figure of 18 per cent, of the
British general seats at the Centre to be reserved for
the depressed classes as a matter of arrangement
between them and the other Hindus.
67
902 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGBESS
Gandhi felt a little difficulty in accepting the wording
of Government. He felt that the depressed class leaders
should be satisfied as well. The issue to him was not the
saving of his own physical life but the saving of the moral
lives of the millions for whom he was fasting. In the end,
however, Pandit Hridaynath Kunzru and C. Rajagola-
chariar satisfied Gandhi who then decided to break his fast
on the 26th at 5-15 p.m. alter prayer and the singing of
religious hymns. It was true that Gandhi's life was
saved for the moment, but almost in the same breath in
which he had agreed to break the fast, lie foreshadowed
the certainty of its resumption if the reform of the removal
of untouchability was not faithfully achieved within a
measurable period. He had thought of laying down a
period but he had no definite call from within. "The
message of freedom," said Gandhi, "shall penetrate every
untouchable home, and that can only happen if reforms
will cover every village." It was Gandhi's hope, we are
told, that the almost ideal solution reached on the question
would pave the way for the larger unity between the
various communities.
People had doubted the efficacy or appropriateness of
a fast. Gandhi had something to say, and this he said in
statements issued on the 15th and the 20th September.
Gandhi's position is this: "Fasting for light and penance
is a hoary institution. It can be observed commonly in
Christianity and Islam, while Hinduism is replete with
instances of fasting for purification. Having made a
serious attempt to attain self-purification, I have
•developed some little capacity to hear correctly and
clearly the 'still small voice within/ My present penance
I have undertaken in obedience to this voice." Some
would hold the view that the fast is a coercion. To
them Gandhi's reply is that "love compels, it does not
•coerce," even as Truth and right do. "My fast I want to
FROM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 90S
.throw in the scale of justice. This may look childish to
.the on-lookers but not so to me. If I had anything more
to give, I would throw that also to remove this curse. But
I have nothing more than my life." "The impending fast
is against those who have faith in me — whether Indians
-or foreigners — and for those who have it not." Thus did
he show that his fast was not against the English official
world nor against his opponents in India, whether Hindus
•or Muslims, but against countless Indians who believed
that he represented a just cause. Above all, Gandhi said:
"It is intended to sting the Hindu conscience into right
religious action." Gandhi was all the while searching his
heart to see if malice and anger were still lurking in his
breast. At any rate he felt that he was not conscious
of any feelings of hatred or anger in him and that his
penance was undertaken from the purest of motives and
with goodwill towards all.
Immediately after the Pact was accepted by the
Premier, and Gandhi had broken his fast, the Conference
met again in Bombay and passed a resolution practically
pledging the Hindu community to the remdval of
untouch ability. What has developed into the Harijan
•Sevak Sangh was founded as a result of this resolution
with Syt. Ghansyamdas Birla as President and Syt.
Amritlal Thakkar of the Servants of India Society as
"Secretary.
We give below the resolution unanimously passed by
the meeting held at Bombay on 25th September, 1932, —
Pandit Malaviya being in the chair,— which has been
•adopted as the motto of the Harijan: —
"The Conference resolves that, henceforth,
amongst Hindus no one shall be regarded as an
untouchable by reason of his birth and that those who
Ihave been so regarded hitherto will have the same :
904 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
right as other Hindus in regard to the use of public-
wells, public schools, public roads and all other public
institutions. This right shall have statutory recogni-
tion at the first opportunity and shall be one of the
earliest Acts of the Swaraj Parliament, if it shall not
have received such recognition before that time.
"It is further agreed that it shall be the duty of
all Hindu leaders to secure, by every legitimate and
peaceful means, an early removal of all social disabi-
lities now imposed by custom <upon the so-called
untouchable classes, including the bar in respect of
admission to temples."
A penance so pure naturally bore its full result.
There was widespread response in the country for the
cause of the removal of untouchability, so much so that
this new field of work, — rather this new interest in an
old field of work — came in as a means of satisfaction to
those that did not seek imprisonment in the Civil
Disobedience movement and as an excuse to those that
would or could not go back to jail for a second or third
time. People doubted whether a note of warning should'
not be administered to Congressmen that they should not
be deflected from Congress work on account of untoucha-
bility work. The country was big enough to produce the
required number of workers for the removal of
untouchability without encroaching upon the claims of the
Congress. Gandhi made it clear in so many words and'
the very fact that he entrusted the organization of
untouchability work to men like Birla and Thnkkar
showed that he was inclined to pick and choose his
ointouchability workers from non-Congress workers.
Anyway, the loss to the Congress work is a gain to the
untouchability work and this field of work received a
great impetus by Gandhi's fast. The danger lay in young
men going too fast. Gandhi had to apply his reins, A
fast unto death was undertaken by more than one person
in the country in order to secure the entry into temples
FROM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 905
*of untouchables or 'Harijans' as they were soon called.
Just as in the Non-co-operation movement people were
.anxious to precipitate Civil Disobedience, so too in the
Hafijan movement did young enthusiasts want to preci-
pitate Satyagraha, little caring for the conditions around
or the competence of themselves to undertake such
austere penance. Gandhi's restraining influence which had
saved many a situation in 1921-22 was once again at
work.
The response to the call of Gandhi both to men and
women to interest themselves in the Harijan movement
wa« so quick and so ample that the complexion of affairs
began to be transformed almost every ROUT and every
minute. There was the Nawab of Bhopal offering a 5,000
rupee donation to the Hindu Reform movement. There
was Father Winslow issuing an appeal with fellow
Christian signatories condemning separate electorates for
the Indian Christian community. Elsewhere was Shaukat
Ali asking for the release of Gandhi and urging the settle-
ment of the Hindu-Muslim question as well. The atmo-
sphere was surcharged with a feeling of, alnd a cry for,
unity everywhere and communal unity would doubtless
have been achieved had it not been for the sudden reversal
of the Government's policy and the withdrawal, on the
29th September, of all the new privileges regarding visitors
etc., conceded to Gandhi during his fast. Mr. Jayakar
who wanted to see him was not permitted to see him.
Mrs. Sarojini Naidu was sent back to her own Ladies' Jail.
"Mrs. Gandhi was taken away from Gandhi's presence.
"Visitors were cut off. Gandhi was once more a prisoner,
•as he was before the 13th of September. But it must be
•said to the credit of the Government that Mrs. Gandhi
'alone was allowed to be with him from the next day as
-she had been released five days before her time. Gandhi
protested against the sudden deprivation of the opportuni-
:906 THE HISTORY OF THE CONC2>»ESS
/ties for serving the Harijan cause. It was opposed to the*
terms of Poona Pact itself.
After protracted correspondence Government at last
allowed Gandhi to cany on his 'untouchability' propa-
ganda, removed the restrictions regarding visitors,
correspondence and publicity lately imposed, and on 7th
November, Mr. Haig, the Home Member, made the
following statement in the Assembly: —
"Recently Mr. Gandhi represented that if he was
to carry out a programme which he has set before
himself in regard to the removal of untcuchability, it-
is necessary that he should be given greater freedom
in regard to visitors and correspondence on matters
strictly limited to this question. The Government
does not wish to interpose obstacles in Mr. Gandhi's
efforts in connection with the problem of untoucha-
bility which, as Mr. Gandhi pointed out, is a moral
and religious reform having nothing to do with the
Civil Disobedience movement. The Government have,
therefore, removed all restrictions regarding visitor?,
correspondence and publicity relating to matters
which are strictly limited to the removal of untoucha-
bility. However, the restrictions in regard to inter-
views specifically on political questions, stand totally
on a different footing and the position in regard
to this remains unchanged, as is clear from the
reply given by the Private Secretary to the Viceroy to
Maulana Shaukat AH."
We now publish below the correspondence on the
subject of the Fast and the text of the Poona Pact, in
full.
The following is the relevant portion of Gandhi's
speech at the Minorities Committee of the 2nd R. T. C-
^delivered on 13-11-'31 in London :-r-
FROM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 907
"l WILL RESIST IT WITH MY LIFE"
"I can understand the claims advanced by other
minorities, but the claim advanced on behalf of the
'untouchables' is to me the unkindest cut of all. It
means a perpetual bar minister.
"I would not sell the vital interests of the
'untouchables' even for the sake of winning the
freedom of India. I claim myself, in my own person,
to represent the vast masses of the 'untouchables/
Here I speak not merely on behalf of the Congress,
but I speak on my own behalf, and I claim that I
would get, if there was a referendum of the 'untoucha-
bles,' their vote and that I would top the poll. And
I would work from one end of India to the other to
tell the 'untouchables* that separate electorates and
separate reservation is not the way to remove this bar
sinister.
"Let this Committee and let the whole world
know that to-day there is a body of Hindu reformers
who feel that this is a shame, not of the 'untouch-
ables' but of orthodox Hinduism, and they are,
therefore, pledged to remove this blot of untouch-
ability. We do not want on our rolls and on our census
'untouchables' classified a? a separate class. Sikhs may
rcnuiin as such in perpetuity, so may Muslims, so
may Europeans. Would 'untouchables' remain -un-
touchables in perpetuity? I would far rather that
Hinduism died than that untouchability lived.
"Therefore, with al! my regard for Dr. Ambedkar
and for his desire to see the 'untouchables' uplifted,
with all my regard for his ability, I must say that
here is a great error under which he has laboured and,,
perhaps, the bitter experiences he has undergone have
for the moment warped his judgment. It hurts me to
have to say this, but I would be untrue to the cause
of the 'untouchables' which is as dear to me as life
itself, if I did not say it. I will not bargain away their
rights for the kingdom of the whole world. I am
speaking with, a due sense of responsibility when I
say it is not a proper claim which is registered by
Dr. Ambedkar, when he seeks to speak for the whole
of the 'untouchables1 in India. It will create a division
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
in Hinduism which I cannot possibly look forward to
with any satisfaction whatsoever.
"I do not mind the 'untouchables' being converted
to Islam or Christianity. I should tolerate that, but I
cannot possibly tolerate what is in store for Hinduism
if there are these two divisions set up in every village.
Those who speak of political rights of 'untouchables'
do not know India and do not know how Indian
society is to-day constructed. Therefore, I want to
say with all the emphasis that I can command that if
I was the only person to resist this thing, I will
resist it with my life."
GANDHI-HOAKE-MACDOX \LD CORRESPONDENCE
GANDHI'S LETTER TO SIR SAMUEL HOARE
Yeravada Central Prison,
March 11, 1932.
"Dear Sir Samuel,
You will perhaps recollect that at the end of my
speech at the Round Table Conference when the
minorities' claim was presented, I had said that I
should resist with my life the gran! of
separate electorate to the depressed classes. Thi?
was not said in the heat of the moment nor by way
•of rhetoric. It was meant to be a serious statement.
In pursuance of that statement I had hoped on my
return to India to mobilize public opinion against
separate electorate, at any rate for depressed classes.
But it was not to be.
"From the newspapers I am permitted to read, I
observe that any moment His Majesty's Government
may declare their decision. At first I had thought,
if the decision was found to create separate electorate
for the depressed classes, I should take such steps as
I might then consider necessary to give effect to my
TOW. But I feel it would be unfair to the British
^Government for me to act without giving previous
notice. Naturally, they could not attach the signifi-
cance I give to my statement.
XRQM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 909
SEPARATE ELECTORATES HARMFUL
"I need hardly reiterate all the objections I have
'to the creation of separate electorates for the
•depressed clashes. T feel as if I was one of them.
'Their case stands on a wholly different footing from
that of others. T am not against their represen-
tation in the Legislatures. I should favour every
<one of their adults, male and female, being registered
as voters irrespective of education or property quali-
fication, even though the franchise may be stricter
for others. But T hold that separate electorate is
harmful for them and for HinduiMn, whatever it may
be from the purely political standpoint. To appre-
ciate the harm that separate electorates would do
them, one has to know how they are distributed
amongst the so-called caste Hindu? and how depend-
ent they are on the latter. So far as Hinduism is
concerned, separate electorates would simply vivisect
and disrupt it.
''For me the question of tho<e elates is predomi-
nantly moral and religious. The political aspect,
important though it is. dwindles into insignificance
•compared to the moral and religious issue.
"You will have to appreciate my feelings in this
matter by remembering that I have been interested in
the condition of these classes from my boyhood and
have more than once staked my all for their sake. I
say this not to pride myself in any way. Now I
feel that no penance that the Hindu may do can in
any way compensate for the calculated degradation
to which they have consigned the depressed classes
for centuries.
'SHALL FAST UXTO DEATH'
"But I know that separate electorate is neither
a penance nor any remedy for the crushing degrada-
"tion they have groaned under. I, therefore, respect-
fully inform His Majesty's Government that in the
-event of their decision creating separate electorate
'for the depressed classes, I must fast unto death.
910 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
"I am painfully conscious of the fact that such
a step, whilst I am a prisoner, must cause grave
embarrassment to His Majesty's Government, and it
will be regarded by many as highly improper on the
part of one holding my position to introduce into the
political field methods which they would describe as
hysterical if not much worse. All I can urge in
defence is that for me the contemplated step is not
a method, it is part of my being. It is the call of
conscience which I dare not disobey, even though it
may cost whatever reputation for sanity I may
possess. So far as I can see now. my discharge
from imprisonment would not make the duty of fast-
ing any the less imperative. I am honing, however,
all my fears are wholly unjustified and the British
Government have no intention whatever of creating
separate electorate for the depressed classes.
GOVERNMENT TERRORISM
"It is, perhaps as well for me to refer to another
matter that is agitating me and may also enforce a
similar fast. It is> the way that repression is going.
I have no notion when I may receive a shock that
would compel the sacrifice. Repression appears to
me to be crossing what might be called legitimate
bounds. A governmental terrorism is spreading
through the land. Both English and Indian officials
are being brutalized. The latter, high and low, are
becoming demoralized by reason of Government
regarding as meritorious disloyalty to the people
and inhuman conduct towards their own kith and
kin. The latter arc becoming cowed down. Free
speech has been stifled. Goondaism is being practis-
ed in the name of Law and Order. Women, who have
come out for public service, stand in fear of their
honour being insulted.
"And all this, as it seems to me, is being done in
order to crush the spirit of freedom which the Con-
gress represents. Repression is not confined ta
punishing civil breaches of common law. It goads
people to break newly made orders of autocracy
designed for the most part to humiliate them.
FROM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLET 911
"In all these doings, as I read them, I see no spirit
of democracy. Indeed, my recent visit to England
has confirmed my opinion that your democracy is a
superficial, circumscribed thing. In the weightiest
matters decisions are taken by individuals or groups
without any reference to Parliament, and these have
been ratified by members having but a vague notion
of what they were doing. Such was the case with
Egypt, the1 war of 1914, and such is the case with
India. My whole being rebels against the idea that,
in a system railed democratic, one man should have
unfettered power of affecting the destiny of an
ancient people numbering over three hundred millions
and that his decisions can be enforced by mobilizing
the most terrible forces of destruction. To me this
is a negation of democracy.
AN ARTICLE OF FAITH
"And this repression cannot be prolonged with-
out further embittering the already bitter relations
between the two peoples. In so far as I am responsi-
ble and can help it, how am I to arrest the process?
Not by stopping Civil Disobedience. For me it is
an article of faith. I regard myself by nature a
democrat. The democracy of my conception is
wholly inconsistent with the use of physical force for
enforcing its will. Civil resistance, therefore, has
been conceived to be a proper substitute for physical
force, to be used wherever generally the latter is held1
to be necessary or justifiable. It is a process of self-
suffering, and part of the plan is that in given circum-
stances a civil resister must sacrifice himself even by
fasting to a finish. That moment has not yet arrived
for me. I have no undeniable call from within
for such a step. But events happening outside are
alarming enough to agitate my fundamental being.
Therefore, in writing to you about the possibility of
a fast regarding the depressed classes, I felt I would
be untrue to you if I did not tell you that there was
another possibility, not remote, of such a fast.
"Needless to say, from my side absolute secrecy
has been maintained about all the correspondence I
%1M2 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
have carried on with yoi^ Of course, Sirdar Vallabh-
bhai Patel and Mahadev Desai, who have just been
sent to join us, know all about it. But you will no
doubt make whatever use you wish of this letter.
Yours sincerely,
(Sd.) M. K. Oandhi."
SIR S. HOARE'S REPLY.
India Office, Whitehall,
April 13, 1932.
"Dear Mr. Gandhi,
I write this in answer to your letter of llth
"March, and I say at once I realize fully the strength
•of your feeling upon the question of separate elec-
torates for the depressed classes. I can only say that
we intend to give any decision that may bo necessary
solely and only upon the merits of the case. As you
are aware, Lord Lothian's Committee has not yet
completed its tour and it must be some weeks before
we can receive any conclusions at which it may have
arrived. When we receive that report we shall have
to give most careful consideration to its recom-
mendations, and we shall not give a decision until
we have taken into account, in addition to the view
expressed by the Committee, the views that you and
those who think with you have so forcibly expressed.
I feel sure if you were in our position you would be
taking exactly the same action we intend to take.
You would await the Committee's report, you would
'then give it your fullest consideration, and before
arriving at i final decision you would take into
account the views that have been expressed on both
sides of the controversy. More than this I cannot
say. Indeed I do not imagine you would expect me
"to say more.
TERRORISM NECESSARY
"As to the Ordinances, I can only repeat what
1 have already said both publicly and privately. I
jim convinced that it was essential to impose them
In the face of the deliberate attack upon the very
FROM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY
foundations of ordered Government- I am also con-
vinced that both the Government of India and the
Local Governments are not abusing their extensive
powers and are doing everything possible to prevent
excessive or vindictive action. We shall not keep
the emergency measures in force any longer than we
are obliged to, for the purpose of maintaining the
essentials of Law and Order and protecting our
officials and other classes of the community against
terrorist outrages.
Yours truly,
, (Sd.) Samuel Hoare."
GANDHI'S LETTER TO PRIME-MINISTER
Yeravada Central Prison.
August 18, 1932.
"Dear Friend,
There can be no doubt that Sir Samuel Hoare
has showed you and the Cabinet my letter to him of
llth March on the question of the representation of
the depressed classes. That letter should be treated
as part of this letter and be read together with this.
DECISION TO -FAST
"I have read the British Government's decision
on the representation of minorities and have slept
over it. In pursuance of my letter to Sir Samuel
Hoare and my declaration at the meeting of the
Minorities Committee of the Round Table
Conference on 13th November, 1931, at St. James'
Palace, I have to resist your decision with my life.
The only way I can do so is by declaring a perpe-
tual fast unto death from food of any kind, save
water with or without salt and soda. This fast will
cease if during its progress the British Government,
of its own motion or under pressure of public opinion,
revise their decision and withdraw their scheme of
communal electorates for the depressed classes,
whose representatives should be elected by the
general electorate under the common franchise, no *
matter how wide it is.
914 THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
"The proposed fast will come into operation in
the ordinary course from the noon of 20th September
next, unless the said decision is meanwhile revised
in the manner suggested above.
"I am asking the authorities here to cable the text
of this letter to you so as to give you ample notice.
But, in any case, I am leaving sufficient time for this
letter to reach you in time by the slowest route.
"I also ask that this letter and my letter to Sir
Samuel Hoare, already referred to, be published at
the earliest possible moment. On my part, I have
scrupulously observed the rules of the jail and have
communicated my desire or the contents of the two
letters to no one, save my two companions, Sirdar
Vallabhbhai Patel and Mr. Mahadev Desai. But I
want, if you make it possible, public opinion to be
affected by my letters. Hence my request for their
early publication.
"NOT TO COMPASS RELEASE"
"I regret the decision I have taken. But as a
man of religion that I hold myself to be, I have no
other course left open to me. As I have said in my
letter to Sir Samuel Hoare, even if His Majesty's
Government decided to release me in order to save
"themselves embarrassment, my fast will have to con-
tinue. For, I cannot now hope to resist the decision
1>y any other means. And I have no desire whatso-
ever to compass my release by anv means other
than honourable.
"It may be that my judgment is warped and
that I am wholly in error regarding separate elec-
torates for the depressed classes as harmful to them
or to Hinduism. If so, I am not likely to be in the
right with reference to other parts of my philosophy
of life. In that case my death by fasting will be at
once a penance for my error and a lifting of a weight
from off those numberless men and women who have
children's faith in my wisdom. Whereas, if my judg-
ment is right, as I have little doubt it is, the contem-
plated step is but due to the fulfilment of the scheme
FROM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 915
of life which I have tried for more than a quarter of
a century, apparently not without considerable
.success.
I remain,
Your faithful friend,
(Sd.) M. K. Gandhi."
PREMIER'S REPLY
10, Downing Street,
September 8th, 1932.
"Dear Mr. Gandhi,
I have received your letter with much surprise
and, let me add, with very sincere regret. Moreover,
I cannot help thinking that you have written it under
a misunderstanding as to what the decision of His
Majesty's Government as regards the depressed
classes really implies. We have always understood
you were irrevocably opposed to the permanent segre-
gation of the depressed classes from the Hindu
community. You made your position very clear in
the Minorities Committee of the Round Table Con-
ference and you expressed it again in the letter you
wrote to Sir Samuel Hoare on llth March. We also
know your view was shared by the great body of
Hindu opinion, and we, therefore, took it into most
careful account when we were considering the ques-
tion of representation of the depressed classes.
'GOVERNMENT DECISION EXPLAINED'
"Whilst, in view of the numerous appeals we
have received from depressed class organisations and
the generally admitted social disabilities under which
they labour and which you have often recognised, we
feel it our duty to safeguard what we believed to be
Hie right of the depressed classes to a fair proportion
of representation in the Legislatures, we were equally
careful to do nothing that would split off their com-
munity from the Hindu world. You yourself stated
in your lettefr of March 11, that you were not against
their representation in the Legislatures.
"Tinder the Government scheme the depressed
^classes will remain part of the Hindu community and
916 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGFJESS
will vote wtyh the Hindu electorate on an equal',
footing, but for the first twenty years, while still
remaining electorally part of the Hindu community,
they will receive, through a limited number of special
constituencies, means of safeguarding their rights and
interests that, we are convinced, is necessary under
present conditions.
"Where these constituencies are created, members
of the depressed classes will not be deprived of their
votes in the general Hindu constituencies, but will
have two votes in order that their membership of the
Hindu community should remain unimpaired.
"We have deliberately decided against the
creation of what you describe as a communal elec-
torate for the depressed classes and included all
depressed class voters in the general or Hindu
constituencies so that the higher caste candidates
should have to solicit their votes and they of the
higher castes at elections. Thus in every way was the
unity of Hindu society preserved.
'SAFEGUARDS TEMPORARY*
"We felt, however, that during the early period
of Responsible Government when power in the
Provinces would pass to whoever possessed a majority
in the Legislatures, it was essential that the depres-
sed classes, whom you have yourself described in your
letter to Sir Samuel Hoare as having been consigned
by caste Hindus to calculated degradation, for cen-
turies, should return a certain number of members of
their own choosing to Legislatures of seven of the
nine Provinces, to voice their grievances and their
ideals and prevent decisions going against them
without the Legislature and the Government listening
to their case, in a word, to place them in a position
to speak for themselves, which every fair-minded
person must agree to be necessary. We did not
consider the method of electing special representa-
tives, by reservation of seats in the existing condi-
tions under any system of franchise which is
practicable, of members who could genuinely^
represent them and be responsible for them, because,.
FKOM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 91?
in practically all cases, such members would be
elected by a majority consisting of higher caste
Hindus.
"The special advantage initially given under our
scheme to the depressed classes, by means of a limited
number of special constituencies in addition to their
normal electoral rights in the general Hindu consti-
tuencies, is wholly different in conception and effect
from the method of representation adopted for a
minority such as the Muslims by means of separate
communal electorates. For example, a Muslim
cannot vote or be a candidate in a general consti-
tuency, whereas any elcctorally qualified member of
the depressed classes can vote in and stand for the
general constituency.
'RESERVATION MINIMUM*
"The number of territorial seats allotted to*
Muslims is naturally conditioned by the fact that it
is impossible for them to gain any further territorial
seats, and in most Provinces they enjoy weightage
in excess of their population ratio; the number of
special seats to be filled from special depresssed class
constituencies will be seen to be small, and has been
fixed not to provide a quota numerically appropriate
for the total representation of the whole of the
depressed class population, but solely to secure a
minimum number of spokesmen for the depressed
classes in the Legislature who are chosen exclusively
by the depressed classes. The proportion of their
special seats is everywhere much below the popu-
lation percentage of the depressed classes.
"As I understand your attitude, you propose to
adopt the extreme course of starving yourself to
death not in order to secure that the depressed classes
should have joint electorates with other Hindus,
because that is already provided, nor to maintain the
unity of Hindus, which is also provided, but solely to
prevent the depressed classes, who admittedly suffer
from terrible disabilities to-day, from being able to
secure a limited number of representatives of their
own choosing to speak on their behalf in thfe
58
W8 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Legislatures which will have a dominating influence
over their future.
"In the light of these very fair and cautious
proposals, I am quite unable to understand the reason
of the decision you have taken and can only think
you have made it under a misapprehension of the
actual facts.
'GOVERNMENT DECISION STANDS'
"In response to a very general request from
Indians, after they had failed to produce a settlement
themselves, the Government, much against its will,
undertook to give a decision on the minorities question.
They have now given it, and they cannot be expected
to alter it except on the conditions they have stated,
lam afraid, there fore, that my answer to you must be
that the Government's decision stands and that only
agreement of the communities themselves can substi-
tute other electoral arrangements for those that
Government have devised in a sincere endeavour to
weigh the conflicting claims on their just merits.
"You ask that this correspondence, including
your letter to Sir Samuel Hoare of March llth, should
be published. As it would seem to be unfair if your
present internment were to deprive you of the oppor-
tunity of explaining to the public the reason why you
intend to fast, I readily accede to the request if, on
reconsideration, you repeat it. Let me, however, once
again urge yc\u to consider the actual details of
Government's decision and ask yourself seriously the
question whether it really justifies you in taking the
action you contemplate.
I am,
Yours very sincerely,
(Sd.) J. Ramsay MacDonald."
FINAL REPLY OF GANDHIJI
Yeravada Central Prison,
September 9th, 1932.
"Dear Friend,
I have to thank you for your frank and full
letter telegraphed and received this day. I am sorry,
FROM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 919
^however, that you put upon the contemplated step an
interpretation that never crossed my mind. I have
claimed to speak on behalf of the very class, to
sacrifice whose interests you impute to me a desire
to fast myself to death. I had hoped that the
extreme step itself would effectively prevent any such
selfish interpretation. Without arguing, I affirm that
for me this matter is one of pure religion. The mere
fact of the depressed classes having double votes
does riot protect them or Hindu society in general
from being disrupted. In the establishment of the
separate electorate at all for the depressed classes,
I souse the injection of a poison that is calculated to
destroy Hinduism and do no good whatever to the
depressed classes- You will please peimit me to say
that, no matt or how sympathetic you may be, you
cannot come to a correct decision or, a matter of
such vital and religious importance to the parties
-concerned.
"I should not bo against even over-representation
of tho depressed classes. What I am against is their
statutory separation, even in a limited form, from
the Hindu fold, so long as they choose to belong to
it. Do you realise that if your decision stands and
-the Constitution comes into being, you arrest the
marvollous growth of the work of Hindu reformers
who have dedicated themselves to the uplift of their
suppressed brethren in every walk of life?
'DECISION UNCHANGED'
"I have, therefore, been compelled reluctantly to
adhere to the decision conveyed to you.
"As your letter may give rise to a misunder-
standing, I wish to state that the fact of my having
isolated for special treatment the depressed classes
question from other parts of your decision does not
in any way mean that I approve of or am recon-
ciled to other parts of the decision. In my opinion,
many other parts are open to very grave objection.
-Only, I do not consider them to be any warrant
•for calling from me such self-immolation as my
$20 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
conscience has prompted me to in the matter of the-
depressed classes.
I remain,
Your faithful friend,
(Sd.) M. K. Gandhi."
GANDHI'S LETTER TO BOMBAY GOVERNMENT
The following is the statement that Gandhiji sent
to the Bombay Government on September 15th regarding
his decision to fast in connection with the depressed
classes problem. The statement was released to the
Press on September 21: —
"The fast which I am approaching was resolved
upon in the name of God, for His work, and, as I
believe in all humility, at His call. Friends have
urged me to postpone the date for the sake of giving
the public a chance to organise itself. I am sorry
it is not open to me to change even the hour except
for the reason stated in my letter to the Prime-
Minister.
"The impending fast i? against those who have
faith in me, whether Indians or foreigners, and for
those who have it not. Therefore, it is not against
the English official world, but it is against those
Englishmen and women, who, in spite of the contrary
teaching of the official world, believe in me and the
justice of the cause I represent. Nor is it against
those of my countrymen who have no faith in me,
whether they be Hindus or othere, but it is against
those 'countless Indians (no matter to what persua-
sion they belong) who believe that I represent a
just cause. Above all, it is intended to sting Hindu
conscience into right religious action.
"The contemplated fast is no anpeal to mere
emotion. By the fast I want to throw the whole of
my weight (such as it is) in the scales of justice pure
and simple. Therefore there need be no undue haste
in the feverish anxiety to save mv life. I implicitly
believe in the truth of the saying that not a blade of
grass moves but by His will. He will save it if He-
FROM THE FAST TO THF, LOOSE PULLEY 921
needs it for further service in this body. None can
save it against His will. Humanly speaking, I
believe it will stand the strain for some time.
"The separate electorate is merely the last straw.
No patchcd-up agreement between the caste Hindu
leatWs ami rival depressed class leaders will answer
the purpose. The agreement, to be valid, is to be
real. If the Hindu mass mind is not yet prepared
to banish untoucliability, root and branch, it must
sacrifice me without the slightest hesitation.
"There should be no coercion of those who are
oppcK'd to joint electorates. I have no difficulty in
understanding their bitter opposition. They have
every light to distrust me- Do I not belong to that
Hindu section, mis- called superior class or caste
Hindus who have ground down to powder the
so-called untouchables? The marvel is- that the latter
have nevertheless remained in the Hindu fold. But
whilst I can justify this opposition. I believe that
they are in error. They will, if they can, separate
•depressed elates entirely from Hirmi society and
form thr-m into a separate das.- — r> standing and
livinr reproach to Hinduism. T r*hould not mind if
thereby their interest could be really served. But
my intimate acquaintance with every shade of
untoucliability convinces me that their lives, such as
thev are, are so intimately mixed with those of the
caste Hindu** in whose midst and for whom they live
that it is impossible to separate them. They are
part of an indivisible family. Their revolt against
the Hindus with whom they live, and their apostacy
from Hinduism, I should understand. But this, so
far as T can see, they will not do. There is a subtle
something quite indefinable in Hinduism which keeps
them in it even in spite of themselves. And this
fact makes it imperative for a man like me, with a
living experience of it, to resist the contemplated
'separation even though the effort should cost life itself.
"The implications of this resistance are tremend-
ous. No compromise which does not ensure fullest
freedom for the depressed classes inside the Hindu
iold can be an adequate substitute for the contem-
plated separation. Any betrayal of the trust can
922 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
merely postpone the day of immolation for me an<f
henceforth those who think with me The problem
before responsible Hindus is to consider whether, in
the event of social, civic or political persecution of
the depressed classes, they are prepared to face the
Satyagraha, in the shape of perpetual fast not of one*
reformer like me but an increasing army of reformers
whom I believe to exist to-day in India, and who
will count their lives of no cost to achieve the libera-
tion of these classes, and there-through of Hinduism,
from an age-long superstition.
"Let fellow reformers who have worked with me
also appreciate the implications of the fast.
"It is either a hallucination of mine or an illumi-
nation. If it is the former, I must be allowed to do
my penance in peace. It will be the lifting of the
deadweight on Hinduism. If it is an illumination,
may my agony purify Hinduism and even melt the
hearts of those who are at present disposed to dis-
trust me! Since there appears to be a misunderstand-
ing as to the application of my fast I may repeat
that it is aimed at a statutory separate electorate, in
any shape or form, for the depressed classes. Immedi-
ately that threat is removed once for all, my fast will
end. I hold strong views about reservation of seats
as also about the most proj>er method of dealing with
the whole question. But I consider myself unfit, as
a prisoner, to set forth rny proposals. I should,
however, abide by an agreement on the basis of joint
electorates that may be arrived at between the
responsible leaders of caste Hindus and depressed
classes and which ha? been accepted by mass meet-
ings of all Hindus.
"One thing I must make clear. The satisfactory
ending of the depressed classes question, if it is to
come, should in no way mean that I would be com-
mitted to the acceptance of His Maiesty's Govern-
ment's decision on the other parts of the communar
question. I am personally opposed to many other
parts of it which, to my mind, make the working of
any free and democratic Constitution well-nigh
impossible, nor would a satisfactory solution of this*
FROM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 92ft
question in any way bind me to accept the Consti-
tution that may be framed. These are political
questions for the National Congress to consider and
determine. They are utterly outside my province in
my individual capacity. Nor may I, as a prisoner,
air my individual views on these questions.
"My fast has a narrow application. The
depressed classes question being predominantly a
religious matter, I regard as specially my own by
reason of life-long concentration on it. It is a
sacred personal trust which I may not shirk.
"Fasting for light and penance is a hoary insti-
tution. T, have observed it in Christianity and
Islam. Hinduism is replete with instances of fast-
ing for purification and penance. But if it is a pri-
vilege, it is also a duty. Moreover, to the best of
my light, I have reduced it to a science. As an
expert, therefore, I would warn friends and sympa-
thisers against copying me blindly or out of false or
hysterical sympathy. Let all such qualify them-
selves by hard work and selfless service of 'untouch-
ables/ and they would have independent light if
their time for fasting has come.
"Lastly, in so far as I know myself, this fast
is being undertaken with the purest of motives and
without malice or anger against any single soul. For
me it is an expression of, and the last seal on, non-
violence. Those, therefore, who would use violence
in this controversy against those whom they may
consider to be inimical to me, or the, cause I repre-
sent, will simply hasten my end. Perfect courtesy
and consideration towards opponents is an absolute
essential of success in this case at least, if not in all
'A FIGHT FOB HUMANITY'
On September 20, Press representatives were allowed
to interview Gandhi in jail. The following account of
the talk appeared in The Times of India of 21st
September: —
For the first time in nine months, journalists
were permitted to see Mahatma Gandhi in Yeravada
924 THE HISTORY OF THE CONOBESS
Jail this evening at 5-30, when they were treated to
one of the most easily delivered and seriously
thoughtful interviews to which it has ever been my
fortune to listen. No journalist could see Mahatma
Gandhi to-day and discuss the position with him five
hours after he had commenced a 'fast unto death'
without being immensely impressed.
We were ushered into a long narrow room
surrounded by shelves in which were piled jail-made
durrieSf blankets and other articles, the labour of a
thousand convicts and Swadeshi to the last thread.
There, sitting in a chair smiling a welcome, was
the man upon whom the attention of all Tndia, and
of the entire Western world, as well ns a very large
proportion of the Orient, has be'en focussed for
several days.
When asked if he was hopeful about a happy
ending to the affair, he said, "I am on irrepressible
optimist. Unless God has forsaken me, I hope that
it will not be a fast unto death."
Mahatma Gandhi said that he had had many
ielegrams from people who had decided or wished to
enter upon a fast in sympathy with him. "I urge
everybody not to fast in sympathy. T have under-
taken it at God's call, and therefore, unless there is
a similar definite call to these people, they have no
"business to fast For one day, for the sake of
purification or identification with the cause, it is a
good thing; but that is all. Such a fast is both a
privilege and a duty, and the privilege accrues only
to those who have disciplined themselves for it.1'
The interview then turned to the question of
the day, the representation of the depressed classes,
or as Mahatma Gandhi calls them, the suppressed
classes. First of all he expressed surprise that the
statement given to the Government of Bombay had
not been released. That had been given five days
ago. Had he to redraft it to-day, it would be rather
different in the light of happenings since then, and
"he said at the end of the interview that his new
statement was supplementary to the other, but not
dependent on it*
PROM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 925
"My cards are on the table," he said, "but, so
far as the present instance is concerned, I could say
tions are removed, I have answered the first call of
the Press. My fast is only against separate elec-
torates, and not against statutory reservation of
•seats. To say that I am damaging the cause by
uncompromising opposition to statutory reservation of
scats is only partly true. Opposed I was, and am
even now, but there was never put before me for my
acceptance or rejection a scheme for statutory reser-
vation of seats. Therefore, there 5s no question
of my having to decide upon that point. When I
developed my own ideas about that point, I certainly
•expressed disappointment, and in my humble opinion,
such statutory reservation, short of doing service,
may do harm in the sense that it will stop natural
evolution. Statutory reservation is like a support to
a man. "Relying on such support to any extent, he
weakens himself."
"If people won't laugh at me. T would gently
put forward a claim which I have always asserted,
that I am a 'touchable' by birth, but an 'untouch-
able* by choice; and I have endeavoured to qualify
myself to represent, not the upper ten
even among the 'untouchables/ because be
it said to their shame there are castes
and classes among them, but my ambition
is to represent and identify myself with, as far as
possible, the lowest strata of 'untouchables/ namely,
the 'invisibles' and the 'unapproachables/ whnm I
have always before my mind's eye wherever I go;
for, they have indeed drunk deep of the poisoned
cup. I have met them in Malabar and in Orissa,
and am convinced that if they are ever to rise, it
will not be by reservation of seats but will be by the
strenuous work of Hindu reformers in their midst,
and it is because I feel that this separation would
"have killed all prospect of reform that my whole
soul has rebelled against it; and, let me make it
plain, that the withdrawal of separate electorates
will satisfy the letter of my vow but will never
satisfy the spirit behind it, and in my capacity of
being a self-chosen 'untouchable/ I an* not going to
$26 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGEESS
nothing behind prison bars. Now that the restric-
rest content with a patched-up pact between the
'touchables' and the 'untouchables-'
'THE DREAM OF MY LIFE '
"What I want, what I am living for, and what
I should delight in dying for, is the eradication of
untouchability, root and branch. I want, thereforer
a living pact whose life-giving effect should be felt
not in the distant to-morrow but to-day, and there-
fore, that pact should be sealed by an all-India
demonstration of 'touchables' and 'untouchables'
meeting together, not by way of a theatrical show,
but in real Brotherly embrace. It is in order to
achieve this, the dream of my life for the past fifty
years, that I have entered to-day the fiery gates.
The British Government's decision was the last straw.
It was a decisive symptom, and with the unerring
eye of the physician that I claim to be in such
matters, I detected the symptom. Therefore, for me,
the abolition of separate electorates would be but
the beginning of the end, and I would warn all those
leaders assembled at Bombay and others against
coming to any hasty decision.
'A CRY FOR JUSTICE'
"My life I count of no consequence. One
hundred lives given for this noble cause, would, in
my opinion, be poor penance done by Hindus for the
atrocious wrongs they have heaped upon helpless
men and women of their own faith. I, therefore,
would urge them not to swerve an inch from the
path Of strictest justice. My fast I want to throw
in the scales of justice. And if it wakes up caste
Hindus from their slumber, and if they are roused to
a sense of their duty, it will have served its purpose
Whereas, if out of blind affection for me, they would1
somehow or other come to a rough and ready agree-
ment so as to secure the abrogation and then go off
to sleep, they will commit a grievous blunder and
will hfrve made my life a misery. For; while the*
FBOM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 92T
abrogation of separate electorates would result in my
breaking the fast, it would be a living death for me
if the vital pact for which I am striving is not
arrived at. It would simply mean that, as soon as
I call off the fast, I would have to give notice of
another in order to achieve the spirit of the vow to
the fullest extent.
"This may look childish to the onlooker but not
so to me. If I had anything more to give, I would
throw that in also to remove this curse but I have
nothing more than my life.
'A FIGHT FOR HUMANITY'
"I believe that if untouchability is really rooted
out, it will not only purge Hinduism of a terrible
blot but its repercussion will be world-wide. My
fight against untouchability is a fight against the
impure in humanity, and, therefore, when I penned*
my letter to Sir Samuel Hoare I did so in the full
faith that the very best in the human family will
come to my assistance, if I have embarked on this
thing with a heart, so far as it is possible for a
human being to achieve, free of impurity, free of all
malice and all anger. You will, therefore, see that
my fast is based on faith first of all in the cause,
faith in the Hindu community, faith in humair
nature itself, and faith even in the official world.
'ISSUE SURPASSING SWARAJ*
"In attacking untouchability I have gone to the
very root of the matter, and, therefore, it is an issue
of transcendental value, far surpassing Swaraj in
terms of political constitutions, and I would say that
such a Constitution would be a dead-weight if it was
not backed by a moral basis, in the shape of the
present hope engendered in the breasts of the down-
trodden millions that that weight is going to be lifted"
from their shoulders. It is only because the English
officials cannot possibly see this living side of the-
picture that, in their ignorance and self-satisfaction,.
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
they dare to sit as judges upon questions that affect
the fundamental being of millions of people, and
here I mean both caste Hindus and 'untouchables,'
that is, suppressor and suppressed; and it was in order
to wake up even officialdom from its gross ignorance,
if I may make use of such an expression without
being guilty of offence, that I felt impelled by a
voice from within to offer resistance with the whole
-of my being."
He stated that he had made definite suggestions
to the deputation from the Emergencv Committee
whom he received yesterday, and he presumed that
these would have been communicated to the Press
to-day in Bombay.
Referring to a possible photograph Mahatma
Gandhi made a jocular remark concerning his
funeral rites, whereupon I asked him if he had made
any preparations for such rite? when visited by his
son Devadas yesterday, if the very worst happened;
and I received a dramatic reply: "I have asked
my son to sav in my name at the Bombay Con-
ference that he, as his father's son, was prepared to
forfeit his father's life rather than see any injury
T>eing done to the suppressed classes in mad haste."
What did he really think about the possibilities
of his fast lasting? He replied: "T am as anxious
as anyone to live. Water has an infinite capacity
for prolonging life, and T will take water whenever
I feel T require it- You can depend upon me to
make a supreme effort to hold myself together, so
that the Hindu conscience may be quickened as also
the British conscience and this agony may end. My
'Cry will rise to the throne of the Almighty God."
THE YERAVADA PACT
The following is the text of the agreement
•which has been arrived at between the leaders acting
on behalf of the depressed classes and of the rest of
the Hindu community regarding the representation of
the depressed classes in Legislatures and certain other
matters affecting their welfare.
FROM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 929*
1. There shall be seats reserved for the depress-
ed classes out of general electorates. Seats in.
Provincial Legislatures shall be as follows:
Madras . . 30
Bombay with Sindh . . 15
Punjab . . 8
Bihar and Orissa . . 18
Central Provinces . . 20
Assam . . 7
Bengal . . 30
United Provinces . . 20
Total . . 148
These figures are bated on the total strength of
the Provincial Councils announced in the Prime-
Minister's decision.
2. Election to these seats shall be by joint
electorates subject, however, to the following pro-
cedure:
All members of the depressed classes registered
in the general electoral roll of a constituency, will
form an electoral college which will elect a panel of
four candidates belonging to the depressed classes, for
each of such reserved seats, by the method of single
vote and four persons getting the highest number of
votes in such primary election shall be the candi-
dates for election by the general electorate.
3- Representation of the depressed classes in the
Central Legislature shall likewise be on the principle
of joint electorates and reserved seats by the
method of primary election in the manner provided
for in clause 2 above for their representation in
Provincial Legislatures.
4. In the Central Legislature eighteen per cent*
of the seats allotted to the general electorate for
British India in the said Legislature shall be reserved
for the depressed classes.
5. The system of primary election to panel of
candidates for election to the Central and Provincial
Legislatures, as hereinbefore mentioned, shall come
-930 THE HISTORY OF THE CQNQBESS
to an end after the first ten years, unless terminated
sooner by mutual agreement under the provision of
clause 6 below.
6. The system of representation of the depress-
ed classes by reserved seats in the Provincial and
Central Legislatures, as provided for in clauses 1
and 4, shall continue until determined by mutual
•agreement between the communities concerned in
this settlement.
7. The franchise for the Central and Provincial
Legislatures for the depressed classes shall be as
'indicated in the Lothian Committee Report.
8- There shall be no disabilities attaching to
anyone on the ground of his being a member of the
depressed classes in regard to any emotions to local
'bodies or appointment to public service.
Every endeavour shall be made to secure a fair
representation of the depressed classes in these
respects, subject to such educational qualifications
as may be laid down for appointment to public
service.
9. In every Province, out of the educational
.grant, an adequate sum shall be earmarked for pro-
viding educational facilities to members of the
depressed classes.
* Madan Mohan Malaviya B. S. Kamat
Tej Bahadur Sapru G. K. Devadhar
-M. R. Jayakar A. V. Thakkar
• B. R. Ambedkar R. K. Bhakale
- Srlnivasan P. G. Solanki
M. C. Rajah P. Baloo
C V. Mebta Govind Malaviya
C. Rajagopalachari Devadas Gandhi
Rajendra Prasad Biswas
G. D. Birla B. N. Rajbhoj
Rameswar Das Birla Gavai
•Shankerlal Banker
FROM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLET 931
The following signatures were added in Bombay
tit the final sitting of the Hindu Conference on
"September 25: —
Lallubhai Samaldas P. Kodanda Rao
Hansa Mehta G. K. Gadgil
K. Natarajan Manu Subedar
Kamakoti Natarajan Avantikabai Gokhalc
Purushottamdas Thakurdas K. J. Chitalia
Mathuradas Vassanji Radhakant Malaviya
Walchand Hirachand A. R. Hhat
H. N. Kunzrn Colum
K. G. Limaye Pradhan
Before closing the subject of the first great fast, and
the Poona Pact, we have to refer to Another connected
event which attracted wide attention- Mr. Kelappan,
who had been doing public work in Malabar, particularly
in the cause of Harijans, felt the force of a call from
within and decided upon a fast to death almost simul-
taneously with Gandhi's epic fast.
His object was to persuade the Trustees to open the
Guruvayoor temple to 'untouchables.' Gandhi studied
the facts of the case and thought that sufficient notice
was not given to the Trustees. It W«IB borne in upon
him that success was almost in sight, but Gandhi held
that it was not the immediate prospect of success that
should matter, but the pure ethics of the position. Here
are the two relevant telegrams sent to Kelappan:
Yeravada, Sept. 29.
"The Zamorin wires asking me to appeal to you
to suspend the fast for some months. He says the
present entry of 'untouchables' would wound orthodox
conscience and such wounding would amount to
coercion. Ask yourself whether there is any room
for you on this relevant ground to postpone the fast,
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
and whether, in terms of the Zamorin's telegram,
you had given sufficient notice of the extreme step.""
Yeravada, Oct. 2.
"Your wire. Immediate prospective result
must not affect decision. On pure ethics I must
reiterate the opinion that you should suspend the
fast, giving notice as per my telegram. God helping,
I shall bear my share of the burden. Wire com-
pliance."
Gandhi specifically promised to share the next fast
with Kelappan if that became necessary and referred to it
in his statements. When Gandhi discovered a flaw
(namely, want of due notice) and intimated the same to
Kelappan, the latter agreed to give up his fast.
At this stage, we may appropriately refer to a
sympathetic fast by Gandhi on 2nd December, 1932, for
S. P. Patwardhan of Ratnagiri. Syt. Patwardhan had
asked for scavenger's work in jail but it was refused by
the authorities. Gandhi wrote to the Bombay Govern-
ment in the matter but to no effect. Consequently Syt.
S- P. Patwardhan started a starvation fast by reducing
his diet. Gandhi had agreed, in the truce period, to go
on fast with Syt. Appasaheb Patwardhan if his demand
was not granted, and so Gandhi in sympathy with him
commenced this fast. But within two days the authori-
ties gave an assurance to consider the demand and the
fast was given up. Within about a week, the Secretary
of State made the necessary amendments in jail rules
and the bar against giving scavenging work to caste
Hindus was removed and the Satyagraha thus became
successful.
We have described the development of the Civil
Disobedience movement in the year 1932, as well as
the episode of the Poona Pact. The public response to»
Gandhi's call for the removal of untouchability did
FROM THE PAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 933
doubtless affect the progress of the Civil Disobedience
movement.
In spite of that, the Congress programme was
carried out. There was another reason for the slacken-
ing of the Civil Disobedience campaign. As things stood
and as already stated, it could be conducted mainly by
practicing methods of secrecy which are not only abhor-
rent, but even opposed to and subversive of the funda-
mental principles of Satyagraha. The meeting of friends
at Poona in connection with Gandhi's fast must have
given an opportunity for exchange of thoughts on the
subject amongst leading Congressmen who were then
free, and accordingly two circulars were issued. The
first pointed out the supreme claims on Congressmen of
Civil Disobedience, work in connection with the removal
of untouchability being primarily entrusted to nationalist
non-Congressmen and such Congressmen as, for some
reason or other, were unable to court imprisonment.
The second insisted on the desirability of terminating
secret methods which had crept in during the progress of
the C.D. campaign.
The 4th January was the day on which the Govern-
ment offensive had started in 1932, and the Acting
President, Rajendra Prasad, who had succeeded Raja-
gopalachari, issued instructions to all Provincial offices
that the anniversary should be observed on that day by
reading a special statement which had been, sent out and
which gave in a short compass the progress of the move-
ment and a survey of the problems holding the foremost
place in the thoughts of the country at the time. Meet-
ings were held at numerous places and the statement
was read in the midst of arrests and JaJfei-charges
followed by the arrest of the President himself on the
6th January, 1933. Thereafter, Mr. Aney became the
Acting President.
59
934 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
When the fight commenced in January, 1932, Vallabh-
bhai Patel was the President of the Congress. The
Working Committee had decided that, unlike in 1930,
vacancies in the Working Committee should not be filled
up and Vallabhbhai drew up a list of persons who were
to succeed him and act as Presidents one after another
during his absence. Rajendra Prasad, Dr. Ansari, Sirdar
Sardul Singh Caveeshar, Gangadhararao I hpande,
Dr. Kitchlew, Rajagopalachari, Rajendra "* ne3^. and
Aney acted between January, 1932, and Jul'Veferred to it
the Congress organisation ceased to funcCerer! a fl°J°
those who acted as Secretaries during thirfp/1 AVln ^ud on
whom fell the burden of carrying on the office work in
the midst of indescribable difficulties may be mentioned
the names of Jaya Prakash Narayan, Lalji Mehrotra,
Girdhari Kripalani, Annada Choudhary and Jugul Kishor
Agarwala.
The events of 1933 are briefly told. The Calcutta
Session of the Congress was the most outstanding one.
An account of this session and of the rest of the events
up to the middle of September are succinctly given in
the Report for 1933-34, presented by the General
Secretaries of the Congress, and we have extracted the
following paragraphs therefrom: —
THE CALCUTTA CONGRESS
The Calcutta Session of the Congress, like the
preceding Delhi Session of April, 1932, was also held
amder a ban. Though it was organised when the
Civil Disobedience movement was on the decline, the
enthusiasm and spirit of resistance^ manifested were
greater than at Delhi. Several Provinces sent their
foil! quota of delegates. In all, about 2,200 delegates
were elected from different parts of the country. Trie
fact that Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya had
consented to preside at the session heightened the
• enthusiasm of the Nation. The decision of
FROM THE PAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 935
Mrs. Motilal Nehru to attend the Congress despite
age and infirmity was an inspiration to the coming
-delegates. The session met at Calcutta on March
•31st, in an electric atmosphere. Dr. Prafulla Ghosh
was the Chairman of the Reception Committee. The
Government spared no effort to prevent the holding
of the Congress. Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya
was not allowed to reach Calcutta. He was arrested
at Asansol, an intermediate station. With him were
.arrested Mrs. Motilal Nehru, Dr. Syed Mahmud and
others who formed the Presidential party. All were
.removed to Asansol Jail. Syt. M.S. Aney, the Acting
President of the Congress, was also arrested
-and imprisoned while on his way to Calcutta. The
office-bearers of the Reception Committee were put
under arrest and several Congress leaders served
with restraint orders at Calcutta. Chief among the
latter were Mrs. Sen-Gupta and Dr. Mohammad
Alam. Nearly a thousand delegates were arrested
before their start or while on their way to Calcutta.
The remaining delegates succeeded in reaching the
city. In the face of the ban, about eleven hundred
delegates met at the place selected for the session.
The Police were soon upon the scene and lathis
rained on the peaceful assembly of Congressmen.
Many of the delegates were seriously injured and
Mrs. Sen-Gupta and other leading Congressmen
were arrested. The Police attempt to prevent the
session by force, however, failed, for despite the
continuance of the lathi blows the inner group of the
delegates maintained their seats until all the seven
resolutions which were to be submitted for adoption,
were read out and passed. Most of those arrested
in connection with the Calcutta Session of the
Congress were, however, released as soon as the
Congress was over. Others were tried and convicted.
Mrs. Sen-Gupta also received a sentence of six
months. On release from prison on 3rd April, Pandit
Malaviya proceeded to Calcutta and soon placed
before the country unimpeachable testimony as to
the brutal manner in which the Police had tried to
break up the Congress. He challenged the Govern-
ment to hold an enquiry, but the challenge has never
936 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
been taken up. We give below the resolutions of the
Calcutta Session:
Resolutions passed at the 47th session of the
Indian National Congress, Calcutta, March 31st,
1933.
"This Congress re-affirms the resolution passed
at its 44th session at Lahore, in 1929, declaring
Complete Independence as its goal."
"This Congress holds Civil Disobedience to be a
perfectly legitimate means for the protection of the
rights of the people, for the vindication of national
self-respect, and for the attainment of the national
goal."
''This Congress re-affirms the decision of the
Working Committee arrived at on 1st January, 1932.
On a careful survey of all that has happened during
the past fifteen month*, the Congress is firmly of /opinion
that, in the situation in which the country is placed,
the Civil Disobedience movement should be strength-
ened and extended, and the Congress, therefore,
calls upon the people to pursue the movement with
greater vigour on the lines laid down by the Working
Committee in its aforesaid resolution. "
"This Congress calls upon all classes and
sections of the people in the country to completely
eschew foreign cloth, to give preference to khaddar
and to boycott British goods."
"This Congress holds that no Constitution
framed by the British Government, while it is
engaged in conducting a. campaign of ruthless repres-
sion, involving the imprisonment and internment of
the most trusted leaders of the Nation and thousands
of their followers, suppression of the fundamental
rights of free speech and association, stringent
restraint on the liberty of the Press and replacement
of the normal Civil Law by virtual Martial Law,
deliberately initiated by it on the eve of Mahatma
Gandhi's return from England with a view to crush
the national spirit, can be worthy of consideration by
or acceptable to the people of India".
"The Congress is confident that the public will
not be duped by the scheme outlined in the recently
published White Paper which is inimical to the vital
FROM THE PAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 937
interests of India and is devised to perpetuate foreign
domination in this country."
"This Congress offers its congratulations to the
country on the successful termination of Mahatma
Gandhi's fast of September, 1932, and hopes that
untouchability will before long become a thing of the
past."
"This Congress is of opinion that, to enable
the masses to appreciate what 'Swaraj,1 as conceived
by the Congress, will mean to them, it is desirable
to state the position of the Congress in a manner
easily understood by them. With this object in view
it reiterates resolution No. 14 of the Karachi Session
of the Congress of 1931." (Resolution on Funda-
mental Rights) .
GANDHIJl'S FAST
The Calcutta Congress wes? soon followed by an
unexpected event in the country. With a view to
help the inrreasing number of workers in the Harijan
movement to fulfil their task with a purer and truer
spirit of service, Mahatma Gandhi had started, on
8th May, 1933, a self-purificatory fast of 21 days.
In his words, it was "a heart prayer for purification of
myself and my associates for greater vigilance and
watchfulness in connection with the Harijan
cause."
"I therefore asked friends in India and all the
world over to pray for me and with me that I may
safely pass through the ordeal and that whether I
live or die the cause for which the fast is to be
taken may prosper. May I ask my Sanatanist
friends to pray that, whatever be the result of the
fast for me, the golden lid that hides truth may be
removed?" He added in a Press interview: "A
religious movement does not depend for its success on
the intellectual or material resources of its sponsprs;
but it depends solely upon the spiritual resources,
and fasting is a most known method of adding to
these resources." . , , /
938 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
The Government issued a Communique on the*
same day stating that, in view of the nature of the
object of the fast and the attitude of mind which it
disclosed, the Government of India had decided that
he (Gandhiji) should be set at liberty. Accordingly r
Mahatma Gandhi was released on the evening of 8th
May. Immediately on release, Gandhiji issued the
following statement recommending the suspension of
the C. D. campaign for six weeks.
Mr. Gandhi said:
"I cannot regard this release with any degree
of pleasure, and as Sirdar Vallabhbhai rightly
remarked to me yesterday, how can I take advantage
of this release in order to prosecute the Civil Disobe-
dience campaign or to guide it?
"This release, therefore, puts upon me, as a
seeker after truth and a man of honour, a tremendous
burden and a strain. This fast has to continue. I
had hoped and I still hope not to excite myself over
anything, nor to take part in any discussions of any
nature whatsoever. The whole purpose of the fabt
will be frustrated if I allowed my brain to be occupi-
ed by any extraneous matter, that is, any matter
outside the Harijan work.
"At the same time, having been released, I should
be bound to give a little of my energies to a study of
the Civil Disobedience movement.
"Of course, for the moment I can only say that
my views about Civil Disobedience have undergone
no change whatsoever. I have nothing but praise
for the bravery and self-sacrifice of the numerous
civil resisters. Having said that, I cannot help
saying that the secrecy that has attended the move-
ment is fatal to its success. If, therefore, the
movement must be continued I would urge those who-
are guiding the movement in different parts of the
country to discard all secrecy. I do not care if
thereby it becomes difficult to secure a single civil
resister.
"There can be no doubt that fear has seized the
common mass. The Ordinances have cowed them
down and I am inclined to think that the secret
FROM THE PAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 939
methods are largely responsible for the demoralisa-
tion.
"The movement of Civil Disobedience does not
depend so much upon the quantity as on the quality of
men and women taking part in it, and if I was
leading the movement I should sacrifice quantity and
insist on quality. If this could be done, it would
immediately raise the level of the movement. Mass
instructions on any other term is an impossibility.
I can say nothing as to the actual campaign. The
reflections I have given I had bottled up all these
many months and I can say Sirdar Vallabhbhai is
at one with me in what I have said.
"One word I would say whether I like it or
not — during these three weeks all civil resisters will
be in a state of terrible suspense. It would be better
if the President of the Congress, Bapuji Madhavarao
Aney, were to officially declare suspension for ooe
full month or even six weeks.
"Now I would make an appeal to the Govern-
ment. If they want real peace in the land and if
they feel there is no real peace, if they feel that
Ordinance rule is no rule, they should take advantage
of this suspension and unconditionally discharge all
the civil resisters.
"If I survive the ordeal, it will give me time to
survey the situation and to tender advice both to
the Congress leaders and, if I may venture to do so.
to the Government. I would like to take up the
thread at the point where I was interrupted on my
return from England.
"If no understanding is arrived at between the
Government and the Congress as a result of my
effort and Civil Disobedience resumed, it will be
open to the Government if they so choose to revive
the Ordinance rule. If there is the will on the part
of the Government I have no doubt that a modus
operandi can be found. Of this, so far as I am con-
cerned, I am absolutely certain.
"Civil Disobedience cannot be withdrawn so long
as so many civil resisters are imprisoned and no
settlement can be arrived at so long as Sirdar
Vallabhbhai, Khan Saheb Abdul Gaffar Khan and
940 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and others arc buried
alive.
"Indeed to call off the civil resistance is not
within the power of any of the men who are out of
prison. It is possible for the then Working
Committee to do so. I refer to the AVorking
Committee that was in existence at the time I was
arrested. I shall say no more on the Civil Disobe-
dience movement. Perhaps I have already said
too much, but if I was to say anything I could say
so only whilst I have strength left in me.
"I would urge pressmen not to worry me any
more. I would urge also would-be visitors once more
to restrain themselves. Let them regard mr as being
still in prison. I shall be unfit for holding political
discussions or any other discussions.
\ "I would like to be left in perfect peace and I
would like to tell the Government that I shall not
abuse the release, and if I come safely through the
ordeal and I find the political atmosphere as murky
as it is to-day, without taking a single step secretly
or openly in furtherance of the Civil Disobedience,
I shall invite them to take mo back to Yeravada to
join the companions whom 1 almost seem to have
deserted.
"It was a great privilege for me to have been
with Sirdar Vallabhbhai. I was well aware of his
matchless bravery and his burning love of the
country, but I have never lived with him as I have
had the good fortune during the 16 months. The
affection with which he covered me, recalls to me
that of my own dear mother. I never knew him to
possess motherly qualities. If the slightest thing
happened to me, he would be out of his bed. He
superintended every little detail in connection with
my comforts. He and my other associates had conspired
to let me do nothing, and I hope that Government
will believe me when I say that he always
showed a remarkable comprehension of the difficulties
of the Government whenever we discussed any
political problem. His solicitude for the fanners of
Bard'oli and Kaira I can 'never forget."
TROM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 941.
Close upon Gandhi's announcement, the Acting
President of the Congress, Mr. M. S. Aney, made a
like announcement suspending Civil Disobedience
for six weeks. Government were not slow either in
publishing their reply.
A Government Communique announced that mere
suspension of the Civil Disobedience did not fulfil
the conditions laid down for the release of prisoners.
The Government were not prepared to negotiate with
*hc Congress in the matter.
The official Communique of the Government of
India dated Simla, May 9th, said:
"The release of Mr. Gandhi consequent on his
undertaking a prolonged fast which, as he has stated,
is wholly unconnected with the Government and
solely connected with the Harijan movement,
indicates no change whatever in the Government's
general policy towards the release of the Civil
Disobedience prisoner^ or towards those who openly
or conditionally support the Civil Disobedience
movement.
"The po.Mtion of the Government in regard to
the release of the Civil Disobedience prisoners was
stated by the Home Member in the Legislative
Assembly on April 1 last.
"In the course of his speech, he said: 'If, in
fact, the Congres:* docs not mean to revive the
struggle, why should that not be made plain? Is
there a mental reservation that, if the policy of the
•Government is not to their liking, they will hold over
the head of the Government the threat of revival of
the Civil Disobedience movement? There can be no
co-operation under a menace of renewal of the Civil
Disobedience.'
"We have no wish to keep these prisoners
longer than the circumstances require but equally are
we determined not to let them out when their release
might lead to a renewal of the Civil Disobedience.
We must not risk re-starting of trouble by premature
action.
"Our position has been summed up in the words
used by the Secretary of State in the Commons.
942 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
"He said: — 'We must have convincing reasons to
believe that their release would not be followed by
a revival of the Civil Disobedience.'
"A mere temporary suspension of the Civil
Disobedience movement intended to lead up to nego-
tiations with the Congress leaders, in no way fulfil*
the conditions which would satisfy the Government
of India that, in fact, the Civil Disobedience move-
ment has been definitely abandoned. There is no
intention of negotiating with the Congress for a
withdrawal of the Civil Disobedience movement or
of releasing prisoners with a view to arrive at any
settlement with them in regard to these unlawful
activities."
Simultaneously with this negative reply from
Simla, there came a statement from Vienna signed by
Syt. Vittalbhai J. Patel and Syt. Subash Chandra
Bose. "The latest action of Mr. Gandhi in suspend-
ing Civil Disobedience is a confession of failure,"
declares the joint statement of Mr. V. J. Patel and
Mr. Subash Bose given exclusively to Reuter from
Vienna.1
The statement further states that "we are clearly
of the opinion that Mr. Gandhi as a political leader
has failed. The time has, therefore, come for a
radical reorganisation of the Congress on a new
principle with a new method, for which a new leader
is essential, as it is unfair to expect Air. Gandhi -to
work the programme not consistent with his life-
long principles."
"If the Congress as a whole," the statement
proceeds, "can undergo this transformation, it will
be the best course. Failing that, a new party will
have to be formed within the Congress, composed of
radical elements."
In the meantime, opinion in Congress circles
began to crystallize that the opportunity afforded by
Gandhiji's release should be utilized for informal
1 This is not, however, the first time that Gandhi met with adverse
criticism from either of the distinguished signatories whose ill-health
compelled their stay in a distant land during the campaign. Gandhi
bore the world's criticisms even as he bore his own sufferings, with
patience, faith and fortitude. His vow was fulfilled duly and he
broke his fast on the 29th May, 1933.
FROM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 943
consultation among Congressmen in regard to the
situation in the country. In view of the necessity
of holding such a Conference when Gandhiji should
be physically fit to participate in it, the period of
suspension of the campaign was extended by the
Acting President for a further span of six weeks.
The length of the fast, and the uncertainty in the
minds of many as to its future course, caused the
Nation's eyes to centre on Tarnakuti,' the residence
of Lady Thackersey in Poona where Gandhi abandon-
ed his fast, and there was universal thanksgiving
as the agony of the concluding days of the fast
ended in the happy termination of the ordeal with-
out any untoward incident.
THE POONA CONFERENCE: — The informal Con-
ference of Congressmen summoned to review the
political situation met in Poona on July 12th, 1933.
Syt. Aney opened the proceedings with an introduc-
tory speech. Gandhiji placed his views on the
situation in brief before the Conference. General
discussion followed and at its conclusion the Con-
ference adjourned to the next day. The second
day's sitting opened with an exhaustive statement by
Gandhiji dealing with the points raised by the
members of the Conference and placing before them
his suggestions. The Conference then proceeded to
make its recommendations. It rejected a motion for
the unconditional withdrawal of Civil Disobedience
but also threw out a motion favouring individual
Civil Disobedience. In the end, the Conference
authorised Mahatma Gandhi to seek an interview
with the Viceroy for arriving at a settlement with
the Government. In accordance with that decision,
Gandhiji wired to the Viceroy 'asking for an inter-
view "with a view to explore the possibilities of
peace." The Viceroy, in reply, however, referred in
detail to misleading newspaper reports as to the
trend of discussions at the Poona Conference, and,
relying on such reports, he declined to grant the
interview, unless the Congress first withdrew the
Civil Disobedience movement. Gandhi sent a reply
to the effect that Government had baaed its attitude
on unauthorised publications of the confidential
-944 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
proceedings of the informal Conference and that, if
an interview were granted, he could show that the
proceedings taken as a whole were calculated to bring
about an honourable peace. Gandhiji's efforts at
peace failed to elicit response and forced the Nation,
if it was to conserve national honour, to continue
the struggle. Mass Civil Disobedience was, however,
suspended and all who were able and willing were
advised to offer individual Civil Disobedience. Under
the orders of the Acting President, all Congress
•organisations and war councils ceased to function in
ATiew of the suspension of mass Satyagraha.
INDIVIDUAL CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE: — Gandhi inaugu-
rated the campaign of individual Civil Disobe-
dience by taking the drastic action of sacrificing
"svhat was his most precious possession and
thus trying to share the sufferings endured by
thousands of villagers in the course of the movement.
He disbanded the Sabarmati Ashram and invited his
fellow-workers in the Ashram to give up all the other
•activities and join the struggle. He vacated the
whole Ashram, transferring the moveable property
to certain bodies for public use, and not wishing to
make others a party to paying revenue dues, he
•offered the land, building and crops to Government.
AH the response the Government made to his offer
Avas a formal one-line acknowledgment of his letter.
When Government declined the offer, Gandhi
made it over to the Harijan movement. In this
connection we may recall a statement that Gandhi
had made on the eve of his march to Dandi, — really
it was a determination, — that he would never return
to the Ashram until Swaraj was won. And true to
his vow, he has not since the 12th of April, 1930,
returned to the Ashram except on a casual visit to
see an ailing friend. By this final act of transfer of
the Ashram to , the Harijan Sangh, he divested
himself of any little germs of attachment to things
mundane, which might possibly take root in his
'breast.
On 1st August, 1933, Gandhi ji was to commence
liis ridarch *to the village of Ras, so famous through-
out India ever since Sirdar Vallabhbhai's arrest there
FROM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY
in February, 1930. But in the dead of the previous
night Mahatma Gandhi and 34 other inmates of his
Ashram were arrested and sent to prison. He was.
however, released on the morning of the 4th, and
served with an order to leave the limits of Yeravada
village and reside in Poona. The order was, of
course, not obeyed arid, within half an hour of
release, Gandhiji was arrested and sentenced to one
year's imprisonment.
Following his arrest and imprisonment, the
campaign of individual Civil Disobedience started in
all Provinces, hundreds of workers courting imprison-
ment in th<> very first week. The Acting President.
Syt. Aney, with thirteen companions, was arrested on
August 14, while starting on a march from Akola.
His successor as Acting President, Sirdar Sardul
Singh Caveofthar, >oon followed him to prison. Before
imprisonment, however, he issued orders terminating
the office of the Acting President and the line of
Dictators in various Provinces and Districts, with a
view to facilitate the campaign becoming truly one
of individual Civil Disobedience. From all over the
country. Congress workers followed the lead given by
Gandhiji, and from August, 1933, to March, 1934, a
regular stream of civil registers maintained the
campaign. It will not be possible without fuller
material from provincial centres to report adequately
on the campaign with due justice to all Provinces.
The Provincial quotas of imprisoned civil registers
during this last stage of the movement have not all
been recorded. It must here suffice to say that
thousands responded to the call and every Province
did the very best it could, under the circumstances..
in serving the cause of freedom.
GANDHUI'S RELEASE: — The Government's refusal
to continue the facilities granted to him
before his release in May. again forced Mahatma
Gandhi to commence a fast, i.e., within a
few days of his re-arrest. The Government
remained adamant. Gandhiji's condition, however,
rapidly grew worse and on 20th A,ugust, the fifth
day of the fast, he had to be removed to Sagsoom
946 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Hospital, Poona, still a prisoner. By 23rd August,
however, it had become clear to Government that
there was imminent danger to his life, and he was,
therefore, released unconditionally on that date. This
unexpected development placed him in a most
embarrassing position. In view, however, of the
circumstances of his discharge from jail, and as he
did not wish to be a willing party to the undignified
'cat and mouse game' of arrest, fast, and release, he
came to the conclusion that he must regard himself
still not a free man, that he must impose on himself
a limited self-restraint in regard to his activities up
to the termination of the period of his sentence, that
is, up to August 3rd, 1934, and that he must not
court imprisonment by offering aggressive civil resist-
ance. He made it clear, however, that while he
would refrain from aggressive Civil Disobedience, he
could not help guiding those who would ask his
•advice and preventing the national movement from
•running into wrong channels. He further decided to
devote the intervening period largely to the
furtherance of the Harijan movement.
JAWAHARLAL/R RELEASE: — Mrs. Motilal Nehru's
health had been latterly worsening and about this
-time it had begun to cause widespread anxiety. The
U.P. Government, therefore, decided to release Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru a few days before the expiry of
his sentence so as to enable him to be with his mother
in her serious illness. He was accordingly released
on August 30th. As soon as Mrs. Motilal's health
improved, Pandit Jawaharlal repaired to Poona
where Mahatma Gandhi was recuperating and the
two met for the first time since they separated on
the occasion of Gandhiji's departure for the R.T.C.
in 1931. There naturally followed friendly discus-
sions as to the situation in the country and the
programme before the people. The discussion
eventually led to exchange of letters containing
a statement of their views on the programme for
the Nation. This correspondence was published for
the information and guidance of Congressmen and
ihe general public.
FROM THE PAST TO THE LOOSE PULLET 947
HARIJAN TOUR:— In accordance with his deci-
sion to devote to the Harijan cause the period of his
forced inactivity in the purely political field,
Gandhi ji commenced a Harijan tour in the country
in November, 1933. He covered, in about ten
months, every Province of India and each day of
those long months was a day of an intensive study
of the problem of untouchability and the best methods
of solving it. The tour had an extraordinary
propagandist value. The response evoked at the
gatherings in each Province and the attendance at
the meetings organized were only less than those
witnessed in the country in the days of 1930. The
collections made by Gandhi in the course of the tour
for the cause of the removal of untouchability
totalled about eight lakhs of rupees which, in view
of the trade depression and previously made calls
on the public purse, was certainly an unexpectedly
generous response to his appeal- The otherwise
wholly successful tour was marred by two regret-
table incidents. Gandhiji narrowly escaped at
Poona, on 25th June, 1934, from what might have
proved a great calamity for tho Nation. An
unknown and yet untraced person attempted to
throw a bomb at him at a public function where he
was to receive an address of welcome from the
Poona Municipality. The perpetrator of the
attempted erime, believed to be one who had been
enraged at Gandhiii's campaign against untouch-
ability, mistook for Gandhi's car another which
reached the scene a few minutes earlier. His mis-
aimed bombt nevertheless, wounded seven innocent
persons, none of whom, fortunately, received very
serious injuries. The other incident took place at
Ajmer only about a fortnight later, and this time it
was an irate reformer who lost his bnlanee and ciit
open with a lathi the head of Pandit Lalnath of
Benares, a determined opponent of the Harijan
movement. This latter happening led to a seven
days' fast by Gandhiji as a penance against the
intolerance shown by opponents towards each other
in public controversies.
948 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
He had undertaken an all-India tour for Hari-
jan work, but the month of December was the month
of his test. Three months' notice being given by
Mr. Kelappan to the Trustees in regard to the Guru*
vayoor temple, a final decision was to he reached
on the 1st of January, 1934. And it might mean a
fast unto death both for Kelappan and Gandhiji-
So it was resolved to take a referendum at Guru-
vayoor amongst the temple worshippers, and the first
experiment made in this behalf wa** a highly educa-
tive as well as successful experiment In the mean-
time, Dr. Subbaroyan had given notice of a Temple
Entry Bill for the Madras Presidency and Govern-
ment's decision was being awaited. In the
Guruvayoor referendum. 77 per cent, of the voter-
voted in favour of Temple Entry am: the following'
report would be found interesting: —
"Out of 20,163 opinions actually given and
recorded, excluding refusals to vote, the following i&
an analysis of the voting: —
In favour, 15,563 or 77 per cent.
Against, 2,579 or 13 per cent.
Neutral 2,016 or 10 per cent.
"A remarkable feature of the referendum was
that more than 8,000 women recorded in favour of
Temple-Entry by Harijans."
The new year opened auspicioiislv enough, as the
apprehended fast of Gandhi over the Guruvayoor temple
was averted. But the progress of events in the line of
Civil Disobedience was none too satisfactory. The
prisoners who were released were fagged. The pro-
vincial leaders who had promised to lead their Provinces
at Poona, if mass Civil Disobedience were given up and
individual Civil Disobedience continued, did not cany
out their pledges except in a few cases. Those who were
released from jails found themselves umible or unwilling
to face another conviction. And those that were prepared'
FROM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLET 949
to face it would not get it. Government had hit on
the plan of ZafAi-charging or imprisoning and ill-treating
in sub- jails, and releasing, re-arresting and releasing
again, after an interval. The process was tiresome and
the only rest that conviction would give was taken
away. It was like a cat shaking the rat by the mouth
and leaving it and then catching it again. It would
neither kill nor release.
THE BIHAR EARTHQUAKE: — The whole of India
staggered to its feet on 16th January, shocked at the
news the morning papers brought to every home, of
the unprecedented calamity that had overtaken
Bihar on the previous afternoon- Within the space
of a few minutes, the face of the Province was
changed beyond recognition. Thousands of buildings
fell into dust and buried within the bowels of the
earth. From below ground, sand emerged to destroy
extensive areas of rich crops. Water at a tempera-
ture of 110 degrees pushed its way to the surface
from a depth of 1,500 feet. A sandy expanse
stretched where, only a moment ago, river beds
carried the life-endowing current which irrigated the
land or where smiling fields bore the burden which
fed and sustained the life of millions. Thousands
of families were orphaned and widowed and their
innocent babes crushed in death beneath falling
debris within, almost literally, the twinkling of an
eye. No cold figures can give a hue picture of
what Nature had miswrought in a few minutes in
Bihar. Yet some may be quoted. The earthquake
affected an area of 30,000 sq. miles and a population
of about a crore and a half. Nearly 20,000 persons
are recorded to have lost their lives. Houses
numbering over 10 lakhs were damaged or destroyed.
65,000 wells and tanks were destroyed or damaged.
Nearly 10 lakhs of bighas of crops were covered
with sand and damaged.
To meet a catastrophe of this magnitude, both
Bihar and India rose to the occasion. Over a crore
of rupees were subscribed to the various funds, the
amount received by the Bihar Central Belief Com*
60
jtSO THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
mittee up to the end of June being over Rs. 27
lakhs. Most leaders and workers sped from many
parts of India to come to the rescue of the afflicted
and to help to organise systematic rplief. The
excellent report of that Committee, recently published,
will give to all a realistic idea of the extent of
damage and the measures of relief which over 2,000
workers have carried out at 258 centres.
Among the outside leaders who visited the
devastated area was Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The
visit was not only a token of sympathy. It was a
personal example of service. On one occasion, when
reports reached that living men lay buried under the
debris of fallen houses, he put on a volunteer's
tadge, took a pick-axe on his shoulder, and, accom-
panied by a batch of volunteers with pick-axes,
shovels and baskets, he marched to the place- He
and others then plied their pick-axes and shovels,
carrying the debris in baskets on their heads. The
Bihar earthquake also intervened to change
'Gandhiji's programme. Bihar and its workers had
At that time to face numerous complicated problems
arising out of the situation created by the earthquake
and the impending floods, and Gandhi] i devoted a
month to give them his guidance and advice. In
the result, a conference was held of representatives
from all parts of the country at which the Bihar
Central Relief Committee was set up to control the
relief operations, and the ground cleared for one of
-the biggest schemes of distress relief ever organised
by Congress in recent years. During his stay in
Bihar, Gandhiji visited the afflicted towns and
villages, acquainted hijnself personally with the
miserable plight 'of the victims of the great calamity
and helped the newly formed Committee to chalk
out its plans of work. He rushed some of his own
trained workers to the scene and placed them at the
service of Bihar. The Province has yet to confront
problems of a complexity and a magnitude of which
probably those outside the Province have no adequate
conception, (An authoritative account of the relief
•operations is given in Appendix VIII).
FROM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 951
On completion of his brief tour in Bihar, Pandit
Jawaharlal found himself once again a prisoner of
•Government. During his visit to Calcutta, he had deli-
vered two speeches on the situation in Bengal and the
latest development in Midnapur District. The Bengal
•Government could brook no mention of the so-called
terrorists of the Province except in terms of unqualified
condemnation. Pandit JawaharlaFs frank speeches
dealing with the psychology of terrorism, and the
methods adopted by the authorities in meeting it, could
not be tolerated by the Bengal bureaucracy. Decency
prevented the Bengal Police from arresting him while
he was on a mission of humanity in Bihar, but he had
hardly reached his home in Allahabad when the prison
gate again opened for him. He was tried for his two
-Calcutta speeches and given the heavy sentence of two
years.
Ever since the Poona Conference of July, 1933, an
increasing number of Congressmen were coming to form
the view that, in the situation existing in the country
as a result of Ordinance rule, a programme of entry into
the Legislatures was necessary to find a way out of what
was held to be a 'stalemate.' This view found an
organised expression in a move to summon a Conference
of Congress leaders sharing the above opinion for the
.purpose of giving concrete shape to the desire for a new
line of action. This Conference met at Delhi on 31st
March, 1933, under the Presidentship of Dr. Ansari. It
resolved that the All-India Swaraj Party which had been
in abeyance should be revived in order to enable
•Congressmen who were not offering Individual Civil
Disobedience to undertake a thorough organisation
-of the electorate and carry out the constructive
-programme as contemplated in the Poona statement of
IMahatma Gandhi (July 1933). The Conference also
952 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
expressed the view that it was imperative for the Party
to participate in the forthcoming elections to the Legis-
lative Assembly. To that end it laid down that the-
elections should be fought on two main issues, — (1) to
get all repressive laws repealed, and (2) to reject
proposals contained in the White Paper and get them
replaced by the National Demand on the lines indicated,
by Mahatma Gandhi at the R. T. C. The Conference, '
after coming to these tentative decisions, sent a deputa-
tion to Gandhiji consisting of Dr. Ansari, Syt. Bhulabhai
Desai and Dr. Bidhan Roy with a view to discuss its
resolutions with him and ascertain his opinion before,
acting upon the decisions.
Gandhi was at the time touring in the earthquake-
affected area of Bihar and happened to spend his silence
day (the 2nd April, 1934) at an out-of-the-way place
called Saharsa where, without any knowledge of what
had happened at Delhi, he independently drew up a
statement which he wanted to issue to the Press. But
just when it was to be so issued, a message was received
from Dr. Ansari intimating to him that the deputation
appointed by the Delhi Conference on the previous day
was coming to meet him at Patna. He held over the
statement pending consultation with them, and it was
issued later on the 7th after full discussion with them.
The publication of the statement was preceded by a letter
to Dr. Ansari, and we give the letter and the statement:
below : —
GANDHIJI'S LETTER TO DR. ANSARI
Patna, April, 5, 1934.
"Dear Dr. Ansari,
It was good of you, Bhulabhai and Dr. Bidhan-
to come all the way to Patna to discuss the resolu-
tions arrived at recently at an informal meeting of:
FROM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLET 953
-some Congressmen and to ascertain my opinion on
them. I have no hesitation in welcoming the revival
•of the Swarajya Party and the decision of the
.meeting to take part in the forthcoming elections to
?the Assembly which you tell me is about to be
.dissolved.
"My views on the utility of the Legislatures in
the present state are well known. They remain, on
the whole, what they were in 1920. But I feel that
it is not only the right but it is the duty of every
Congressman who, for some reason or other, does not
want to or cannot take part in civil resistance and
•who has faith in entry into the Legislatures, to seek
•entry and form combinations in order to prosecute
the programme which he or they believe to be in the
interest of the country. Consistently with my view
above mentioned, I shall be at the disposal of the
party at all times and render such assistance as it
is in my power to give.
Yours sincerely
(Sd.) M. K. Gandhi "
GANDHI'S STATEMENT
(Dated, Patna, April 7, 1934)
"This statement was drafted by me on my day
'of silence at Saharsa, that is, Easter Monday, 2nd
instant. I passed it on to Rajendra Babu and then
it was circulated among the friends who were present.
The original draft has undergone considerable
revision. It is also abridged. But in essence it
remains as it was on Monday. I regret that I have
not been able to show it to all friends and colleagues
with whom I would have been delighted to share it.
But as I had no doubt whatsoever about the sound-
ness of my decision and as I knew that the civil
resistance of some friends was imminent, I was not
prepared to take the risk of delaying publication by
waiting for the opinion of friends. The decision and
every word of the statement are in answer to intense
Introspection, searching of the heart, and waiting
upon God. The decision carries with it reflection
-upon no single individual. It is a humble admission
of my own limitations and a due sense of the
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
tremendous responsibility that I have carried on my
shoulders all these long years.
"This statement owes its inspiration to a
personal chat with the inmates and associates of the-
Satyagraha Ashram who had just come out of prison-
and whom, at Rajendra Babu's instance, I had sent
to Bihar. More especially is it due to a revealing
information I got in the course of a conversation
about a valued companion of long standing who was
found reluctant to perform the full prison task and'
preferring his private studies to the allotted task.
This was undoubtedly contrary to the rules of
Satyagraha. More than the imperfection of the
friend, whom I love more than ever, it brought home-
to me my own imperfection. The friend said he had'
thought that I was aware of his weakness. I was
blind. Blindness in a leader is unpardonable. I saw
at once that I must for the time being remain the
sole representative of civil resistance in action.
"During the informal Conference week at Poona
in July last, I had stated that, while many individual'
civil resisters would be* welcome, even one was*
sufficient to keep alive the message of Satyagraha.
Now, after much searching of the heart, I have
arrived at the conclusion that in the present circum-
stances only one, and that myself, and no other
should, for the time being, bear the responsibility of
civil resistance, if it is to succeed as a means of
achieving Purna Swaraj.
"I feel that the masses have not received the^
full message of Satyagraha owing to its adulteration
in the process of transmission. It has become clear
to me that spiritual instruments suffer in their
potency when their use is taught through non-
spiritual media. Spiritual messages are self-propa-
gating. The reaction of the masses throughout the
Harijan tour has been the latest forcible illustration
of what I mean. The splendid response of the masses
has been spontaneous. The workers themselves were
amazed at the attendance and the fervour of vast*
masses whom they had never reached.
"Satyagraha is a purely spiritoial weapon. It
may be used for what appear to be mundane endfe,.
FROM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 9S5?
and through men and women who do not understand
it spiritually, provided the director knows that the
weapon is spiritual. Every one cannot use surgical
instruments. Many may use them if there is an
expert behind them directing their use. I claim to
be a Satyagraha expert in the making. I have need
to be far more careful than the expert surgeon who
is complete master of his science. I am still a
humble searcher. The very nature of the science of
Satyagraha precludes the student from seeing more
than the step immediately in front of him.
"The introspection prompted by the conversa-
tion with the Ashram inmates has led me to the
conclusion that I must advise all Congressmen to
suspend civil resistance for Swaraj as distinguished
from specific grievances. They should leave it to
me alone. It should be resumed by others in my life-
time only under my direction, unless one arises
claiming to know the science better than I do and
inspires confidence. I give this opinion as the author
and initiator of Satyagraha. Henceforth, therefore,
all who have been impelled to civil resistance for
Swaraj under my advice, directly given or indirectly
inferred, will please desist from civil resistance. I
am quite convinced that this is the best course in the
interest ri of India's fight for freedom.
*4I am in deadly earnest about this greatest of
weapons at the disposal of mankind. It is claimed
for Satyagraha that it is a complete substitute for
violence or war. It is designed, therefore, to reach
the hearts both of the so-called 'terrorists1 and the
rulers who seek to root out the 'terrorists' by %
emasculating the whole Nation. But the indifferent
civil resistance of many, grand as it has been in its _
results, has not touched the hearts either of the ~
'terrorists' or the rulers as a class. Unadulterated •
Satyagraha must touch the hearts of both. To test -
the truth of the proposition, Satyagraha needs
to be confined to one qualified person at a time. The
trial has never been made. It must be made now.
"Let me caution the reader against mistaking
Satyagraha for mere civil resistance. It covers much
more than civil resistance. It m£ans relentless Search :
956 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
for Truth, and the power that such a search gives to
the searcher can only be pursued by strictly non-
violent means.
"What are the civil resisters, thus freed, to do?
If they are to be ready for the call whenever it
comes, they must learn the art and the beauty of
jself-denial and voluntary poverty. They must
•engage themselves in nation-building activities, the
spread of khaddar through personal hand-spinning
and hand-weaving, the spread of communal unity of
hearts by irreproachable personal conduct towards
one another in every walk of life, the banishing of
untouchability in every shape or form in one's own
person, the spread of total abstinence from intoxicat-
ing drinks and drugs by personal contact with
individual addicts and, generally, by cultivating
personal purity. These are services which provide
maintenance on a poor man's scale. Those for
whom the poor man's scale is not feasible should find
place in small unorganised industries of national
importance which give better wages. Let it be
understood that civil resistance is for those who
Tcnow and perform the duty of voluntary obedience
to law and authority.
"It is hardly necessary to say that in issuing this
'statement I am in no way usurping the function of
the Congress. Mine is mere advice to those who look
to me for guidance in matters of Satyagraha."
Gandhi's statement was a result of "an intense
introspection, searching of the heart, and waiting upon
God." Adulteration of Satyagraha in the process of
transmission, reaction of the masses manifested during
Harijan tour, — all these impressed upon Gandhi the
necessity of confining the movement to himself, an expert
in Satyagraha, even as surgical instruments should be
used only by expert surgeons. The result was the
suspension of Civil Disobedience as a mass movement.
Dr. Ansari, in his statement issued at the same time,
made it clear that the whole-hearted and spontaneous
FBOM THE FAST TO THE LOOSE PULLEY 957
support of Mahatma Gandhi happily removed all chances
•of opposition and division in the Congress and that the
•dual programme, fight both within and without the
Legislature, would remove political inertia and sullen
•discontent among the intelligentsia and the people.
A Conference was convened at Ranchi on 2nd and
•3rd May, 1934, primarily to take necessary steps for
making the Swaraj Party a pulsating and living organisa-
tion. One of the essential aims was to seek the approval
and support of the All-India Congress Committee,
vouchsafed to it by Gandhi. The first resolution was an
approval of the Delhi Conference resolutions reviving the
•Swaraj Party and contesting of the Assembly elections on
the issues of the rejection of the White Paper, the
summoning of a Constituent Assembly for preparing the
National Demand, and repealing the repressive laws.
'Then a revised Constitution of the Swaraj Party was
adopted, according to which the Swaraj Party might not
accept the Congress guidance in matters of internal
administration and party finance. It was distinctly laid
•down that, on all broad policies, the Swaraj Party should
'be guided by the Congress organisation.
The programme of the Swaraj Party as laid down
'by the Ranchi Conference on 3rd May, 1934, provides for
securing of the repeal of all acts and regulations that
impede the healthy growth of the Nation and speedy
attainment of Purna Swaraj, for securing the release of
all political prisoners, for resisting all acts and proposals
•for legislative enactments which may be calculated to
"exploit the country, for organising villages, for effecting
reform in matters such as labour, currency, exchange,
•agriculture, and finally for carrying out the constructive
programme of the Congress.
958 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGEESS
All these subjects were finally discussed by the-
All-India Congress Committee at its meetings held in
Patna on 18th and 19th May, 1934. It may be incidentally:
noted that the A.LCX1 was the only body in the
Congress organisation which had not come under the ban
of Government. Civil Disobedience was suspended as per
recommendation of Gandhi and the following resolution-
concerning the Swaraj Party was passed : —
"Inasmuch as there exists in the Congress a vast
body of members who believe in the necessity of
entry into the Legislatures as a step in the country's
progress towards its goal, the All-India Congress
Committee hereby appoints Pandit Madan Mohan
Malaviya and Dr. M. A. Ansari to form aboard, with
Dr. Ansari, as President, called the Parliamentary
Board, consisting of not more than 25 Congressmen.
"The Board shall run and control elections of,
members to the Legislature on behalf of the Congress
and shall have power to raise, possess and administer
funds for carrying its duties.
"The Board shall be subject to the control of the
All-India Congress Committee and shall have power
to frame its Constitution and make rules and regula-
tions from time to time for the management of its
affairs. The Constitution as well as the rules and
regulations shall be placed before the Working
Committee for approval, but shall be in force pending
the approval or otherwise of the Working Committee.
"The Board shall select only such candidates as
will be pledged to carry out in the Legislatures the
Congress Policy as it will be determined from time
to time."
CHAPTER III
MARKING TIME
There being a general desire for an early session of"
the Indian National Congress, it was decided that the
next ordinary session be held at Bombay in the first
week of October, 1934, which date, owing to the uncer-
tainty of the monsoon, was later changed to the last
week of October.
The Working Committee of the Congress also held
its sittings at Patna, just before and after the A.I.C.C.,
i.e., on 18th, 19th and 2Qth May, 1934. It made recom-
mendations with regard to the suspension of civil resis-
tance and the adoption of the Council-entry programme
which were, as indicated above, accepted by the A.I.C.C.
The Working Committee, in view of the decision of the
A.I.C.C., suspending civil resistance, called upon all the
Congressmen to abide by that decision. The Congress-
men all over the country obeyed this direction and the
civil resistance movement stood suspended on 20th May,
1934.
Simultaneously, the Working Committee, in modifi-
cation of the instructions issued by the Acting President
at Poona in July, 1933, called upon al! Congressmen to-
reorganise all Congress Committees for the purpose of
carrying on normal Congress activities. It appointed
several leading Congressmen with full powers on behalf
of the Working Committee, to help this reorganisation in
different Provinces. In view of the suspension of civil
resistance, the office of the Acting President naturally
terminated and in the absence, in prison, of Sirdar
•960 THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
Vallabhbhai Patel, the President of the Congress,
:Syt. Jamnalal Bajaj was nominated by the Working Com-
mittee to act as President of that Committee and to
exercise all the powers of the President till the ensuing
session of the Congress.
It was not without some ado that the Patna decisions
were arrived at. On the one hand there was a large body
• of opinion still extant which plumped for a no-change
programme and which did not conceal its antipathy to
•Council work. On the other there \\as the steadily
growing Socialist Party which, without sharing Gandhian
ideals with the Congress, nevertheless stood four-square
against Council-entry. All opposition, however, vanish-
ed into thin air when Gandhi stood up. rather sat down,
and spoke. He had been touring in Orissa in the Harijan
• cause on foot. He had been making a new experiment
in touring on foot. His visit to Patnii was to him a
^wrench from work which was dearest to his heart. It
-was doubtless true that the new method considerably
restricted the range of his travel and incidentally it meant
;a large curtailment of collections. But Gandhi began to
feel that tour by rail and motor would mean that he was
a machine for collecting funds. To make matters worse,
it was contemplated that Gandhi should tour the U.P. in
aeroplane as well All this was repugnant to his taste.
He had started the new experiment and must carry it
on. But Patna disturbed him, nor did he resent it. He
'had invited the interruption by his famous statement of
.April 7th (1934). He must implement it. He must
liquidate the Civil Disobedience movement, vesting all
-residual rights in himself. He had started it in a like
'fashion under a resolution of the Working Committee in
TTebruary, 1930, authorising him to carry out Salt Satya-
•graha. The movement ended as it began, and Gandhi,
MARKING TIME 961*
in two remarkable speeches, poured out his whole soull
before the A.I.C.C. once again in Patna.
The month of May, 1934, also saw the birth of the
Socialist Party in India. It held its first All-India-
Conference at Patna on 17th May, 1934, under the
Presidentship of Acharya Narendra Dev. Besides deal-
ing with the question of Council-entry and the textile
strike, it resolved that the time had come for the setting,
up of an All-India organisation of the Socialists in the
Congress, and to that end it appointed a drafting com-
mittee to prepare a draft programme and constitutioa
for such an organisation for submission to the Bombay
Session of the All-India Socialist Conference. Since the
Patna meeting, branches of the Socialist Party have
been formed in several Provinces.
The Patna decisions were soon followed by a change
in the centre of gravity of the Congress. The Civil
Disobedience movement was switched off and the
Council-entry programme was switched on. It was as if
the belt in a workshop turning round the shaft was simply
slipped off the fast on to the loose pulley. In the twink-
ling of an eye, faster than the fall of an object whose
position is dislocated, quicker than tie alternation of
darkness with light when the current is off, more expedi-
tiously than the stopping of a moving piece of machinery
brought about by the pushing of a bar did the Civil
Disobedience movement yield place to Council-entry.
Gandhi alone remained free to practise the former, not*
that the country had none others to keep him company,
but at Patna that was the position created by the resolu-
tions passed by the A.I.C.C. Gandhi resumed his Harijan
tour in Utkal and followed it up by a tour in U.P. The
time-limit was about to expire which he had placed upon
himself in respect of participation in a political pro*-
-962 THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
gramme. August 4th was the day on which he would
have been released if his fast had not compelled Govern*
_ment to release him. Speculation was rife as to what he
would do thereafter. Would he precipitate a crisis by
going to the Frontier against the refusal of permission
by the Government of India? Else why did he reserve
to himself the right to practise individual Disobedience?
.But would he, having permitted the country to contest
elections to the Assembly, plunge it into an abyss of
sorrow and confusion, by seeking prison himself? That
was unthinkable; that was not Gandhi-like- Whatever
Gandhi might do or might not do, whosoever might
contest or might not contest elections, there was enough
to shape work for Congressmen throughout the country.
Almost all the Congress and allied organisations had
been declared unlawful bodies, with the exception of the
All-India Congress Committee, early in 1932. Govern-
ment took early steps to lift the ban on Congress organi-
sations in the country and the ban was lifted on most of
them on 12th June, 1934. Only those in the N.W.F. and
in Bengal and some of the allied or affiliated organisa-
tions like the Hindustan Seva Dal in some Provinces
continued to be under the ban. In some Provinces the
Government still retained possession of the premises
used by organisations which, according to it, were
directly or indirectly connected with the Civil Disobe-
dience movement and some were not restored even till the
middle of 1935. The Government also announced a
general policy of expediting the release of the Civil
Disobedience prisoners, but many of them, specially from
Gujarat, remained still behind the prison bars. Several
•Congressmen in Gujarat, though life-long residents in
British India, were not allowed to enter it and are for all
practical purposes under internment in Indian States,
.Persons in different parts of the country who were con*
MARKING TIME
963
oiected with the Civil Disobedience movement are not
.given passports to leave India on legitimate business.
Immediately after the Patna decisions, however,
•Congressmen all over the country had already started
re-organising the Congress Committees and, by the
.month of June, most Congress Committees in the Pro-
vinces had resumed their normal functioning as before
1932. Accordingly, the Working Committee met at
Wardha on June 12th and 13th, and again on June 17th
-and 18th at Bombay. It laid down for the newly
•organised Congress Committees a constructive programme,
the main items of which were production of khaddar
through self-spinning and spread thereof within the area
•of production, removal of untouchability, the promotion
of inter-communal unity, the promotion of total absti-
nence from intoxicating drinks and drugs and advocacy
of prohibition, promotion of education on national lines,
promotion and development of useful small industries,
organisation and reconstruction of village life in its
•economic, educational, social and hygienic aspects, spread
of useful knowledge amongst the adult population in the
villages, or organisation of industrial labour, and such
other activities as are not inconsistent with the Congress
objective or general policy and which will not involve
any form of civil resistance. The Committee also decided
to draw the attention of the Government to the dis-
crepancy in the Communique withdrawing the ban on
Congress organisations, which, through cancelling notifi-
cations against constituent parts of the Congress
organisation, had retained the ban on the Khudai
Khidmatgars, who were, since August, 1931, part of the
Congress. The Government, however, while not denying
the patent discrepancy, refused to withdraw their notifi-
cation against the Khudai Khidmatgars as also
Afghan Jirga. ,
964 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Another important question which came up before-
the Working Committee at its Bombay sitting was the
one relating to the Congress policy in regard to the White
Paper proposals and the Communal t Award. The
Congress Parliamentary Board having asked the Working
Committee to enunciate this policy, the Committee
passed its well-known resolution on the question. The
resolution was preceded by discussions which disclosed a '
fundamental difference in the points of view of Pandit
Malaviyaji and Syt. M. S. Aney on the one side, and the
Working Committee on the other. The former felt that
they could not, in view of this difference, retain their
connection, respectively, with the Congress Parliamentary
Board and the Working Committee and hence they
tendered their resignations. As, however, it was felt that
a fuller discussion might eventually prevent this develop-
ment, they were persuaded by their colleagues to
withdraw their resignations.
The Working Committee resolution dealing with the
White Paper was as follows: —
"The White Paper in no way expresses the will
of the people of India, havS been more or less
condemned by almost all the Indian political parties,
and falls far short of the Congress goal, if it does not
retard the progress towards it. The only satisfactory
alternative to the White Paper is a Constitution
drawn up by a Constituent Assembly elected on the
basis of adult suffrage or as near it as possible, with
the power, if necessary, to the important minorities
to have their representatives elected exclusively by
the electors belonging to such minorities.
"The White Paper lapsing, the Communal Award1
must lapse automatically. Among other things, it
will be the duty of the Constituent Assembly to
determine the method of representation of important
minorities and make provision for otherwise safe*
guarding their interests.
MASKING TIME 96$
"Since, however, the different communities in the
country are sharply divided on the question of the
Communal Award, it is necessary to define the
Congress attitude on it. The Congress claims to
represent equally all the communities composing the
Indian Nation and, therefore, in view of the division
of opinion, can neither accept nor reject the Com-
munal Award as long as the division of opinion lasts.
At the same time, it is necessary to re-declare the
policy of the Congress on the communal question.
"No solution that is not purely national can be
propounded by the Congress. But the Congress is
pledged to accept any solution, falling short of the
national, which is agreed to by all the parties
concerned, and, conversely, to reject any solution
which is not agreed to by any of the said parties.
"Judged by the national standard, the Com-
munal Award is wholly unsatisfactory, besides being
open to serious objections on other grounds.
"It is, however, obvious that the only way to
prevent the untoward consequences of the Communal
Award is to explore ways and means of arriving at an
agreed solution and not by any appeal on this essen-
tially domestic question to the British Government
or any other outside authority."
While the suspension of the civil resistance campaign
led to a grudgingly slow process of expediting the release
of C.D. prisoners, it was clear that Government had made
up their minds not to release Sirdar Vallabhbhai Patel,
Pandit Jawaharlal or Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan. In the
case of two of these, Sirdar Vallabhbhai and Khan
Abdul Gaffar Khan, there wa« no fixed period of impri-
sonment. They were both imprisoned under the Regula-
tions as early as 1932 and were State prisoners during
the pleasure of the Government. Circumstances,
however, soon developed which forced the hands of the
Government. Sirdar Vallabhbhai had been suffering froift
serious nose trouble of a long standing nature, which grew
worse and by the month of July had assumed a very
61
466 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
serious aspect. The examination by a Medical Board
appointed by Government disclosed the urgent necessity
of an operation which could be properly done only if he
was a free man. Accordingly, the Government released
him on 14th July, 1934.
The discussions with Pandit Malaviya and Syt. Aney
were renewed at the Benares meeting of the Working
Committee held there from July 27th to 30th. Shore of
abandoning its fundamental attitude of non-acceptance
and non-rejection of the Communal Award, the Working
Committee explored all avenues for discovering a via
media with a view to retain the co-operation of Pandit
Malaviya and Syt. Aney. In view of the point made by
them relating to the deep and long standing conviction of
some leading Congressmen in regard to the question of
electorates, Gandhiji offered a compromise providing for
exception being made in the rase of those among
otherwise eligible candidates who had a conscientious
objection to the Working Committee's resolution on the
Communal Award. Gandhiji's formula was not found
adequate by Pandit Malaviya and Syt. Aney. In view
of this, the former resigned the Presidentship of the
Congress Parliamentary Board and the latter the
membership of the Working Committee and of the
Congress Parliamentary Board. Bengal had a grievance
too which related to the extra seats given to the Harijans,
so that Bengal's opposition to the attitude of the Working
Committee was based not merely on their hostility to the
rest of the communal decision, but to the Poona Pact
as well.
Doubte having arisen on the Congress policy in
regard to Swadeshi, the Working Committee at this same
MARKING TIME 967
.meeting reaffirmed the Congress position on Swadeshi and
Jaid down its policy, in unequivocal terms, as follows: —
"Doubts having arisen on the Congress policy in
regard to% Swadeshi, it has become necessary to
reaffirm the Congress position on it in unequivocal
terms..
"Notwithstanding what was done during the
civil resistance struggle, no competition is permissible
on Congress platform and in Congress exhibitions
between mill-made cloth and hand-spun and hand-
woven khadi. Congressmen are expected to use and
encourage the use of only hand-spun and hand-woven
khadi, to the exclusion of any other cloth.
"In regard to articles other than cloth, the
Working Committee adopts the following formula
for the guidance of all Congress organisations:
'The Working Committee is of opinion that the
activities of Congress organisations relating to
Swadeshi shall be restricted to useful articles manu-
factured in India through cottage and other small
industries which are in need of popular education for
their support, and which will accept the guidance of
the Congress organisations in regulating prices and
in the matter of the wages and welfare of labour
under their control.'
"This formula must not be interpreted to mean
any modification of the unbroken policy of the
Congress to promote the Swadeshi spirit in the
country and to encourage the personal use of only
Swadeshi articles. The formula is a recognition of
the fact that the large and organised industries which
can or do command State aid are in no need of the
services of Congress organisations or any Congress
effort in their behalf."
On the question of discipline amongst the office-
bearers, the Working Committee was of opinion that,
"All Congressmen, whether they believe in the Con-
gress programme and policies or not; are expected,
;and office-bearers -and -members of the Executive are
968 THE HISTORY Otf THE CONOBESS
in honour bound, to carry them out, and that office- -
bearers and members of the Executive who carry on*
propaganda or act against the Congress programme
and policies are, in accordance with the rules made by
the A.I.C.C. dated May 24, 1929, under Art. XXXI.
of the Constitution, clearly guilty of breach of disci-
pline and liable to disciplinary action."
The Working Committee having considered the resig-
nation of Syt. M. S. Aney, recognised the high-minded'
motive that had prompted the resignation and regretfully
accepted it. The Working Committee placed on record
its sense of the great assistance rendered by him to the
Committee. Dr. Mohammad Alam also had sent in his
resignation, but for a different reason.
Consequent upon their resignations, Pandit Malaviya
and Syt. Aney summoned a Conference of Congressmen
and others which met at Calcutta on the 18th and 19th •
August under the Presidentship of Pandit Malaviya.
The Conference decided that a separate Party should be
constituted with the object of carrying on agitation
against the Communal Award and the White Paper, in
the Legislatures and outside, and of setting up candidates
for election to the Legislative Assembly for the promo-
tion of that object. After laying down the principles
which would govern its selection of Party candidates, and
passing resolutions condemning the White Paper and
the Communal Award, the Conference requested the
Working Committee of the Congress to call a meeting of
the A.I.C.C. with a view to revising its resolution on the
Award.
In the concluding week of August took place an
event which partly eased the political tension kept up in
the -country by the spirit of repression which Govern-
ment was maintaining even after the suspension1 of ..-civil'
MABKING TIME 969
: resistance. The continued detention of Khan Abdul
•'Gaffar Khan offended public opinion. The Frontier Pro-
vince was one of those Provinces in the country which
had borne the brunt of the fight, whether in 1930 or in
1932-34. The spirit of non-violence and patient suffering
of the martial Pathans had been sorely tried, but — and
that is the proud assertion of the Frontier's representa-
tives— they never forsook the path of non-violence,
despite provocations which only the medieval and
autocratic tradition of the Province could make possible.
There was, therefore, a widespread feeling that the
detention in jail of the leader of the Province was unjust.
Gandhi's mind was greatly exercised over the question
of the Frontier and lie was considering how to solve the
problem of personally knowing the whole truth about
that Province. The sudden release of Khan Abdul
Gaffar Khan and his brother Dr. Khan ?aheb in the last
week of August was, therefore, a matter of general
relief. But though free men, they were not free to visit
their own Province and home. The Government, while
releasing them, prohibited their entry into the Frontier
Province, which had implicitly obeyed instructions in
regard to the suspension of civil resistance.
In the month of September, the Working Committee
met on the 25th at Wardha and reiterated the Congress
goal and the means of its attainment, in view of the
misgivings that rose in the minds of some Congressmen
and others that the goal of Purna Swaraj was being
watered down. It was virtually a repetition of the
"Karachi position. In respect of the 'coming elections/
the Working Committee urged that all provincial and
•other subordinate Congress organisations should regard
it as their duty to help the Congress Parliamentary
"Board in its election activities, and that it was not open
•*o them* to support any Party or candidate opposed to
970 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
the official policy of the Congress, and it expected every
Congressman, save on grounds of conscience, to support
the Congress candidates in the forthcoming elections.
The Zanzibar Indians and their grievances over the
contemplated forcible expropriation of their just rights in
land was the subject of another resoluHon. A delicate
situation arose over the new Party formed by Syt. M. S.
Aney. A resolution was passed by this Party to the
effect that a meeting of the A.I.C.C. should be convened
so as to have the resolution of the Working Committee
on the communal decision reviewed by the A.I.C.C. The
President invited Pandit Malaviyaji and Syt. Aney to
attend the meeting and present their view-point in
person. The Working Committee duly met and gave
several hours to the consideration of the question of
calling a meeting of the A.I.C.C. and finally came to the
conclusion that inasmuch as the Working Committee had
no doubt about the propriety of its action, and in view
of the fact that new elections for the A.I.C.C. were going
on, the Working Committee could not take the responsi-
bility of calling the meeting. It was mentioned at the
meeting that, if members of the A.T.C.C. had any
grievance against the Working Committee in respect of
its resolution, it was open to any 30 members of the
A.I.C.C. to send a requisition which would have com-
pelled the Working Committee to convene such a
meeting.
The Working Committee also discus?ed the question
of releasing, on the grounds of conscience, candidates for
election to the Assembly from the obligation to conform*
to the Working Committee resolution on the communal
decision. The Working Committee came to the conclu-
sion, in the absence of any such resolution on release by
the Working Committee, that no exemption could be-
granted. Gandhi had made a proposal to Panditji, in*i
MARKING TIME 971
answer to a message sent by the latter through Syt Aney,
that the way to avoid acrimony and conflict was to
reach an agreement on the basis of examination of the
prospects of success of rival candidates, the candidature
of those who had less chance of success being withdrawn*
But while on this no agreement could be reached, the
Board decided not to contest seats where Pandit
Malaviyaji and Syt. Aney stood as candidates. It was
also decided not to enter into contest in Sindh and in
the city of Calcutta.
About this time another important development
took place in the history of the Congress. It was widely
rumoured that Gandhi would leave the Congress. This
was not a mere rumour, as Gandhi had been freely
mentioning it to the friends who had gone to see him
while he passed through his 7 days' fast in the middle
of July, and to several other friends from Bengal,
Andhra, and elsewhere, who went to Wardlia to meet
him for one reason or another. The wonder was that a
matter .-o widely known was kept so private till a
journalistic scoop brought it out with a gusto. On this
subject, however, Gandhi made an elaborate statement
which we publish below in full. Gandhi's procedure in
deciding to leave the Congress was variously understood
and interpreted. Few thought that he would cease to
be a four-anna member. Some freely indulged in the
criticism that his withdrawal from the Congress just as
the elections were approaching (in November, 1934) was
as unfortunate as it was indiscreet. A few thought that
if his amendments to the Constitution were accepted, he
might still remain in the Congress. But the Bombay
Session of the Congress, which was to meet towards the
last week of October, would clear all doubts. There
were some that went to the length of asking why he
972 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
should attend the Congress session if he was pie-deter-
mined to leave the Congress itself, and still others who
asked why he should seek to amend the Congress
Constitution on his own lines and then leave the body,
much to the embarrassment of those in whose hands it
would be left in an altered form. All these were not
views expressed but aspects of 'thinking aloud/ No one
comes to a conclusion, or accepts a conclusion reached
by others, without subjecting it to a close and careful
analysis. Some decide by instinct. They are great men
and true- Some are content to accept others' decisions, —
they are Bhaktas who believe, and are saved. Some
want to reason and decide. They are wise men. Some
are overborne by the logic of facts or situations, — to them
law and logic are greater than life, — they are cynics. Some
hug their own biases and would not change their minds.
They are men of prejudices and predilections. Some are
convinced against their will, but continue to be of their
opinion still. All these classes of men were bestirred by
Gandhi's statement, but all shared the common feature,
that they were helpless against the masterful persona-
lity and his unalterable decisions arrived at by the
play of instinct and not reason, by the urge of the
Zameer or inner voice in him.
GANDHI'S STATEMENT
Wardhaganj, Sept. 17.
Mahatma Gandhi issued the following state-
ment to the Press: —
"The rumour that I had contemplated severing
all physical connection with the Congress was true.
"However, for the considerations urged by my friends
^who had come to Wardha during the meetings of the
Working Committee and Parliamentary Board last
week, I agreed with them that it might be safer for
me to leave the Congress, if at all, after the forth-
coming session. There was an intermediate course,
suggested by Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant and
MASKING TIME 973
Mr. Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, of remaining in the Con-
gress without participating in active administration
•of the organisation, hut both Sirdar Vallabhbhai
Patel and Moulana Abul Kalam Azacl strongly dis-
approved of that course. Sirdar Vallabhbhai had
agreed with me that the time had arrived for me
to retire from the1 Congress, but many others would
not endorse that view. After due consideration of
all the pros and cons, I have adopted the safe and
prudent course of postponing the final step at least
till after the meeting of the Congress session in
October. One attractive idea behind the insistence
on postponement was that it would enable me to test
the accuracy of my impression that a very large
body of Congress intelligentsia were tired of my
method and views, and programme based upon
them, that I was a hindrance rather than a help to
the natural growth of the Congress, that, instead of
remaining the most democratic and representative
organisation, it was dominated by my personality,
that in it there was no free play of reason.
"If I am to test the truth or otherwise of mv
impression, naturally, I must put before the
public the reasons on which my impression is based,
and my own proposals based thereon. Congress-
men might vote on them and thus clearly register
their opinion.
"I must try to do this as briefly as I can. It
has appeared to me that there is a growing and
vital difference of outlook between many Congress-
men and myself. I seem to be going in a direction
just the opposite of what many of the most intellec-
tual Congressmen would gladly and enthusiastically
take if they were not hampered by their unexampled
loyalty to me. No leader can expect greater loyalty
and devotion than I have received from intellectually-
minded Congressmen, even when they have protested
and signified their disapproval of the policies I
"have laid before the. Congress. For me any more to
draw upon this loyalty and devotion if? to put undue
strain upon them. Their loyalty cannot blind my
Byes to what appear to me to be fundamental
differences between the Congress intelligentsia and
me.
974 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
"Let me state them. I put the spinning-wheel
and khadi in the forefront. Hand-spinning by
Congress intelligentsia has all but disappeared. The
general body of them have no faith in it and yet, if
I could carry their reason with me, I would substi-
tute the four-anna franchise by personal, daily
hand-spinning. The khadi clause of the Congress
Constitution has been almost a dead letter from the
beginning and Congressmen have not been wanting
who have reminded me that I am responsible for the
hypocrisy and evasion about the working of the
khadi clause. I ought to have realized that it was
not passed out of deep conviction, but largely out
of personal loyalty to me. I must own that there
is considerable force in the argument. Nevertheless
my conviction is growing that if India is to win
Complete Independence in term? of the toiling
millions and through unadulterated non-violence,
the spinning-wheel and khadi have to be as natural
to the educated few as to the partially unemployed
and semi-starved millions who, for not using their
hands for the purpose for which nature has endowed
man with them, have become almost like beasts of
burden. The spinning-wheel is thus an emblem of
human dignity and equality in the truest sense of
the term. It is the handmaid of agriculture. It is
the Nation's second lung. We are perishing because
we are using only one lung, yet only a few Congress-
men have a living faith in the India-wide potency of
the wheel. The removal of the khadi clause in the
Constitution would mean removal of the living link
between the Congress and millions whom it has
from its inception sought to represent, and yet if it
remains, it has to be rigidly enforced. But it cannot
be, if a substantial majority of Congressmen have
no living faith in it.
"Take again the Parliamentary Board. Though
the author of Non-co-operation, I am convinced that
in the present circumstances of _the country and in
the absence of any general scheme of civil resist-
ance, a Parliamentary Party within the Congress is a
necessary part of any programme that may be-'
framed by the Congress, but there are sharp-
differences of opinion among us on that point. The*
MASKING TIME 975*
force with which I urged the programme at the All-
India Congress Committee meeting in Patna, I
know, oppressed many of our best colleagues, but
they hesitated to act according to their own convic-
tion. Upto a point, suppression of one's views in
favour of those of another, considered superior in
wisdom or experience, is virtuous and desirable for
healthy growth of organisation; it becomes a terri-
ble oppression when one is called upon to repeat the
performance from day to day. Though I have
never wished any such untoward result, I cannot
conceal from me or the public the tragic fact that
such has been my own experience. Many have
despaired of resisting me. This is a humiliating
revelation to a born democrat, — I make that claim
of complete identification with the poorest of man-
kind, an intense longing to live no bolter than they
and a corresponding conscious effort to approach
that level to the best one's ability can entitle one •
to make it.
"I have welcomed the formation of the Socialist
group. Many of them are respected and self-
sacrificing co-workers. With all this, I have funda-
mental differences with them on the programme
published in their authorized pamphlets. But I
would not, by reason of the moral pressure I may
be able to exert, suppress the spread of ideas pro-
pounded in their literature. I may not interfere
with the free expression of those ?deas, however
distasteful some of them may be to me. If they gain
ascendancy in the Congress, as they well may, I
cannot remain in the Congress. For, to be in active
opposition should be unthinkable. Though identi-
fied with many organizations during a long period
of public service, I have never accepted that position.
"Then there is the policy advocated by some in
regard to the States which is wholly in difference-
from what I have advised. I have given many an
anxious hour to the question but I have not been
able to alter my view.
"Even on untouchability, mv method of"
approach is perhaps different from that of many, if"
not of most Congressmen. For me, it is a deeply-
religious and moral issue. Many think that it was
•4J7fi' THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
a profound error for me to have disturbed the course
of the civil resistance struggle by taking up the
question in the manner, and at the time, I did. I
feel that I would have been untrue to myself if I
had taken any other course.
"Last of all, take non-violence. After 14 years
of trial, it still remains a policy with the majority of
Congressmen, whereas it is a fundamental creed with
me. That Congressmen do not still regard non-
violence as a creed is no fault of theirs. It is
undoubtedly my faulty presentation and, still more,
the faulty execution that arc responsible for this
failure. I have no consciousness of faulty presenta-
tion or execution, but it is the only possible inference
from the fact that it has not yet become an integral
part of the lives of Congressmen.
"And if there is uncertainty about non-violence,
there must be still more about civil resistance. In
spite of my 27 years of study and practice of the
doctrine, I cannot claim to know all about it. The
field of research is necessarily limited, as occasions
for civil resistance in a man's life must not be
frequent. It can only come after voluntary obe-
dience to authority, whether of parents, teachers or
other elders, religious or secular. There need be no
wonder that, as the only expert, however imperfect,
among us, I should have come to the conclusion that
it should, for some time to come, be limited only to
me. This was necessary in order to minimise the
errors and mischief proceeding from them, as also
to explore its hidden possibilities, but again for no
fault of the Congressmen. It has been increasingly
difficult for me to carry the reason of fellow
'Congressmen with me in all the resolutions recently
passed on the subject, whilst they have generously
voted for them.
"Even the memory of the sense of oppression
-which they experienced at the time of voting, with-
out an intelligent belief in these resolutions, oppresses
me just as much as they were oppressed. They and
"I must be free from this oppression if we are at all
'to grow in pursuit of what we bel;eve to be the
/common goal. Hence it is necessary for all concerned
MARKING TIME 9W
to act freely and boldly according to their
convictions. '
"I have, in my Patna statement recommending
suspension of civil resistance, drawn attention to the
failure of civil resistance to achieve two obvious
results. If we had the full non-violent spirit in
us, it should have been self-evident and should not
have escaped the notice of the Government.
Their Ordinances were certainly not warranted by
any of the misdeeds done by or imputed to us. They
were undoubtedly intended to break our spirit
anyhow. But it would be wrong if we contended
that civil resistors were above reproach. If we are
non-violent through and through, our non-violence
would have boon self-evident. Nor were we able to
show to the terrorists that we had greater faith in
our non-violence than they in their violence. On the
contrary, many of us made them fee! that we had1
the same spirit of violence in our breasts that they
had. Only, wo did not believe in deeds of violence.
The terrorists rightly argued that if the spirit of
violence was common to both, the policy of
doing or not doing violence was a matter of
opinion. I need not repeat what I have said
before, that the country has made great strides
towards non-violence indeed and that many
have exhibited great courage and self-sacrifice.
All I want to say is that ours has not been
unadulterated non-violence in thought, word and
deed. It is now my paramount duty to devise ways
and means of showing demonstrably to the Covern-
mont and the terrorists the efficacy of non-violence as?
a means of achieving the right thing, including
freedom in every sense of the term.
"For this experiment to which my life is
dedicated, I need complete detachment and absolute
freedom of action. Satyagraha, of which civil"
resistance is but a part, is to me the universal law
of life. Satya, in truth, is my God. ^ I can only
search Him through non-violence and in no other
way. And the freedom of my country, as of the
world, is surely included in the search for Truth. , I'
cannot suspend this search for anything in this-
*f78 THE HISTORY OP THE CONGRESS
world or another. I have entered the political life in
pursuit of this search, and if it cannot carry the
reason as well as the heart of educated Congressmen
when I say that this search necessarily includes
Complete Independence and many other things which
may be part of Truth, it is plain I should work
single-handed, in the implicit faith that what I fail
io make clear to my countrymen to-day shall be
clear to them some day of itself; or, if God wills it,
through some apt word He may put in my mouth
or some apt work which He may prompt me to do in
matters of such tremendous importance. A mechani-
cal vote or a grudging assent is wholly inadequate,
if not injurious to the cause itself.
"I have referred to the common goal but I have
begun to doubt if all Congressmen understand the
same thing by the expression 'Complete Indepen-
dence/ I want for India Complete Independence in
the full English sense of that English expression. For
me Purna Swaraj has an infinitely larger meaning
than 'Complete Independence' but even Purna
Swaraj is not self-explained. No one word or com-
pound expression will give -us a meaning which all can
understand. Hence, on several occasions I have
given several definitions of Swaraj. I hold that
they are all hopelessly incomplete even when put
together, but I do not wish to labour on it.
"My mention of the difficulty if not the impos-
sibility of giving a complete definition leads me to
another serious point- of difference between many
•Congressmen and myself. I have always said, since
1903, that means and end are convertible terms and
that, therefore, where the means are various and
-even contradictory the end must be different
and even contradictory. We have always control over
the means and never on the end. But we may not
"bother about its content if we all employ identical
means with identical connotation for them. It will
be admitted that many Congressmen do not admit
this j(to me) obvious truth. They believe that the
•«nd justifies the means, whatever they may be.
"It is the sum-total of these differences which has
: sterilised the existing Congress programme, because
MABKING TIME 979
members who gave their lip-assent to it without
believing in it, have naturally failed to reduce it to
practice and yet I have no other programme save the
•Congress programme now before the country, that is,
untouch ability, Hindu-Muslim, unity, total prohibi-
tion, hand-spinning with khadi cent, per cent.
Swadeshi, in the sense of the revival of Village
Industries and general re-organisation of the seven
lakhs of villages, ought to give all satisfaction that
• one's love of one's country may demand. Personally
I would like to bury myself in an Indian village,
preferably in a Frontier village. If the Khudai
Khidmatgars are truly non-violent, they will
contribute the largest share to the promotion of the
non-violent spirit and of Hindu-Muslim unity. For,
if they are non -violent in thought, word and deed,
and are lovers of Hindu-Muslim unity, surely
through them we should see the accomplishment of
the two things we need most in thi« land. The
Afghan menace which we dread so much should then
be a thing of the past. I am, therefore, yearning to
test the truth for myself of the claim that they have
imbibed the spirit of non-violence and are believers,
in the heart, of unity of Hindus, Mussalmans and
others. I should like also personally to deliver the
message of the spinning-wheel to them in this and
various such other ways. I would love to serve the
Congress in my own humble manner, whether I am
in or outside it.
"I have reserved to the last the reference to the
growing corruption in our ranks. I have already
said enough about it in public. In spite of all I have
said, the Congress still remains in my estimation the
most powerful and the most represent^
tion in the country. It has a history^
noble service and self-sacrifice, ai]
tion it has weathered storms as
has done- It has commanded a
sacrifice of which any country
holds to-day the largest number
980 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
being outside I would serve it, i.e., the country,,
better than by being in it.
"I propose to test the feeling of the Congress on;
all the points I have touched by placing before the
Subjects Committee certain resolutions giving effect
to the views enunciated above. The first amend-
ment I would propose is to replace the words
'legitimate and peaceful' by 'truthful and non-
violent/ I should not have done so but for the
furore of opposition which was raised against the
utterly innocent use by me of the two adjectives in
the place of 'legitimate and peaceful.' If Congress-
men really believe in the necessity of truthfulness
and non-violence for the attainment of our goal, they
should have no hesitation about accepting the
unequivocal adjectives.
"The second amendment would be to replace
the four anna franchise by the delivery by
every member to a Congress depot of 2,000
rounds (one round equal to four feet) per
month of well-twisted even yarn of not less
than 15 counts spun by himself or herself.
The arguments for and against need not be repeated
here. If we are to be a truly democratic
body representing even the lowest paid labour, we
cannot do it better than by devising a simple labour
franchise. Hand-spinning is by common consent the
lowest paid labour and yet the most dignified. It
is the nearest approach to adult franchise within the
means of almost every one who is willing to labour
for the sake of the country for half an hour daily.
Is it too much to expect the intelligentsia and the
propertied classes to recognise the dignity of labour,
irrespective of the material benefit it brings? Is not
labour, like learning, its own reward? If we are
true servants of the masses, we would take pride
in spinning for their sakes. I recall what the late
Maulana Mahomed Ali used to repeat from many' a
platform. As the sword was the symbol of brute
force and might, he would say, the wheel or the
takU was the symbol of non-violence, service and
humility. When the wheel was accepted as part of
the national flag, it was surely implied that the
spinning-wheel would hum in every household. If
MASKING TIME 981
Congressmen do not believe in the message of the
wheel, we must remove it from the national flag, and
khaddar from the Constitution. It is intolerable that
there should be unashamed fraud in the observance
of the khaddar clause.
"The third amendment I should propose would
be that no one shall be entitled to vote at any
Congress election whose name has not been on the
Congress register continuously for six months
without default, and who has not been a habitual
wearer wholly of khaddar for that period. A great
difficulty has been experienced in the working of the
khaddar clause. It can be easily avoided by giving
powers, subject to appeal to the President of the
Congress and to the chairmen of respective
committees, to decide the question whether a
particular voter is or is not a habitual wearer
wholly of khaddar within the meaning of the
Constitution. No one is to be considered such a
wearer who, at the time of voting, is not manifestly
wholly clad in khaddar. But no rule, however
carefully and strictly worded, can produce satisfac-
tory results if a large number do not voluntarily
carry it out.
"Experience has shown that the Congress is an
unwieldy organisation, even with 6,000 delegates. In
practice, the full number has never attended the-
Congress, and when the Congress register nowhere
contains a truly representative list, the delegation
can hardly be claimed to be a reality. I would,
therefore, have an amendment reducing the number
to not more than 1,000 delegates nor more than*
one delegate per every thousand voters. To have the
full number of delegates would mean one million*
voters, not an over-ambitious hope in a coujatry
having a population of 315 millions. The Congress
would, by this amendment, gain in substance what it
may lose in the show of numbers. The spectacular-
part of the session would be kept intact by making
ample provision for visitors, but Reception
Committees will be spared the wholly unnecessary
anxiety of Laving to provide accommodation for an
unwieldy number of delegates. Let us recognise the
fact that the Congress enjoys a prestige, democratic
982 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
in character and influence, not by the number of
delegates and visitors it has drawn to its annual
functions but by the ever-increasing amount of
service it has rendered. Western democracy is on
its trial. If it has already proved a failure, may it
be reserved to India to evolve the true science of
democracy by giving a visible demonstration of its
buttress. Corruption and hypocrisy ought not to be
the inevitable products of democracy, as they
undoubtedly are to-day. Nor is bulk a true test of
democracy. True democracy is not inconsistent with
a few persons representing the spirit, the hope and
the aspirations of those whom they claim to
represent. I hold that democracy cannot be evolved
by forcible methods. The spirit of democracy
cannot be imposed from without. It has to come
from within.
"I ^have mentioned here only the principal
amendments I should propose in the Constitution.
There would be other resolutions bringing out clearly
the points I have touched upon in the foregoing
paras. I do not need to burden this statement with
them.
"My fear is that even the amendments I have
named will hardly commend themselves to the large
number of Congressmen who will attend the
Congress. Nevertheless, if I am to guide the policy
of the Congress, I hold them and the resolutions in
keeping with the spirit of this statement to be
essential for the earliest attainment of our goal. No
voluntary organisation can succeed in its purpose
without its resolutions and policies being carried
,out whole-heartedly by its members, and no leader
- ,can give a good account of himself if his lead is not
faithfully, -ungrudgingly and intelligently followed;
and this is truest of a leader who has no resource at
his disposal but what truth and non-violence can
supply. It follows, therefore, that there is no room
for compromise in the essentials of the programme
I have endeavoured to adumbrate in these paras.
Let the Congressmen, therefore, examine it dis-
paesidnately and on its merits. They must eliminate
me from their consideration and give effect to the
dictatea of their reason."
MARKING TIME 983
The Bombay Session (October 26th to 28th, 1934)
of the Indian National Congress would have been of the
humdrum type and devoid of any exciting interest, but
for the imminent exit of Gandhi from the arena of
politics and the foreshadowed amendment of the Congress
Constitution. The enthusiasm and interest awakened in
4
ttye popular mind in respect of the very thought of a
regular session of the Congress being held and people
preparing to attend a session, after an interval of three
and a half years, was itself a sufficient sustenance to
the country at a time when a certain paralysis had
overtaken it. Surely any kind of activity was better
than the utter inactivity that prevailed. Ere long, the
country's attention was rivetted on to this scheme.
Parliamentary Board, Socialism, and Communal Award,
— all receded into the background. In a moment every
one began to discuss even before the Congress, and more
so during the session, whether, after all, the Congress
should cease to be a spectacular body thereafter,
whether the All-India Congress Committee, which was to
be composed of but a thousand delegates and to be
brought into existence by the delegates assembled after
its session, should on the one hand in its full strength
function as the year's Congress and on the other, in its
parts, play the role of the Provincial Congress
Committee. It was argued that such an arrangement made
for homogeneity of composition as well as continuity of
policy through the creation of a handy, compact and
close-knit body or bodies working throughout the year,
(landhiji's central idea was that the provincial represen-
tatives should sit together with their credentials and
evolve, pooling their experience, a programme for the
Congress in the All-India Congress Committee and
l>reak up once again to carry out that programme in
their respective Provinces. This was the central'
theme. It was at the same time contemplated that the
984 THE HISTORY OP THE CONGEESS
Congress membership should be on a strict basis of
manual labour, the fruits of which are tendered to the
Congress, symbolising the ideal of service and sacrifice
for which the Congress stands and the national duty
which each Congressman had to observe in his daily
life as a sacrament. Again no Congressman was to be
entitled to vote unless his name had been in the
Congress register for six months. This was designed to
avoid corruption in Congress elections which flowed from
an improvisation of membership by monied and influen-
tial people to advance their own ends. Then tlie^
President was to be a President in reality of a Cabinet
formed exclusively by himself. The clause relating to
the habitual wear of khaddar was of course to be there
and Gandhi demanded that the Creed of the Congress
which had lent itself to ambiguous interpretations should
be made to imply indisputably the adherence of the
Congress to 'truthful' and 'non-violent/ in place of
'peaceful' and 'legitimate' methods. There raged a storm
in the country before the Congress session and during
it. But no one is at his best so well and so readily as
Gandhi in the midst of a tufan. He then summons all
his calmness and resources to his aid and turns a
seeming defeat into a substantial victory, not by any
wiles and stratagems but by his only strategy in life,.
namely, the strategy of Truth and Non-violence. He had
separated, early in the session, the constitutional section
of his amendments from the Satyagrahic section and
left the latter to be dealt with by the Working Committee
as it chose, while the former was to be moved by
him and made a test of confidence in the new President
and his colleagues. Strangely enough, though not un-
expectedly, the Working Committee accepted both the
sections with suitable changes and the Congress itself
has substantially accepted them all, much to the satis-
faction of Gandhi himself. It is unnecessary to weary
MARKING TIME 985
the reader with a repetition of the detailed changes
introduced into Gandhi's draft by the Congress. Suffice
it to say that the change of Creed was required to be
circulated to the Provinces for opinion and is awaiting
*he decision of the Congress of 1936. The Labour
franchise has been accepted as applicable to elective
membership, and the habitual wear of khaddar is
wholly endorsed. The Congress delegation has been
reduced to a maximum of 2,000 apportioned between
the rural and the urban areas in the proportion of 1,489
to 511. The A.I.C.C. is to be continued at half its
strength and the delegates are to be elected at the rate
of 1 to 500 members, instead of one to thousand as
proposed by Gandhi. Thus the principle of modulating
the strength of the delegates strictly to the membership
•of the Congress enunciated in Gandhi's draft is accepted,
thereby making the delegates not visitors at a
spectacular gathering but representatives of the Nation
•charged with the duty of electing an All-India Executive
as well as the Provincial Congress Committees. The
rest of Gandhi V draft has been virtually accepted by the
Congress.
The issues before the Congress were, why it should
•change its Constitution, why it should change it now,
and why it should be changed just as Gandhi was
leaving the Congress. This naturally raises the
question of Gandhi's exit from the Congress, which we
shall deal with presently, but let it be remembered that
it was Gandhi's bare duty to tell the Congress what, in
his opinion, was wrong with it, as he was the General
who had marshalled the forces these fourteen years, while
it is equally the duty of the Congress to reconnoitre
the situation during a period of respite so as to
be able to set its house in order and prepare itself for
future emergencies.
986 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
It was not, however, the new Constitution or the
confirmation of the old resolutions on the Parliamentary
Board, the constructive programme and the Communal
Award, that should be reckoned as the events of the
year. They are undoubtedly notable achievements. But
really the more notable, though a trifle less noticed,
achievement is the formation of an All-India Village
Industries Association which is to work under the advice
and guidance of Gandhi and apart from so-called politics.
This is the logical fulfilment of the khaddar programme.
Khaddar is but the forerunner of a series of village
industries which make the village and the country self-
sufficient. The arts and crafts of a Nation are the true
index of its civilisation.
Scientific achievements are the common heritage of
the world. Knowledge is universal property, but arts
and artistic crafts speak out the soul of the Nation, and
when they are dead, the Nation's individuality is dead.
It may have an animal existence but its creative genius
is gone, — gone no more to reappear. When, therefore,
Gandhi has planned a revival of the dead and dying
industries of Indian villages, he has really planned a
revival of Indian civilisation, a rehabilitation of Indian
economic prosperity and a re-aligning of Indian National
Education. There is a universal demand for the forma-
tion of an All-India Board of National Education, but
the public minds are not prepared for the revolutionary
changes contemplated in that behalf by Gandhi. It ia
only when the Indian village is once again revivified
and made self-sufficient that the true import of National
Education will be understood. Gandhi's aim is not to
build sky-scrapers of wealth or span the oceans for
commerce and trade, but to add a little makkhan
(butter) to the rottee (dry bread) of the starving:
MARKING TIME 987
millions of India. This he seeks to do through the
A.I.S.A. and the A.I.V.I.A.
What comes last in this narration of achievements
is perhaps the most outstanding event of the Bombay
Session. Gandhi's exit from the Congress, notwithstanding
his definite assertion in that behalf, was not taken
literally by friends or foes. But it did not take them
long to realise that Gandhi always means what he says
and always does what he means. His anxiety is that his
words should be taken at their face value.
This is not merely a formal declaration of an open
mind but a trait of character which was noticed in 1929
when there was a strong feeling that he should preside
over the Lahore Congress and not/ Jawaharlal. It was
noticed again during the Bombay Session in 1934. But
in both cases he was not convinced of the incorrectness
of his earlier decisions. It was, therefore, stunning
news alike to the Press arid the public that Gandhi
would not be even a primary member of the Congress.
Albeit, it is true that Gandhi has left the Congress with
a vote of confidence and a standing invitation to
re-enter. Only, the Congress has to deserve what it desires.
It must purge itself of all impurity, making Congress
and khaddar equivalent to purity, sincerity and inte-
grity. If that should be so, the Congress intelligentsia
must lose no time in proving to the leaders that they
stand for no selfish ends but for the ideal of service and
sacrifice, — an ideal pursued through a programme of
daily labour for at least 8 hours a month, the fruits of
which are tendered to the Congress. Some people have
misinterpreted this clause as a set-off or safeguard
against the socialistic invasion of the Congress. It is
not so. The Congress has been wedded to the cult of
manual labour and the service of the poor, peasant and
988 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
labourer alike, for the past fourteen years. The Congress
is really socialistic in outlook. If only the Socialist
would declare his faith in khaddar and village industries,
in truth and non-violence, in a programme of daily
duties to realise the high ideal set before the country,
the Congressmen would be as much Socialists as the
Socialists themselves should be Congressmen. And who
is more socialistic not merely in name, but in fact, than
Gandhi who has renounced his wealth and property and
snapped his ties of blood relationship? The Labour
franchise, therefore, is not a make-believe but an honest
rendering of a socialistic ideal into the daily programme
of Congressmen.
Another aspect of the so-called crisis in Bombay is
involved in the oft-repeated questions as to. wha/b
Gandhi would do and what the Congress should do
hereafter. The simple query is raised on the one hand as
to whether Gandhi has renounced politics, and on the
-other what political work the Congress would do if Gandhi
should take away with him the Spinners' Association as
well as the Village Industries Association. These
'questions betray a certain confusion in the
public mind. If it is admitted that the constructive
programme constitutes essentially political work, as
Satyagrahis believe it does, then Gandhi has no more
renounced politics after the Bombay Session than
before it. Moreover, he has reserved to himself the right
of Individual Civil Disobedience under the very Congress
resolution which has withdrawn it for the Nation. There-
fore, instead of renouncing politics he has taken away
the whole of it, — constructive programme as well as
destructive,— with himself. Then many people legiti-
mately ask as to what is left to Congressmen. We may
in turn ask, "what is not left to them?" The contnic-
tive programme is always there and has been really
MARKING TIME 989
worked by Congressmen themselves in the past with the
aid of outsiders. As for the destructive, it is always
open to the Congress which has affirmed its faith once
&gain in Civil Disobedience, to reorganise it at any time.
In fact, the resolution congratulating the Nation and the
\vorkers on their sacrifices in the past, declared the
faith of the Congress in Civil Disobedience and non-
violence as a better means of achieving Swaraj than
methods of violence which, as experience has abundantly
shown, result in terrorism both by the oppressed and the
oppressors'. Gandhi had begun to feel that he is a big
weight weighing down upon the Congress and the more
lie had suppressed himself, the more had he added to
that weight. Civil Disobedience had to be inaugurated
by him, withdrawn by him, and regulated by him.
Peace and war were his concern. He is the one person
to whom the Congress had been looking up for orders
to halt or march, to advance or retreat. The withdrawal
of -uch a mighty force could only make for the strength
of The body on which it had been acting, even as the
retirement of the father from the home would but
strengthen the son, encourage him to take the initiative,
fill him with a sense of responsibility and inspire him
with hope and courage, the more so when the patriarch
is prepared to make his advice and guidance available
to the family or the Nation whenever necessary. Gandhi
had given wich an assurance. His object is to make
the Indian National Congress a power in the land. It is
not the numbers that give strength but the moral power
behind them; and this power grows in proportion to the
sense of responsibility entertained by the leaders. Instead
of assuming such responsibility, the Congress has too
long and too much relied on Gandhi and demands his
co-operation on its own terms. That is impossible.
'Congressmen can get Gandhi's co-operation on his
*terms, and any day, on that basis, he is willing to return
990 THE HISTORY OP THE CONGKESS
to the Congress and direct its work. Only, let the
Congress set its house in order, create a genuine
membership, though small in measure, bring into
existence executives that are active throughout the year,
which will purify and ennoble the Congress institutions,
and then he will readily come and assume command.
Gandhi is the founder of the New Congress wedded to
the ideal of service as against power. He has taken
public life to the villages and made them the founda-
tion of Indian Nationalism. He has enlarged the scope
and meaning of Politics so that it now embraces a
programme of national reconstruction all round. He
has given the Nation a cause, a flag and a leader.
Gandhi may have retired, but Gandhi is always there as
the first Servant of India to lead the Nation to its
destiny in accordance with the high principles which he
has all along applied to the Congress and its manifold
activities.
The success of the Bombay Session was in no
small measure due to the tact, energy and circumspec-
tion of its President, Babu Rajendra Prasad. His
Address to the Congress is one of those model addresses
which leave an abiding effect on the political situation.
His criticism of the White Paper was detailed and
scathing and his observations on the Congress
programme were helpful.
'The President concluded his short and telling
Address thus: —
"Independence is the natural outcome of all
that the freedom movement in India has stood for.
It cannot mean isolation, particularly when we
remember that it has to be achieved by non-violence.
It means the end of exploitation of one country by
. another, and of one part of the population of the
same country by another part. It contemplates a
free and friendly association with other nations for
the mutual benefit of all. It forebodes evil to none.
MARKING TIME 991
not even to those exploiting us, except in so far a^
they rely -upon exploitation rather than good-will.
The sanction behind this Independence movement is
non-violence which, in its positive and dynamic
aspect, is good- will of and for all. We already see
signs of how it has begun appealing to a certain
extent to world opinion. This appeal has to become
irresistible. It can do so according as the element
of distrust and suspicion, which has its birth in fear,
is eliminated and replaced by a sense of security
born of confidence in the good-will of India. India
having no designs on others, will not then need a
large army either for its protection against foreigners
or for internal peace which will stand guaranteed
by the good-will of her inhabitants. Having no
designs on others, she will be able to claim
immunity from the evil designs of others, and her
safety will be buttressed and protected by the
good-will of the world at large. Conceived in this
light, our Independence ought not to frighten even
the Britishers, unless they aim at perpetuating the
present unnatural conditions.
''The method too is crystal clear. It is active,
dynamic, non- violent mass action. We may fail
once; we may fail twice; but we are bound to
succeed some day.
"Many have already lost their lives and all.
Many more have sacrificed themselves in their
struggle for freedom. Let us not be deterred by the
difficulties which confront ois nor diverted from our
straight course by fear or favour. Our weapons are
unique and the world is watching the progress of our
great experiment with interest and high expecta-
tion. Let us be true to our creed, and firm in our
determination. Satyagraha in its active application
may meet with temporary set-backs, but it knows
no defeat. It is itself a great victory, for, as James
Lowell put it,
'Truth for ever on the scaffold,
Wrong for ever on the throne,
Yet that scaffold sways the future,
And behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow,
Keeping watch above His own.'"
'992 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Now we proceed to give a summary of the resolu-
tions passed by the Bombay Session on October 26th to
.28th, 1934, of which Syt. Rajendra Prasad was the
President and Syt. K. F. Nariman was the Chairman of
the Reception Committee.
The Congress opened with a resolution endorsing the
.resolutions passed by the Working Committee and the
All-India Congress Committee at their meetings held in
May, 1934, and thereafter, especially the resolutions
regarding the Parliamentary Board and its policy and
programme, the constructive programme, the status of
Indian settlers overseas, condolence resolution, and the
resolution on Swadeshi.
The Nation's sacrifices and faith in civil resistance
•were then dealt with.
The Congress congratulated the Nation on the
heroic sacrifices made and the sufferings undergone by
thousands of civil registers, — men and women, young and
•old, drawn from eities as well as the villages in the
^different Provinces, — and placed on record its conviction
that "without non-violent Non-co-operation and civil
resistance there would never have been the phenomenal
-mass awakening that has taken place throughout the
country." Whilst recognising the desirability and
-necessity of the suspension of the civil resistance
-campaign except with reference to Gandhiji, the Congress
Teiterated its undying faith in non-violent Non-co-opera-
iion and civil resistance "as a better means of achieving
Swaraj than methods of violence which, as experience
has abundantly shown, result in terrorism both by the
oppressed and the oppressors."
A resolution was next passed expressing anxiety
over the illness of Mrs. Jawaharlal Nehru, and hoping
MARKING TIME 99$
that the change to the hills would result in her
restoration to health.
The All-India Village Industries Association was-
the topic on which interest was concentrated and a
lengthy resolution was passed : —
"Whereas organisations claiming to advance
Swadeshi have sprung up all over the country, with
and without the assistance of Congressmen, and
whereas much confusion has arisen in the public
mind as to the nature of Swadeshi, and whereas the
aim of the Congress has been, from its inception,
progressive identification with the masses, and'
whereas village re-organisation and re-construction is
one of the items in the constructive programme of*
the Congress, and whereas such reconstruction
necessarily implies revival and encouragement of
dead or dying village industries besides the central
industry of hand-spinning, and whereas this work,
like the reorganisation of hand-spinning is possible*
only through concentrated and special effort,
unaffected by and independent of the political'
activities of the Congress, Shri J. C. Kumarappa is
hereby authorised to form, under the advice and'
guidance of Gandhiji, an association called the All-
India Village Industries Association as part of the
activities of the Congress. The said Association shall
work for the revival and encouragement of the said"
industries and for the moral and physical advance-
ment of the villages, and shall have power to frame
its own Constitution, to raise funds, and to perform
such acts as may be necessary for the fulfilment of
its objects."
A consequential resolution was passed on the
subject of exhibitions and demonstrations which ran
thus : —
"Inasmuch as it is desirable to free the Recep-
tion Committee from the distraction and expense
994 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
attendant upon the organisation of exhibitions and
spectacular demonstrations that take place at the
annual sessions of the Congress, and as these make it
impossible for smaller places to invite the Congress,
the Reception Committee shall henceforth be relieved
of the task of organising exhibitions and spectacular
demonstrations. But as exhibitions and spectacular
demonstrations are a necessary part of the annual
national gathering, the duty of organising these is
hereby entrusted to the All-India Spinners' Associa-
tion and the All-India Village Industries Associa-
tion, which bodies shall organise these functions so
as to combine instruction with entertainment of the
general public, especially of the villagers, with the
sole view to illustrate and popularise the activities
of the two associations and, generally, to demonstrate
the potentiality of village life."
The Congress Parliamentary Board claimed atten-
tion.
The Board itself was of opinion that, "inasmuch as
this Board was constituted as an emergency measure, it
is desirable that its life should be limited to one year
and that thereafter it should be placed on an elective
basis for the period and on the terms as might appear
desirable." This resolution of the Board was forwarded
to the Working Committee as a 'recommendation of the
Board/ and the Congress accepted the said recommenda-
tion and resolved that the existing Parliamentary Board
should be dissolved on 1st May, 1935, and a new Board
of 25 should be elected by the A.I.C.C. on or before the
aforesaid date. The elected Board should have
the power to co-opt not more than five members. There
should be a fresh election of the Parliamentary Board at
every annual session of the Congress, with the same
power of co-option. The elected Board should possess
the same powers as are possessed by the existing Board.
MASKING TIME 995
The revised Constitution has been dwelt upon at
length in these pages.
A separate resolution was passed prescribing a
khadHar qualification which ran thus: "No member shall
be eligible for election to any office or to any Congress
^Committee unless he is a habitual wearer wholly of
hand-spun and hand- woven khaddar."
For the first time, a Labour qualification was
jntroduced~: —
"No person shall be eligible to be a candidate
for election to membership of any Congress Com-
mittee, unless he or she has performed some manual
labour continuously for six months immediately
before the date of nomination for election, on
behalf of or for the Congress, equal in value to 500
yards per month of well-spun yarn of over ten
counts, and in time to eight hours per month. Tiae
form of acceptable labour alternative to spinning
shall be prescribed from time to time by the Working
Committee, in consultation with the Provincial
Congress Committees and the All-India Village
Industries Association."
Gandhiji's retirement naturally demanded a resolu-
tion of confidence in him which was thus expressed ; —
"This Congress reiterates its confidence in the
leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and is emphatically
of opinion that he should reconsider his decision to
retire from the Congress. But inasmuch as all
efforts to persuade him in that behalf have failed, this
Congress, while reluctantly accepting his decision,
places on record its deep sense of gratitude for the
unique services rendered by him to the Nation and
notes with satisfaction his assurance that his advice
and guidance will be available to the Congress
whenever necessary."
996 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
The next session of the Congress was invited to U.P.
and the invitation was accepted.
Hardly had the Bombay Session concluded ite
sittings when the Nation was plunged into the elections
to the Assembly. The change from the /af/n'-charges and
the sufferings of the offensive movement to the lightning t
marches of an election campaign and its thundering
orations was truly refreshing. People wore restored for a
while to their wonted tastes. They had a splendid case
to present. Every District and every Tahsil was visited.
An educative and propagandists campaign was carried
on throughout the country. Almost every general consti-
tuency seat was contested. The Nationalists under the
lead of Pandit Malaviya and Mr. Aney chose to stand as
Congress Nationalists, apart from the HKTC Congressmen.
The seat that attracted general attention was that con-
tested by Sir R. K. Shanmukham Chetti — the Commerce
seat in South India. He had been sent to Ottawa by the
Government of India to negotiate a scheme of trade
relations based on Empire Preference and, on his return,,
had been elected President of the Assembly. He had
the virtual support of the Madras Government and the
Government of India. Sir Mohammad Osman, the
ex-Home Member of the Madras Government, and the
Raja of Bobbili, the Chief Minister, were amongst the
first signatories to his manifesto. The English practice
of not contesting the seat of the ex-Presuient or Speaker
of the Legislature was invoked. Government officers freely
took part in the elections. The Congress worked for Sami
Venkatachalam Ghetti, the rival candidate, and it was no
trite victory that the latter scored over the former. It
was a victory really of the Congress over Government, of
moral force over wealth and power; it was a victory of
India over Britain and Ottawa put together. Govern-
ment too wanted to make this election a test election, one
TIME 99t
intended to judge whether their man, who had espoused,
their cause at Ottawa and had the courage — some might
say the hardihood — to act against informed commercial
opinion in the country, had the support of a commercial
constituency such as it was. In the end, the test proved
to be not merely a test of support based on numerical
strength which would have been true if the
combatants had fought on a territorial electorate,,
but a test of support based on moral strength and
intellectual conviction of a picked few competent to
judge. This election was so timed as to lead almost
every other election in India, and when the result was
announced it had an effect just the opposite of what was
anticipated and expected. South India swept the polls.
Eleven territorial seats had a thumping majority for the
Congress. In Bengal, Congress Nationalists got all the
general seats. U.P., unlike in 1926, captured all the
general seats and one Mussalman seat, Bihar and C. P.,
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnatak and Assam swept the
polls for the Congress. Punjab alone lagged behind, with
only one scat for the Congress. Altogether the Congress
captured 44 clear Congress seats, apart from the seats of
the Congress Nationalists, who were with the Congress
on all points except on the question of the communal
decision.
The Congress Party in the Assembly put up
Mr. T.A.K. Sherwani as candidate for the Presidentship
of the Assembly but he failed. Heavy tolls Congress had
to pay to nature in the deaths of three successful candi-
dates, viz., Abhyankar and Sherwani and Sasmal, the last
of whom was a Congress Nationalist, and all of whom
passed away from our midst in the prime of their life,
and after they had contributed their best to the country**
cause.
THE HISTjOBY OF THE CONGRESS
The Congress Party soon set to work in the Assembly
which began its session on January 21. An adjournment
motion on the Government's Circular on the A.I.VJA.
was talked out and that on the detention of Sarat
Chandra Bose was passed by 58 to 54 votes. The
refusal of permission to Syt. Sarat Chandra Bose who
had been, while an internee, returned to the Assembly
uncontested, to attend its sittings, attracted the earliest
Attention of the Congress Party which had marshalled its
forces under the able leadership of Syt. Bhulabhai Desai.
Syt. Desai brought to the Assembly the same prestige and
glamour as Motilalji himself. He had been for some time
Advocate-General of Bombay and did not care very much
for the prize posts to which this recognised leadership of
the Bar is the usual stepping stone. The Indo-British
Trade Agreement was the object of the next attack and a
resolution that it should be terminated was passed by
66 against 58 votes. The Pact was a scandalous piece of
jobbery which was perpetrated as between the Secretary
of State for India and the Secretary to the Board of Trade
in the British Cabinet. Two members of the British
Cabinet agreed to divide the spoils of trade in India and
chose to call it by the dignified name of the Indo-British
Trade Agreement. This Agreement is really a document
intended to implement beforehand the forthcoming
recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee's
Report on the commercial safeguards under the new
Reforms. It was specifically laid down that the protec-
tion afforded to Indian industries "shall only be so much
as, and no more than, will equate the prices of the
imported goods to fair selling prices for similar goods
produced in India and that, wherever possible,
lower rates of duty will be imposed on goods
of United Kingdom origin." Differential margins
of duty as between English and foreign goods shall not
be altered to the detriment of the United Kingdom goods.
MASKING TIME 999
Whenever the question of protection to any Indian
industry is referred to the Tariff Board, the Government
of India shall afford full opportunity to any industry
concerned in the United Kingdom to state its case and
answer cases presented by other interested parties. The
privilege of duty-free entry of Indian pig-iron into * the
U. K. will be continued so long as the duties applicable
to the article on iron and steel imported into India are
not less favourable to the U. K. than hitherto. Now, this
extraordinary Agreement was signed on the 10th January,
1935, and earned the unmitigated condemnation of the
Assembly. The ban on Khudai Khidmatgars was asked
to be removed by 74 to 46 votes. The Taxation policy
«of Government was the next subject of victory for the
popular party and this was followed by that on
Siamese rice and twenty-five or thirty other subjects big
and small. We have reserved a reference to the victory
•on the J.P.C. Report to the last. The tadpole of the
White Paper at the time of the elections had since
developed into the frog of the Joint Parliamentary Com-
mittee Report. It has since passed both the Houses of
Parliament and become Law. As these pages are nearing
completion, we give a comprehensive survey of the
recommendations of the J.P.C. and the case for their
rejection in Appendix XIV, but the resolution passed by
the Assembly is given below, as well as details of the
•procedure followed in this behalf.
The procedure followed by the Government in the
Assembly in connection with the debate on the J.P.C.
"Heport* was different from that followed in the Provincial
'Councils. In the Provinces, the official bloc rightly
refrained from taking part in the voting, so that only
Indian opinion represented in Provincial Councils might
register its vote on the Report. In the Assembly,
Siowever, the Government decided to intervene in the
HMO THE HISTORY; OF THE CONGRESS^
debate and cast all votes at their disposal against
amendments to their proposition for the consideration of
the Report. But for this intervention, the unambiguous
resolution moved by the Congress Party recommending
the Government, "not to proceed with any legislation;
based on the said scheme," would have been carried.
The Assembly, however, adopted the amendment-
moved by Mr. Jinnah. For the purpose of voting, the-
amendment was divided into two parts, the first part
relating to the acceptance of the Communal Award.
The Congress amendment of neutrality was first put to
vote as an amendment to Mr. Jinnah's amendment, and'
was lost, there being 44 votes cast in its favour by the
members of the Congress Party. After the Congress
amendment was lost, the Congress group remained1
neutral and the first clause was carried with the votes of
the Mussalmans and the Government.
The second and third clauses were put together as-
being an entire alternative and were adopted by the
House by 74 against 58 votes. The Congress Party voted
for the amendment; the Government and nominated!
members voted against it.
Mr. Jinnah 's amendment was as follows : —
"1. That this Assembly accepts the Communal
Award, so far as it goes, until a substitute is agreed
upon by the various communities concerned.
"2. As regards the scheme of Provincial
Governments, this House is of opinion that it is most
unsatisfactory and disappointing inasmuch as it
includes various objectionable features, particularly
the establishment of Second Chambers, the Extra-
ordinary and Special Fowers of the Governors, pro-
visions relating to Police rules, Secret Service and
Intelligence Departments, which render the real"
control and responsibility of the Executive ancT
MASKING TIME 1001
Xegislature ineffective, and, therefore, unless these
objectionable features are removed, it will not satisfy
.any section of Indian opinion.
"3. With respect to the scheme of the Central
Government, called 'All-India Federation' this
House is clearly of opinion that it is fundamentally
"bad and totally unacceptable to the people of
British India, and, therefore, recommends to the
Government of India to advise His Majesty's
Government not to proceed with any legislation
based on this scheme and urges that immediate
efforts should be made to consider how best to
establish in British India alone a real and complete
Responsible Government, and with that view, take
step? to review the whole position in consultation
with Indian opinion without delay."
The amendment contained in clauses 2 and 3 which
was put as an entire alternative scheme was treated by
•the Government, speaking through the Law Member, as
being as much a rejection of the J.P.C. Report proposals
as the more direct rejection of the same by the Congress.
The Law Member, while describing the nature of
Mr. Jinnah's amendment, said as follows: —
"Now, Sir, I was going to say that instead of
the honest, direct and frontal attack which comes
from my friend, Mr. Desai, we have this dis-
ingenuous and indirect attack from my hon. friend,
Mr. Mahomed Ali Jinnah, although directed on the
identical purpose. My hon. friend knows perfectly*
well that although, in form, it is an attack only on
half, yet in substance, in effect, there is no difference
in the amendment of my hon. friend, Mr. Jinnah, and
the amendment of the Congress leaders."
The Government sustained a series of defeats in the
.Assembly when consideration of the Railway Budget
oame up for discussion. The Government policy in
connection with the management of Indian Railways was
-exposed by the members from various points of view,
llr. "Bhulabhai Desai, the Leader of the Opposition,
1002 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
moved a motion for the reduction of the Railway Board
Grant to Re. 1.
In the course of his speech, Mr. Desai incidentally-
exposed the present policy of the Government which was,
as he said, inspired by their Despatch in 1930. The-
reasons given there for such policy were, (a) rendering
prompt and adequate service to Military authorities in
times of political crisis, (b) safeguarding the enormous
capital sunk in Indian Railways, (c) guaranteeing service
of higher railway officers appointed by the Secretary of
State, (d) to ensure future recruitment of Europeans on
Military and other grounds, and (e) maintenance of the
interests of the Anglo-Indian community in Railway
Service. It was in pursuance of this policy that the
proposed India Bill has made the Railways a subject of
the Governor-General's special responsibilities.
Mr. Desai's motion was, as he pointed out in the
course of the discussion, "not a token cut, but refusal of
supplies." The motion was carried by 75 to 47 votes. In
a free country, the adoption of the motion for refusal of
supplies would have produced its inevitable effect on
the Government. Other cut motions introduced in
connection with the Railway Budget related to the India-
nisafion of the Railway services (passed by 81 votes-
against 44), greater facilities for 3rd class passengers,
Railway policy, Wheatley Commission's recommenda-
tions on Labour, and reduction of freights for transport
of agricultural produce.
The first meeting of the new Working Committee was-
held at P^tna on the 5th, 6th and 7th of December, 1834v
The Committee recorded its sorrow at the death of
gyt. B. N. Sasmal who had passed away just on the day
the result of his election to the Assembly was announced-
MASKING TIME
ioe»
The Working Committee expressed itself on the Joint
Parliamentary Committee Report and passed the
following resolution : —
"Whereas the Congress has after full and
earnest consideration resolved that the scheme of
future Government of India adumbrated in the
White Paper be rejected and that the only satis-
factory alternative is a Constitution drawn up by a
Constituent Assembly;
"And the said rejection and demand for a
Constituent Assembly has been endorsed in a clear
and unambiguous manner by the country at the
recent general election to the Legislative Assembly;.
"And whereas the proposals made in the Joint
Parliamentary Committee Report are in several
respects even worse than those contained in the
White Paper and have been condemned by almost
every shade of opinion in India as reactionary and
unacceptable;
"And whereas the Joint Parliamentary
Committee Scheme, designed as it is to facilitate and
perpetuate the domination and exploitation of this
country by alien people under a costly mask, ia
fraught with greater mischief and danger than even
the present Constitution;
"This Committee is of opinion that the said
Scheme should be rejected, well knowing that the
rejection must involve the necessity of struggling
under the present Constitution, humiliating and
intolerable as it is, until it is replaced by one framed
by a Constituent Assembly in accordance with the
Congress resolution on the subject. This Committee
requests the members of the Assembly to reject the
Scheme of Government sought to be thrust upon
India in the name of reform and appeals to the
Nation to support the Congress in every step that it
may decide upon to secure the national objective of
Purna Swaraj."
The Working Committee after congratulating
country on the faith and confidence it had shown in the
|004 THE HISTORY OF THB CONGRESS
leadership of the Congress by its splendid response at
,the Assembly elections, asked Congress organisations
.and Congressmen to concentrate their attention for the
next three months on (1) enrolment of Congress
members and organisation of Congress Committees under
the new Constitution, (2) collection of accurate and
useful local data for village industries, and (3) education
of the masses on the Fundamental Rights and duties and
the economic programme as adopted by the Karachi
'Congress. The Committee deplored the action of the
Government for the irritating and humiliating restric-
tions placed upon the liberty and movements of
'Syt. Subash Chandra Bose during his short sojourn in
India at the time of his father's death. The Committee
•expressed its opinion that Congress members in the
Legislatures should be habitual wearers of khaddar and
requested them to adhere strictly to this rule. The
Committee having been asked by the Nationalist Party
of Bengal to reconsider the Congress attitude on the
•question of Communal Award, in view of the adverse
Terdict of the Hindu electorate in Bengal during the
Assembly elections, the Committee recorded the opinion
that the policy of the Congress being laid down by the
resolution of the Bombay Congress, it could not alter it,
particularly when it had been overwhelmingly endorsed
by the country at large.
We may now profitably give a summary of the
progress of events directly connected with the Congress
in the year 1935 — the fiftieth year of the Congress and
the last year covered by this volume.
The Working Committee met again on 16th to 18th
January, 1935, and it had to offer condolences to the
, families of Abhyankar of Nagpur and Acharya Gidwani.
Both had suffered much and served the country nobly
MABKING TIME 1005
;;and long. The Purna Swaraj or Independence Day was
'Observed this year as in previous years, and a particular
resolution was prescribed for the whole of India. Here
.are the instructions and the resolution issued by the
"forking Committee: —
"As Civil Disobedience has been suspended by
the Congress, the proceedings for the day should not
be in breach of the Ordinances, or other laws or
orders promulgated by local authority. Consistently
with this precaution, silent processions should be
taken to previously announced meeting places, and at
the meetings the under-noted resolution worded in
Hindustani or the local language should be read out
by the Chairman and, without any speeches, passed
by the audience standing. Where meetings are
prohibited, every household should meet at the
appointed time and pass the resolution and inform the
nearest Congress Committee of having done so.
"At every meeting, or in every house, the passing
• of the resolution should be preceded by the unfurling
of the National Flag.
"The resolution shall be as under:
'We remind ourselves on this, the solemn National
Day, that Complete Independence is our birthright
-and we shall not rest till we have achieved it.
'To that end we shall strive to the utmost of our
ability in thought, word and deed, to observe Truth
and non-violence and shall consider no sacrifice or
suffering too great to be undergone,
'As a token of the expression of the two essential
• qualities of Truth and non-violence, we shall seek to
(i) adopt and promote heart unity among
different communities and to establish
complete equality of status among all,
irrespective of caste or creed or race;
(ii) to adopt and promote complete abstinence
from intoxicating drink or drugs;
(iii) to promote hand-spinning and other village
industries and to adopt for personal use
khaddar and other products of village
industries to the exclusion of other products;
1006 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
(iv) to abolish untouchability;
(v) to serve the starving millions in every way
we can; and,
(vi) to engage in all other national and.
constructive effort/
"It is recommended that the National Day be
devoted, in so far as it is possible, to some special
constructive effort and a determination be made to
develop greater dedication to the cause of Purna
Swaraj.
"There should be no hartal observed."
The Jubilee celebrations connected with King:
George's reign naturally attracted special attention and;
was the subject of the following resolution : —
"Official announcement has been made that the
Silver Jubilee of His Britannic Majesty's reign is to
be celebrated in India. It is necessary for the
Working Committee to guide the public as to the
attitude to be adopted on the occasion.
"The Congress has and can have nothing but good
wishes for the personal well-being of His Majesty,
but the Congress cannot ignore the fact that the rule
in India with which His Majesty is naturally
identified has been a positive hindrance to the
political, moral and material growth of the Nation.
It now threatens to culminate in a Constitution
which, if enforced, promises to exploit the Nation,
to drain her of what she still possesses of wealth and
to harden her political subjection as has perhaps
never been attempted before.
"It is, therefore, impossible for the Working'
Committee to advise any participation in the forth-
coming celebration. At the same time, the Working-
Committee has no desire, by hostile demonstrations,
to wound the susceptibilities of Englishmen and*
others who will want to take part in the celebrations.
The W. C., therefore, advises the general public,
including Congressmen who may be members of
elected bodies, to be satisfied with mere abstention?
from the events that may be arranged for celebra^
tion.
MARKING TIME JOOT*
"The W. C. trusts that the authorities and.
responsible Englishmen will recognise and appre-
ciate the honest and inevitable attitude of the W.C.
and refrain from unnecessarily wounding national
self-respect by compelling, directly or indirectly,
participation in the forthcoming celebrations."
On the question of the Textile Mills the position*
was cleared: —
"As most of the textile mill-owners have
broken their pledges given to the Congress, the W.C.
is of opinion that it is no longer possible to continue
the system of certification by the Congress or
associated bodies, the old certificates issued should,
therefore, be considered as cancelled.
"The W. C. is further of opinion that it is the
duty of all Congressmen and those who sympathise
with the Congress to confine their attention and give
their support exclusively to the promotion of hand-
spun and hand-woven cloth."
Under Article XII (d) (iii) of the amended Consti-
tution, the W. C. framed disciplinary rules.
Doubts having been raised regarding the interpreta-
tion of 'Residential Qualifications' in the Congress
Constitution, the same was made clear by a resolution of '
the Working Committee.
The Committee then discussed the problem of"
Burma under the Scheme of Reforms in the J.P.C.
Report, and Burma as a Congress circle, and decided
that the Burma Provincial Congress Committee should^,
for the time being, function as before.
With regard to the position of Indians in Burma
under the new Scheme, the Committee was of opinion
that as the whole Scheme was unacceptable and therefore
"1008 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
•no amendments could be suggested by the Congress,
'there was no baa* to Burma Indians criticising parts of
the Scheme which virtually affected their position and
s status.
The President was authorised to issue an appeal for
funds for relieving the distress in the famine-stricker
•areas of Rayalaseema in Andhra.
Again the unity of command and action was
•demonstrated in the observance of an All-India Protest
Day against the J.P.C. Report on the 7th February,
1935. In pursuance of an appeal in that behalf,
•.meetings were held not merely in every town of any
importance but also in distant nooks and corners of
•many Provinces, and the resolution suggested by the
!Presiclent was adopted at such meetings.
The demonstration held in Rangoon under the
'-auspices of the Burma Provincial Congress Committee
^was also unique in the sense that Bnrmans and Indians
'came together on a common platform to press for the
rejection of the Report.
We must now refer to the Unity Talks that took
rplace in January and February, 1935.
Negotiations for an agreed settlement between the
communities which could replace the so-called Communal
Award, and which by minimising communal discord and
bickerings could enable the country to present a united
front, proceeded for more than a month between the
Congress President, Babu Rajendra Prasad, and
Mr. M. A. Jinnah, President of the All-India Muslim
league. The talks started on January 23rd, and were
MARKING TIME 1009 *
continued with a short break upto 1st March, 1935,
when they terminated without any tangible result, much
to the disappointment of the country.
The policy of repression adopted by Government
has received nothing but encouragement from the cessa-
tion of the Congress offensive. It is always a feature of
despotic rule to take advantage of the enemy's passivity
in order to wipe out traces of revolt. The universal
condemnation of the J.P.C. Report and the Bill before
Parliament which it gave birth to, only irritated the
Government the more. In Calcutta, sedition prosecutions
arc being pursued. The Government of Bengal refused to •
allow the session of the All-India Trade Union Congress
to be held in Calcutta. Police harassments of Congress •
workers in the peaceful pursuit of the Congress pro-
gramme have become the subject of complaint from
certain districts.
The year 1935 has not witnessed any change in the
Government attitude or policy. The Congress has been,
looked upon with suspicion and as a potential enemy,
and no opportunity has been lost of taking action against
Congress workers even on the slightest pretext. Those
suspected in connection with terrorist activities have
continued to remain in detention either in jail or private
residences, without trial, and their number in Bengal
alone comes to 2,700. House searches have been held'
from time to time in various places and even offices of
the A.I.C.C. and some of the P.C.C.'s like those of Bihar-
have not escaped attention. Khan Abdul Gaffar was.
sentenced to two years' imprisonment for a speech
delivered in Bombay and Dr. Satyapal to a year's
imprisonment for a speech in connection with the election1
campaign. - ,
11010 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
The detenus in Bengal are to be counted in thousands*
Their families are left in a helpless condition. Govern-
ment have detached from them the youngmen competent
to maintain them. These youngmen have been interned
• or externed or detained for years without trial. The
All-India Congress Committee, when it met at Jubbul-
,pore on the 24th and 25 of April, passed a resolution
expressing sympathy and decided to raise funds for th6
relief of the distress caused to the families and depen-
dants of the detenus. The 19th of May was observed as
.a day of protest against the detention of large numbers
of persons without trial by a court of law and for making
collections, and the President sent a public appeal to the
-country in this behalf. The Bengal Government met this
move on the part of the Congress by an order issued
'Under Sec. 2-A. of the Indian Press (Emergency Powers)
Act by which they prohibited absolutely the publication
-of any information connected with the observance of the
Detenu Day throughout India in accordance with instruc-
tions issued by the President of the Congress. This
" evoked a protest from the journalists of Bengal who
suspended the publication of their journals for a day on
Tthat account.
The All-India Congress Committee met at Jubbul-
•,pore on the 24th and 25th of April, passed a resolution
'Congress Parliamentary Board and an Election Dispute
'Panel, and appointed auditors. It expressed its con-
dolence at the death of Mr. T. A. K. Sherwani. It
>expressed its satisfaction at the work of the Congress
Party in the Assembly and drew the attention of the
country to the continuance of the ban on Congress
•organisations in the N.W.F. Province and all Congress
'Committees in Midnapore district in Bengal, and on
affiliated and allied bodies like the Khudai Khidmatgars,
rtfae Hindustan Seva Dal in Bengal, Gujarat and elsewhere,
MASKING TIME 1011
*o the suppression of Labour and Youth League organi-
sations in Bengal, the Bombay Presidency, the Punjab
.and elsewhere on the plea of alleged tendencies without
reference to any overt acts and to organisation; and
Appealed to the people at large to increase the strength
of the Congress organisation as a means of liberation.
The Committee noted the flagrant abuse of the
Ancient piece of legislation called the Foreigners' Act and
the externment of Congressmen from British India under
the said Act, thus depriving them of the opportunity of
legitimate residence and carrying on their business in
British India.
The Committee strongly condemned the continued
repression in Bengal and the ^ptention and internment
of a large number of youths, depriving their families of
their support and without themselves making any
arrangement for the maintenance of these suffering
families. It recorded its opinion that the Bengal Govern-
ment should either discharge the detenus or give them a
fair trial. It assured the people of Bengal and the
detenus of its full sympathy in their affliction. It also
•called upon the Bengal Provincial Congress Committee
to submit to the Working Committee a list of detenus
with full particulars about the period of detention and
financial condition of the families. It also resolved to
-start an All-India Fund for the relief of detenus9
families, under the control of its Working Committee.
The Committee deplored the horrible acts of mob
violence at Ferozabad culminating in the burning alive
of the whole family of Doctor Jivaram, including children
and patients, and drew the attention of leaders to the
deplorable results to which frenzied communalism can go
and appealed for effective steps, to impress upon the
1012 THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGRESS
public at Icgrge the need for living together in peace and.
friendship, with mutual good understanding and respect.
The Committee laid down that the interests of the
people of the Indian States are as much the concern of
the Indian National Congress as those of the people of
British India, and assured the States' people of its full
support in the struggle for freedom.
The Working Committee, which met at the same
time at Jubbulpore, fixed the maximum number of dele-
gates returnable by each Province under the new Consti-
tution and prepared a time-table for the various steps
to be taken for the organisation of Congress Committees
and election of delegates to the next Congress and
members of the A.I.C.C. It dealt with certain election
disputes in Provinces adl' provided for the representation
of the N.W.F.P. and the District of Midnapore in Bengal
in the Congress and the A.I.C.C., inasmuch as Congress
organisations being under ban in those places no election
could take place.
Hardly had 18 months elapsed since, on January
15th, 1934, the Bihar earthquake convulsed the country,,
when on the 31st of May, 1935, the earthquake at Quetta
cast a shadow of gloom all over the land. That the
initiative for relief should have been taken by Govern-
ment is natural in view of the city being a Military^,
centre, but that orders should be issued prohibiting
outsiders from entering Quetta to give relief or organise
aid, passes all understanding. Neither the Congress
President nor Gandhi has been given permission to go to
the place. Under the circumstances all organisation of"
help could be made only on the outskirts of the prohibited
zone. The President of the Congress organised a
Quetta Central Relief Committee which, with branches in
Sindh, the Punjab and the N.W.F.P., has been giving-
MAEKING TIME 1M*
relief to sufferers who have been sent to these Province*
from Quetta. June 30th was observed as a day for
showing sympathy to sufferers and for prayers for the
dead. The policy of Government in this regard is but
the crowning piece of a policy of suspicion and distrust
and has obliged the Working Committee to pass the-
following resolution on Quetta relief on 1-8- '35: —
"The Working Committee records its sense of
deep sorrow at the loss sustained in men and money
by thousands of people during the recent earthquake
in Quetta and other parts of Baluchistan and tenders
its condolences and sympathy to the bereaved and
the sufferers.
"The Working Committee endorses the action
taken by the President in forming a Central Relief
Committee for collecting funds and administering
relief. The Committee thanks all those who rendered
valuable aid through personal care to thousands of
the injured and distressed under very difficult circum-
stances and acknowledges the response of the public
to appeals for funds.
"The Working Committee, while recognising the
efforts made by the authorities at Quetta to meet
the situation with the resources at their disposal, is
of opinion based on the published statements of
eye-witnesses, official and non-official, that many
persons under the debris could have been rescued if
the digging operations had been undertaken on an
adequate scale and not stopped after two days, and
if the offered help from the public had not been
rejected.
"The Working Committee is of opinion that the
Government should appoint a commission composed
of officials and non-officials to enquire into the
allegations made by the public and, in some respects,
supported by published statements of officials, viz.,
1. that the statement made on behalf of
the Government when assitance was
offered, that they had ample resources to
deal with the situation in Quetta, does not
appear to be borne out by facts;
64
1014 THE HISTOBY OF THE CONGBESB
2. that they unjustifiably turned away such
proffered assistance;
3. that they ought to have recruited available
assistance from neighbouring areas to cope
properly with the emergency;
4. that whilst every European resident of the
affected area was accounted for, no adequate
attempt was made in respect of the Indian
residents and there was similar discrimina-
tion between Indians and Europeans in the
matter of rescue, relief and salvage."
Another problem that agitated Congressmen, notably
those in the Assembly and those who were keen on
Council-entry, in the middle of 1935 relates to the ques-
tion of acceptance of office under the new Constitution.
It was somewhat unfortunate that this talk should have
"been started in the country while yet the Bill was before
Parliament; nor can we ignore the fact that the attitude
expressed in India by this wing of Congressmen was
taken full advantage of by those in charge of the Bill,
to assure Parliament that there were men who would
work the new Reforms. The attitude of the Congress
itself was definitely declared in the Congress reso-
lution of Bombay (1934), and no one is competent
to deal with this question before the next Congress sits.
Accordingly, the Working Committee passed the follow-
ing resolution at the end of July at Wardha, referring
the question to the plenary session of the Congress: —
"Having read the resolution of several Congress
Committees relating to the acceptance or non-
acceptance of office under the new Constitution, this
Committee is of opinion that any decision on the
question would be premature at this stage and should
be left over for the next session of the Congress. It
declares that any expression of opinion on the ques-
tion by individual Congressmen does not represent
the view of the Congress."
MASKING TIME 1015
'The Indian States Peoples' Organisation was, in the
course of the early part of the year, somewhat agitated
•over the opinion of Mr. Bhulabhai Desai, the leader of
the Parliamentary Board, which he had tendered in his
professional capacity to the Princes of India in relation
to the question of federation under the Government of
India Bill, while yet the Bill was before the Commons,
.and a speech which he had delivered at Mysore. In the
month of July, there was a demand for a meeting of the
A.I.C.C. to consider the attitude of the Congress towards
the rights of the people of the Indian States who base
their demand on the following utterance of Gandhi at
the second Round Table Conference: —
"The Congress is not going to be satisfied with
any Constitution which does not provide for the
fundamental rights of citizenship for the States'
people, with a right of representation on the Federal
Legislature."
The Working Committee at its meeting held at
TVardha on the 29th, 30th and 31st July, 1935, passed a
Tesolution on the subject, embodying its considered
•opinion on the subject which was as follows: —
"Although the policy of the Congress regarding
the States in India has been defined in its resolutions,
a persistent effort is being made by or on behalf of
the people of the States to get a fuller declaration of
the Congress policy. The Working Committee there-
fore issues the following statement concerning the
policy of the Congress with regard to the Princes
and the people of the States:
"The Indian National Congress recognises that
the people in the Indian States have an inherent
right to Swaraj no less than the people of British
India. It has accordingly declared itself in favour
•of the establishment of representative Responsible
'Government in the States and has in that behalf
1016 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
not only appealed to the Prurces to establish sucfr.
Responsible Government in their States and to-
guarantee fundamental rights of citizenship, like
freedom of person, speech, association and the Press
to their people, but has also pledged to the States'
people its sympathy and support in their legitimate
and peaceful struggle for the attainment of full
Responsible Government. By that declaration and
by that pledge, the Congress stands. The Congress
feels that even in their own interests the
Princes will be well advised to establish at
the earliest possible moment' full Responsible
Government within their States, carrying a guarantee-
of full rights of citizenship to their people.
"It should be understood, however, that the
responsibility and the burden of carrying on that
struggle within the States must necessarily fall on
the States' people themselves. The Congress can
exercise moral and friendly influence upon the State*.
and this it is bound to do wherever possible. The
Congress has not other power under existing circum-
stances, although the people of India, whether under
the British, the Princes or any other power, are
geographically and historically one and indivisible.
"In the heat of controversy, the limitation of
the Congress is often forgotten. Indeed, any other
policy will defeat the common purpose.
"With regard to the impending constitutional'
changes, it has been suggested that the Congress
should insist upon certain amendments of that
portion of the Government of India Bill which dealf>
with the relation of the Indian States to the Indian-
Federation. The Congress has more than once
categorically rejected the entire Scheme of Constitu-
tional Reforms on the broad ground" of its not being
an expression of the will of the people of India and
has insisted on a Constitution to be framed by a
Constituent Assembly. It may not now ask for an
amendment of the Scheme in any particular part.
To do so would amount to a reversal of the Congress
policy.
"At the same time, it is hardly necessary to*
assure the people of the States that the Congress will"
MARKING TIME 1017
never be guilty of sacrificing their interests in order
*to buy the support of the Princes. From its incep-
tion, the Congress has stood unequivocally for the
Tights of the masses of India as against the vested
rights in conflict with their true interest."
Finally it was resolved that the fiftieth anniversary
of the Congress be observed in a fitting manner on the day
the Congress met for the first time in 1885, and for
this purpose the Working Committee appointed a Sub-
Committee to draw up a programme for the occasion.
The short interval between the Wardha meeting and
ihe close of the year was more or less uneventful, except
for the sudden release of Jawaharlal Nehru from the
Almora Jail, — on account of the grave state of his wife's
health on the 3rd September. He was straightway to
leave for Europe and should he return to India before
ihe term of his imprisonment expired, he would, as
orders stood, have to return to prison.
The only other event of any importance or interest
was the sitting of the A.I.C.C. in Madras on the 17th and
18th of October, 1935. There was a rich promise of a
reinforced attack on the questions of 'office acceptance'
and 'the Congress and the States' which was expected to
fce made at the meeting. The A.I.C.C., it may be said,
met for the first time in the city of Madras, if we leave
out of account the sittings of the body directly associated
with a session of the Congress. It was, however, agreed
in Madras that the statement of the Working Committee
on the question of the States and the Congress be
•approved, and, on the question of acceptance .of office,
ihe A.I.C.C. thought that, considering the long interval
that would elapse before the provincial elections under
ihe new Constitution would take place, as well as the
uncertain character of the political conditions in the
1018 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
interval, it would be not only premature, but inadvisable
and impolitic to commit the Congress to any decision on?
the subject.
One minor but important point may be noted, in
connection with the sitting of the A.I.C.C. in Madras.
The Bengal members of the A.I.C.C. were informed that
they would not be allowed to sit at the meeting as the
Bengal P.C.C. had not paid in full its contribution of
Rs. 500 to the A.I.C.C. A notice was also served by the
Working Committee on the Executive of the B. P.C.C. to
show cause why disciplinary action should not be taken
against it for having deliberately defied the instructions
of the Working Committee in the matter of the recogni-
tion of the Calcutta Central District Congress Committee.
In closing, we may just mention the fact that the
Government of India Act was passed by Parliament and
received the Royal assent on July 2nd, 1935. We have
no wish to burden this volume with any criticism of the
Act. Only, we feel tempted to quote a short extract
from the speech of a member of the Honse of Commons
with which the debates virtually terminated. On the
5th of June, 1935, Major Milmer, speaking on the India
Bill, compared Mr. Churchill and Sir Samuel Hoare to
the villain and the hero of a play. The hero (Sir S.
Hoare), said he, had beaten the villain. "He will doubt-
less finally dispose of him to-day (5-6- '35) without any
loss of blood." "Then," declared Major Milner, "the two-
protagonists will be found to leave the stage-door, arm in
arm." Verily, this is the drama enacted in Parliament
not only in 1935, but in 1920 as well. While it is-
broadly true that there is an ultra-conservative section in
the English Parliament which in popular parlance is-
known as the 'die-hard' party, the fact remains that
MASKING TIME 1019
ultimately the object of all the parties is the same,
namely, to evolve a picture which, as the Manchester
Guardian once urged, looks like Swaraj to India and like
British Raj to England. For this purpose, the
different parties stage a quarrel on the floor of the
Houses of Parliament, some appearing inclined to give,
others appearing to resist, and the foriner prevailing
upon the moderate elements in India to accept whatever
is possible of being given under the circumstances, as the
latter would not allow them to go even thus far. The
party in power plays the part of the hero, and the party
in opposition plays the part of the villain. The two
stage a quarrel within the walls of Westminster, and
once they leave the arena they congratulate each other
on the magnificent, realistic turn given to their feigned
differences. Between the two, India is befooled.
Before this chapter closes, let us say a word regard-
ing the growing sense of responsibility that is being
evinced by the Presidents of the Congress from year to
year. Mrs. Besant had emphasised the conception of
her being the President of the Congress throughout the
year. Ever since, this high precedent has received full
support at the hands of her numerous successors.
Except for one or two Presidents who simply disappeared
from public view soon after the spectacular sittings of
the Congress were concluded, the rest have taken to their
duties with a real zest and a high sense of responsi-
bility. Following this noble precedent, Babu Rajendra
Prasad, whose health is below par but whose energies
and capacity for endurance, however, vary inversely as
the square of his health, has had a whirlwind tour round
the country, and in this respect has taken a new step
altogether in order to keep himself in direct touch with
the men and the movements in the country. His hand*
1020 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
are already full with work relating to the Bihar Earth-
quake Relief. On the top of it, he has heavy duties as
President of the Congress, duties of a routine character,
And the earthquake in Quetta has further added to the
-weight of those duties. It is remarkable that in the
midst of such pressing engagements he should have
.toured Maharashtra, Karnatak, Berar, the Punjab, part
*of CP., Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Kerala. He is, in
.addition, connected with the A.I.S.A. and his 'no-change'
proclivities have in no way lessened his interest or
participation in the activities of the election campaign.
'The absence of Gandhi from the political arena has
.augmented the burdens on his shoulders, for, so long as
Gandhi was there, it is an open secret that Congress was
sitting lightly upon the shoulders of his colleagues. Not
.that they ever evaded their responsibilities, but that an
overshadowing personality like Gandhi's would leave to
.his colleagues little share in the arduous tasks that-
public life demands. Thus has the Presidentship of the
'Congress become a throne of power burdened with heavy
.cares and responsibilities. Shall we not go one step
.further and say that the Congress has become a parallel
organisation in the country to that of Government, with
its own ideals which are repressed by Government, with
.its schemes of uplift for the villages which are sought to
,be outstripped by those of Government, with its own
philosophy of Truth and non-violence which are dis-
credited and reviled by a Government wedded to physical
force? The Congress has worked for fifty years and
tbeen acclaimed a great success. Some day it has proved
A failure. Success or failure, Satyagraha is a new force
introduced into Congress politics. It is yet on its trial,
Ibut has been sufficiently long at work to be able to arrest
jpublio attention. This change of ideals, this alteration
•of methods and means, has been brought about by the
initiative of one man who, though born and educated in
MASKING TIME 1021
India, was in the formative period of his life an exile
from the country, living in South Africa and making
.his strange 'Experiments with Truth' in a strange land.
People ask whether the Congress is not a failure, whether
.Satyagraha is not weighed and found wanting, and
finally whether Gandhi is not played out. We shall
* conclude this volume with an answer to each of these
'questions. '
CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSION
We have rapidly reviewed the progress of events-
during the past fifty years and dealt with the latter half
of the period in somewhat greater detail than the
former half. During this long course of years, various
eminent men have been called upon to lead the Nation.
Dadabhai Naoroji presided over the Congress thrice and
introduced the term Swaraj into Congress phraseology.
W. C. Bonnerjee, the first President, presided a second
time; Surendra Nath Banerjea — the 'Trumpet voice of
India' — enjoyed the honour twice, and so did the white-
robed Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya as well as Pandit
Motilal Nehru and Sir William Wedderburn. The
Mussalmans contributed eight Presidents out of fifty-
one — Tyabji, Sayani Nawab Syed Mahomed Bahadur,
Hasan Imam, Abul Kalam Azad, Hakim Ajmal Khan,
Mahomed AH and Dr. Ansari. Dadabhai Naoroji and
Sir Pherozeshah Mehta came as the representatives of
that noble community — the Parsees — who have enriched
India's Vedic and Islamic cultures by the confluence with
them of their own culture, — the culture of Zend Avesta.
Bengal stands foremost in having contributed men like
W. C. Bonnerjee, Ananda Mohan Bose, Ramesh Chandra
Dutt, Lai Mohan Ghose, Bhupendra Nath Basu,
Sir S. P. Sinha, Ambika Charan Mazumdar and1
C. R. Das. To TI. P. belong Bishan Narayan Dhar,
Malaviya, Motilal ji and his son Jawaharlal. The last
of the Presidents, Rajendra Babu, comes from Bihar,
which had earlier given Hasan Imam. The Punjab had!1
the honor of giving Lala Lajpat Rai, and C. P.,.
CONCLUSION 102V
Mudholkar. From Gujarat came Gandhi and
Vallabhbhai Patel. The crop from Bombay was abundant.
Tyabji and Sayani have already been referred to, as also*
Mehta. Wacha, Gokhale and Chandavarkar complete
the list from the western Province. From Madras came
Ananda Charlu, an Andhra, then Sir C. Sankaran Nair,.
a Kerala-putra, and finally the Grand Old Man of the
South — Mr. C. Vijiyaraghavachari who, along with
Mr. S. Srinivasa lyengar, hails from Tamil Nadu. Two-
ladies, Mrs. Besant and Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, have graced
the Presidential throne. The European community had its
own turn through Messrs. Yule, Webb, Wedderburn and1
Cotton. This varied list shows how the Congress is not
merely a national but truly an international body.1
Let us now revert to the questions which we have'
set ourselves at the end of the last chapter — Is Congress-
a failure? Few will gainsay the fact that the past decade-
has witnessed the steady rise of new concepts controlling'
the time-honoured ideas of politics and culture. Ther
domain of politics itself which is, broadly, the science of
human well-being has been extended not" only in India
but all the world over so as to embrace a study and
solution of the larger problems of a socio-economic-
character. And when to these we superadd ideas of
culture and morality, we have elevated politics from the
vulgar levels of the nineteenth century to the healthy*
and ethical standards to which India has been introduced"
during the past fifteen or sixteen years; and this has been*
done under the guidance of a world character,,
M. K. Gandhi, whose invulnerability is appropriately^
1 The Addresses of these distinguished Presidents fill over 2,000
printed pages and have been published by Messrs. G. A. Natesan &
Co., Madras in two volumes. The gratitude of the public is due to
this enterprising and patriotic firm — forerunners in the field of
national literature — for this act of additional service to Indian*
Nationalism, done in the 'Jubilee* year of the Congress,
1024 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
.and tersely described by Prof. Gilbert Murray in the
^following words: —
"Be careful in dealing with a man who cares
nothing for sensual pleasures, nothing for comfort or
praise or promotion, but is simply determined to do
what he believes to be right. He is a dangerous and
uncomfortable enemy, because his body which you
can always conquer, gives you so little purchase
over his soul."
It is under the guidance of such a teacher that
Congress has sought to impress politics with the ideal of
.service, emphasised the need for a wider culture and a
higher patriotism amongst the classes and laboured for
•establishing village leadership. Congress has in fact
founded a new religion — the religion of politics. We
«cannot, without being false to our creed, regard any
great Ti-uman issue as outside the sphere of religion. For
religion stands not for any particular dogma or method
of worship but for a higher life, a spirit of sacrifice, and
a scheme of self-dedication. And when we speak of the
Religion of Politics we merely make the sordid politics
of the day sacred, the compartmental politics of the day
-comprehensive, the competitive politics of the day
• co-operative.
It is in this attitude and frame of mind that we have
•pleaded for Truth and Legitimacy as the cardinal factors
in the upbuilding of Indian Nationalism. Untruth has
•always gained earlier and cheaper victories in life,
-dissimulation and duplicity have often triumphed easily
over reason and rectitude. Yea, law and logic have
-scored over life itself in the past. But these victories
and triumphs are as partial as they are fleeting, and have
only betrayed the victors into unenviable positions. On
:a larger scale, the triumphs of the Great War have
CONCLUSION 1025-
brought no success to the victors over the vanquished. Oa
a smaller scale, the conquest, so-called, of England over
India has brought no lasting happiness to the former as-
against the latter. The policy underlying the conduct of"
statesmen in organising the various Round Table
Conferences has not ensured for ever India as the
out-house of England. Every wave of repression has
'only reacted against the interests of the repressers and
engendered a spirit of resistance, now manifesting itself
as Civil Disobedience and now taking sterner and fiercer
forms at the hands of the rising generation. To say that
we have failed in our programme of Non-co-operation is
but to read the wish for the thought, for in the long last,
every failure is only seemingly such and is in reality but
a step to success. Success itself is but the last phase of
a scries of failures.
It is thus that we judge the programme of the
Congress. That programme is of a two-fold character.
On the aggressive side, it has given battle to Government
in a manner which no civilized Government dare
condemn. Non-violence, in thought, word and deed, has
been the key-note of that fight and Gandhi has been
acknowledged the Chief Constable of India. Govern-
ment may have affected to abominate his cult of
Satyagraha but who can condemn the hold of Truth and'
of non-violence on the affections of the people? In an
age when Royal families have been annihilated and
monarchies have been upset and democratic constitu-
tions have given way, in an age, too, when the bi-party
or the tri-party system of old has disappeared from
politics and the rise of opposition is subdued not by
defeating the opponent at the polls but by annihilating
the party literally, to speak of non-violence may sound
a mockery. Our recent experiences have furnished a fit
and timely warning to us that the victories ^on through^
0026 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
bloodshed are only maintained through bloodshed and
.lost through more of it, and that, when once force has
'become installed as the arbiter between two nations, it
tends to butt in between any two communities and, for
•the matter of that, between any two individuals on all
possible occasions.
On the constructive side, the programme of the*
'Congress has been simple, — incredibly so. We must
admit it may not have appealed to the sophisticated
classes of the country, who live in towns and cities, wear
•foreign cloth, speak a foreign tongue and serve a foreign
master. A census of our towns would be a study in
itself, revealing the surprising fact that almost every
alternate man is dependent for his living, for his pros-
perity and for his fame, upon the good-will of the foreign
rulers. These facts are not discerned readily, for we do
not know who our masters really are. But we know that
they range from the constable to the Excise Inspector,
the Bank Agent and the English tailor. The P. W. D.
lascar, the Revenue Collector, the Bench Magistrate and
the Bill discounter are all the unpaid representatives of
the British Empire Ltd., whose Local Board of Directors
is the Government of India with sub-offices in the various
Provinces. The British Government is entrenched behind
the seven prakarams of the Army, the Police and the
'Services, the Courts, the Councils, the Colleges, the
Xocal Bodies and the titled aristocracy. The eighty per
cent, of rural population in the country lives in fear of
the Revenue authorities and the balance of urban popula-
tion in fear of the Municipalities, Local Boards, Income-
tax officers, Excise authorities and the Police.
It has, therefore, become supremely important to
'cast off fear resulting from a recognition of force, and
* plant, in its stead, :hope and courage that spring from a
CONCLUSION 1027
genuine love of non-violence. The constructive pro-
gramme has, therefore, taken on hand activities typical
of three respective classes which bring Congressmen
engaged in them into close touch with the masses. When,
therefore, we speak of khaddar, we not only help the
poor to find a subsidiary occupation or even a living
wage, but give them an opportunity of cultivating self-
respect by throwing off the symbol of slavery that is on
their backs. We conserve the sacredness of the home
and give the craftsman that creative joy through the
exercise of his craft which forms the true index of
civilization. When people are asked to pay a bit more
for khaddar, we teach them to give a voluntary bounty
to a national industry which it is the legitimate duty of
the State really to provide, but which it would not.
Above all, we teach simplicity to our people and with
simplicity of living come sublimity of thought, ideas of
self-respect, self-sufficiency, self-reliance and self-realiza-
tion. What we have sought to achieve on the economic
plane through khaddar, we strive to attain on the moral
plane through prohibition, and, on the social, through the
removal of untouchability. There must be something
unspeakably low, not to say worse, in a State objecting to
the organisation of prohibition amongst its citizens. The
problem is far too simple to need any discussion. The
Nation is mainly composed of the two great communities
— Hindu and Muslim— both of whom base their religious
teachings on the prohibition of drink. The temperance
movement in the country has worked on this basis; yet,
when the Nation is serious and constructs this moral
plank in its political platform and organizes it by
picketing, Government comes down on the Congress like
a wolf on the fold.
We have not fared better when we add a social
plank to this platform in the removal of untouchability.
1028 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
The Premier's decision had "rent asunder those whom*
God hath united" by carving out the Harijans into a
separate electorate. Only the fast unto death of the*
great leader of India has made an amendment possible
of that undesirable document and has established a
broad unity in the Hindu community, though with some
internal compartmentalism still lingering. And when we
have sought to remove the prevailing bar to the entry'
of the Harijans into temples, even when a plebiscite has
strengthened the hands -of their trustees, Government
have interposed their irresistible opposition to a
progressive measure which is but permissive, and nipped
it in the bud.
The problem that the country has to face is one of
supreme complexity, — with a Government that would
divide and rule, with towns and cities arrayed against
villages, with the classes having interests conflicting with
those of the masses, with an unholy opposition organised1
against elementary reforms, with an embargo upon
khaddar, with obstruction to communal equality, and
with resistance to the fostering of moral virtues. These
have made it abundantly clear that Swaraj cannot be
won, if at all, only through the votaries of English
education, the followers of the learned professions and
the captains of trade or industrial magnates. New
values have had to be evolved. The power of the
Nation has had to be developed through the develop-
ment of a sense of national consciousness in the masses
living in the villages, and their confidence secured not
by a mere delivery of lectures or by contributions to the
Press but by a day-to-day service rendered to the
people at large. Once this confidence is secured, the
programme set forth by the Congress for the emancipa-
tion of the Nation will be readily followed. Swaraj may
not by this process readily fall into our hands like &
CONCLUSION 1029
ripe apple, but it will soon be evident that every act of
service rendered to the people is a stone, well and truly
laid, in the foundations of Swaraj, and every disability
removed from society in its socio-economic structure is
a storey raised in building the edifice of Swaraj. The
process is doubtless slow, but the results are certain and
abiding. Thus has the Congress taken its message to
the villages and established what we have described as
village leadership.
II
We must now say a word upon the new technique
that has been brought into play in order to work out
the programme of the Congress. We are as yet in the
rudimentary stage of its evolution, and to study a
movement while yet it is imperfect or even inchoate is
perhaps as difficult and delicate a task as one may be
called upon to discharge; the more so for ardent
votaries thereof, who believe in its mighty potentialities
and have become, therefore, the butt of ridicule by its
opponents and the object of hatred by its enemies. All
great movements have passed through similar stages.
They are always interpreted — be it purposely or in-
advertently— as the equivalent of their counterfeits, at
best as but the variants of the cruder forms in which
perhaps they had their beginnings. It is as if a
diamond is studied as carbon with which it is chemically
identical and of which it is the isomer; Satyagraha is
likewise equated to mere Passive Resistance. But the
two movements are substantially different, even as the
scintillations of the gem in the jewel differ from the dark
clement of the chemist in the laboratory. Nay more,
Passive Resistance and Satyagraha exhibit diametri-
cally opposite qualities. Yet one need not be surprised
th*t Satyagraha, though it was not initiated consciously
by its founder as a kind of Passive Resistance, had
been preceded earlier by some such manifestation 4
1030 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
short time before Gandhi came into the movement, and
people understood it as such. It was while Mrs. Besant
was interned in 1917 that the Congress threatened
Passive Resistance, but with her release, it aborted. And
when Gandhi came on the scene and inaugurated a
campaign of Satyagraha, first outside the Congress
against the Rowlatt Acts, and next inside the Congress ,
against the Khilaphat wrong and the Punjab tragedy,
most of the Congressmen and the public understood it
merely as a revival of the aborted movement contem-'
plated earlier.
Recent political developments have ultimately
evolved a movement which in its earlier manifestations
had, from time to time, assumed different aspects under
different names. As Passive Resistance, it was a move-
ment of bitterness and pride which had perhaps even a
tinge in it of hatred and violence. As Non-co-operation,
it was an attitude of a sulky and sullen people, angry
with their rulers and anxious to wound but unwilling to
strike. When it was Civil Disobedience, it took time to
emphasise the adjective equally with the noun. On the
whole the idea of civility, little understood at first,
gradually gained ground and paved the way for the next
development of the idea to the level of Satyagraha. Ere
long, we saw that the basis of Satyagraha was nothing
short of love and non-violence. Non-violence was not
merely to be a negative factor, but a positive force and
was equivalent to "that love which does not burn others,
but burns itself to death." When, on the basis of such
a definition and demand, we discovered by the Bardoli
resile in February, 1922, that one Chauri Chaura was
enough to punish the whole country instead of isolating
and penalizing the local District of Gorakhpur in U. P.,
we discovered too how Satyagraha was not merely a
physical but a truly moral and spiritual force which is
CDKcLtJSlOtf Mfcl
Exacting in its demands, and which in its nature is
active, aggressive and dynamic. It has taken long for
people to see correctness of the position that, if the
massacre of Jallianwala-bagh perpetrated by Govern-
ment could inaugurate a nation-wide movement like
Satyagraha by the people, the massacre at Chauri
Chaura perpetrated by the people must terminate that
Satyagraha. Satyagraha is really a compendium of all
the virtues known to man, for Truth is the main-spripg
of such virtues, and non-violence or love is its envelope.
The country was thus plunged into a world of new values
in which hatred and abhorrence, fear and cowardice,
anger and vengeance were at once to yield place to love,
courage, patience, self-suffering and chastity; in which,
too, wealth is to yield place to service, and in which the
enemy is not to be conquered but converted. We are
taught that all fear revolves round ourselves as the
centre, and when once we cast off fear and selfishness,
we are able .to welcome death itself. Every Satyagrahi
is a seeker after Truth and must, therefore, give up the
fear of man, of Government, of society, of poverty and of
death. Non-co-operation as a discipline, as a Sadhana
to achieve our ends, has, therefore, become a means of
training in self-sacrifice pursued in that true spirit of
humility which alone begets courage and not in that
spirit of pride which generates fear. Thus, in a bound)
has the author of the movement sublimated end
spiritualised the sordid politics of the day.
Let us study the implications of the movement a
little further. It furnishes a real key to an understanding
of the basis of Indian society. That basis which is
epitomised in the simple Sutra, Ahimsa Paramodharmah
and in the simple prayer, lokah samastah B'ukhino
bhavantu, is a positive force which is not only self-
effacing but enjoins on every one to love those that
1032 THE HISTORY OF Triti CONGRESS
hate us, in the true spirit of the Sermon on the Mount.
To do good unto him that doth you good is at best a
business proposition. To be non-violent to a person who
is loving and kind-hearted is to claim virtue for not
being brutal or diabolical. Satyagraha is not meant to
overpower Vasishta or Janaka, and when people ask in
despair how non-violence can fight the physical force of
the British, we ask whether Satyagraha would not be
superfluous and thrown out of fight if the opponents were
saints. It is our old, old concepts and values that drive
us to this kind of despair. The leaching of the West
that life is a survival of the fittest in which the weaker
must go to the wall, has made such deep impression
upon us that it has only inflamed our passions and made
us imbibe the vices of pride and its accompaniments
which but engender cowardice and violence.
Indian society is based upon the cult of Satyagraha
which does not ask us to abandon the world, but infuses
in us the spirit of renunciation. Once we adhere to
Truth and repress our passions and purify ourselves, a
love of service and a spirit of humility will naturally
follow. Once we subdue anger and practice forgiveness,
non-violence will be enthroned as the only arbiter in
human relations.
How shall we attain this end, by what disciplines
shall we cultivate those qualities and virtues which are
compendiously termed, 'Satyagraha'? The only means is
tapas, by which is implied Satya and sowcha, dana and
dharma, dama and yama, kshama and daya. To indulge
the flesh is to give us over to our passions which, under
the sway of pride and anger, commit us to the cuit of
violence and vengeance. It also promotes selfishness,
with its love of wealth and pomp, and the untruthful
way by which these are secured. What is wanted is a
CoNCLtJBION 1033
spirit of contentment, which does not mean that
asceticism which abandons society, but that austerity
which moderates one's wants and subdues one's passions.
The new teaching liberates a volume of moral energy by
which to revivify the land which has been enervated by
vain philosophical teachings. It imposes on us the duty of
seeking intercourse with our enemy, while withholding
co-operation from him except on conditions that would
ensure self-respect. It exhorts everybody to do his
quota of labour as a daily sacrament and help the poor
earn their food and raiment. To these ends, it is
necessary for the mind to control the body, and the
spirit to direct the body and the mind, so that the flesh
craves for nothing which the intellect condemns and
thought does not dwell upon aught that emotion forbids.
What can be a better guide or means for the attainment
of these ends than abstinence, which in relation to food
and flesh is fasting, which in relation to thought and
speech is silence, and which in relation to passions and
emotions is celibacy 1
When, therefore, people revile the tortures of the
flesh that fasting to them means, when they jibe at that
mauna (silence) which to them is a mere mockery, and
when they talk with levity about that Brahmachcurya
which to them is simply impossible, they but indulge in
that variety of criticism bordering on ridicule, which has
been the inevitable lot of all progressive movements in
the early period of their development. But all progressive
movements have survived such cavil and abuse and re-
generated the ideals of rising generations. Even so has
public life in India been chastened and purified during
the past 15 years.
When all is said, there is still an element of doubt
in the potency or appropriateness of non-violence as a
1034 THE HISTOfeY OF THE CONGR&&
factor in the settlement of political disputes. The one
argument against those to whom doubt occurs naturally
is, that circumstanced as we are, non-violence, while it is
unassailable as a principle in life, is unquestionable and
unquestioned as a policy. The task of infusing life into
a large mass of subject people like the Indians would
be impossible, were it not for the avowal of, and
adherence to, the principle of non-violence. People
there are who would argue that non-violent Non-co-
operation has failed, but no one has undertaken to bring
success in one bound, notably when the mass of the
population has been slow in taking to the new movement.
Non-violence is the only abiding principle which can
bring peace and contentment to two opposing parties, for,
when once violence is installed on the throne of arbitra-
ment, it is a weapon that can be used, as has already
been pointed out, alike by the victor and the vanquished,
leaving no end to vendetta and making life move
eternally in a vicious circle.
m
* , What, then, is the secret of this abiding influence
ef Gandhi over millions of men, women and children?
IJe .was born into an age when there is not merely
political commotion but political chaos. "It would
seem tq be the will of God," as Lowell puts it, "that
from time to time the manhood of nations like that of
individuals should be tried by great dangers or great
opportunities. If the manhood be there, it makes the
great opportunity out of the great danger; if it be not
thejre, thpn the great danger out of the great opportun-
ity." It was thus that Gandhi had made his great
opportunity out of great danger and had inaugurated a
new revolution, not indeed a sanguinary one, but one
that invites suffering instead of inflicting it, and seeks to
CONCLUSION 10SS
convert the enemy, not to conquer him. He has preached
from housetops the right, yea, the duty of a civil
rebellion, while recognizing equally the right and dutj
of governments to hang men for it. He has set before
himself not merely the immediate object of abolishing
slavery in India, but the utter extirpation of all dogmas
which seek to justify it in any shape, — physical, political,
or economic, — in the wide world. He has shown that
subjection and slavery are a moral wrong, a political
blunder and a practical misfortune. To this end, he has
all along addressed the intelligence of men, never their
prejudice, or passion, — their sense of right, never, their
selfishness or ignorance. To him a moral wrong can
never be local in its effects, and principles alien to Truth
and non-violence can never result in peace or prosperity
to a Nation.
Now let -us see how the high-sounding principles
elaborated in these pages have operated in their applica-
tion to our day-to-day politics. For the first time w£
saw this principle brought into play at the Amritsar
Congress in the year 1919, when Gandhi insisted upon
the Congress condemning the violence of the people in
killing four Englishmen and burning the National Bank
and other buildings. The Subjects Committee of the
Congress threw Out the proposition late at night and
Gandhi declared that he 'would have to leave the
Congress. That was not really a threat, as the term is
popularly understood, but an indication of an attitude
which was inevitable according to his principles, and the
proposition was accepted, though grudgingly, by the
Subjects Committee the next day. It was then that
Gandhi began to din into the ears of the Congress what
non-violence really meant. The Congress, to which
Swaraj meant the driving out of the English, was told
that Englishmen were and wbuld be welcome as fellow*
1036 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
citizens in India, and not a hair on the foreigner's head
should be touched. Lo and behold! the test for the
Nation came and the Nation was found wanting atChauri
Chaura. But the Congress did not despair. When the
movement was withdrawn, loud protests came from
influential quarters. But Gandhi was adamant. The
Satyagrahi does not fear foes or friends or even
colleagues. He fears Truth. Gandhi had, therefore,
virtually suspended the movement for a period of six
years. The later developments and happenings are well
known and bear testimony to the potency of Satyagraha.
Though they sound like the events of a fabled past, like
the quick-moving scenes of a day-dream, yet they are
but translation into practice of the sublime teachings of
Satyagraha applied to life as a composite whole.
A graph of our progress during the past fifty years
shows its own rises and falls. More correctly may the
progress be described as a spiral. We are repeatedly
coming upon the same programme, — of Swadeshi,
Boycott, National Education and Swaraj of 1906. It
was reiterated in 1917, but at a higher level — the level of
Passive Resistance; the same was repeated in 1919-21, —
on the still higher level of Civil Disobedience. Then we
had the movement of 1930-34, on a yet higher level of
Satyagraha. The course of ascent is like that of a hill
railway where you clear the curves, and, as you pass
higher arid higher, you come upon the lower curves of
the spiral until you attain your height. The course
covered comprises a hard drive up-hill and an easy drive
down-Hill. Satyagraha representing a period of strenu-
ous struggle, and Council entry, equally a straggle
though less strenuous, adopted during the intervals of
fight, have alternated with each other. The spiral is
doubtless running its long-winded course and we have yet
to attain to the height of our ascent— Swaraj.
CONCLUSION 10B7
4 But if Swftfraj te a process, not a result, an attempt,
not an attainment, a direction, not a destiny, to use
language analogous to Lord Irwin's adopted by him
before the truce of 1931 was concluded, then no one can
ask the architect who is still ramming the concrete of
foundations, why the edifice is not ready. The founda-
tions and basement of even a brick-and-mortar building
are built, and left to settle for a year or two. How
much longer may the foundations of Swaraj not rest
there to get consolidated, in order that they may bear
the weight of the edifice to be raised on them!
We have described how all these years we have
struggled oa. But our remedy is clear. Let us make
the home the centre of craft life, and the village the
centre of Indian Nationalism, and let us make both as
far BS possible self-contained and self -con tented. Let us
carve out our Nation with equality as the base and
liberty as the summit and fraternity as the cementing
factor; not indeed that equality which i? disrupting and
fissiparous, nor indeed that other equality which is all
vegetation on a level, a society of big *pears of grass
and small oaks, a neighbourhood of jealousies emascu-
lating each other, but equality which is, civilly, all
aptitudes having equal opportunities, politically, all
votes having equal weight, and, religiously, all con-
sciences having equal rights. Vast fields of public and
popular activity are thus opened out and the collective
power is employed so as to balance the 'ought1 and the
'have,' to proportion enjoyment to effort, and gratifica-
tion to need. In one word, let us evolve from the
age-long social structure, for the benefit of those who
suffer and those who are ignorant, more light to our
homes and more comfort to their inmates. The
Congress has recognised this to be the first of all
natural obligations, yet the first of all political
1038 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGUESS
necessities, and therefore guarantees unto all> these
two inalienable estates which every young man
inherits in life, — namely, the labour which makes him
free and the thought which makes him noble.
Thus has the stream of the Congress that had its
humble origin in Bombay in 1885, flowed on for half a
century, — now as a narrow channel and now as a wide
river, here cutting across wood and forest and there erod-
ing hill and dale, at one place, pooling its freshes into a
bed of serene and even stagnant waters, and at another,
presenting a mighty and roaring torrent, — all the while,
swelling its volume and enriching its content by an
unceasing flood of annual downpour of new ideas and
new ideals and waiting, with pious faith, to realize its
dejstiny by the final absorptiota of its national culture,
integrated and purified, into the wider and vaster culture
of inter-nationalism — or Cosmo-nationality.
Appendix I
POST-WAR REFORMS
(Below we print the Memorandum submitted to H. E. the
Viceroy by nineteen additional members of the Imperial Legislative
Council with regard to post-war reforms. In all there are twenty
seven non-official member*, of whom two are Anglo-Indians, who
were not consulted for obvious reasons, and three were away.
Three Indians refused to sign: (1) Nawab Syed Nawab AH
Chowdhuri, (2) Mr. Abdur Rahim and (3) Sirdar Bahadur Sirdar
Sunder Singh Majithia.)
There is no doubt that the termination of the War will see a great
advance in the ideals of Government all over the civilised world and
especially in the British Empire, which entered into the struggle in
defence of the liberties of weak and small Nationalities and is pouring
forth its richest blood and treasure in upholding the cause of justice
and humanity in the international relations of the world. India has
borne her part in this struggle and cannot remain unaffected by the
new spirit of change for a better state of things. Expectations have
been raised in this country and hopes held out that, after the War, the
problems of Indian administration will be looked at from a new
angle of vision. The people of India have good reasons to be
grateful to England for the great progress in her material resources
and the widening of her intellectual and political outlook under
British Rule, and for the steady, if slow, advance in her National life
commencing with the Charter Act of India of 1833. Up to 1909, the
Government of India was conducted by a bureaucracy almost entirely
non-Indian in its composition and not responsible to the people of
India. The reforms of 1903 for the first time introduced an Indian
element in the direction of affairs in the administration of India,
This element was of a very limited character. The Indian people
accepted it as an indication on the part of the Government of a
desire to admit the Indians into the inner counsels of the Indian
Empire. So far as the Legislative Councils are concerned, the
numbers of non-official members were merely enlarged with increased
facilities for debate and interpellation. The Supreme Legislative
Council retained an absolute official majority, and in the Provincial
Legislative Councils, where a non-official majority was allowed, such
majority included nominated members and the European represen-
tatives. In measures largely affecting the people, whether of
legislation or taxation, by which Europeans were not directly affected
11 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
the European members would naturally support the Government,
and the nominated members, being nominees of Government, would
be inclined to take the same side. Past experience has shown that
this has actually happened on various occasions. The non-official
majorities, therefore, in the Provincial Councils have proved largely
illusory and give no real power to the representatives of the people.
The Legislative Councils, whether Supreme or Provincial, are at
present nothing but advisory bodies without any power of effective
control over the Government, Imperial or Provincial. The people
or their representatives are practically as little associated with the
real government of the country as they were before the reforms,
except for the introduction of the Indian element in the Executive
Councils, where again the nomination rests entirely with the
Government, the people having no voice in the selection of the
Indian members.
The object which the Government had in view in introducing
the reforms of 1909 was, as expressed by the Prime Minister in his
speech 111 the House of Commons on the second reading of the
Indian Councils Bill (1st April, 1909), that "it was most desirable in
the circumstances to give to the people of India the feeling
that these Legislative Councils are not mere automatons, the
wires of which are pulled by the official hierarchy". This object,
it is submitted, has not been attained. Apart from this question of
the constitution of the Legislative and Executive Councils, the people
labour under certain grave disabilities, whicli not only prevent the
utilisation, but also lead to the wastage, of what is best in them, and
are positively derogatory to their sense of National self-respect. The
Arms Act which excludes from its operation Europeans and Anglo-
Indians and applies only to the pure natives of the country, the
disqualification of Indians for forming or joining Volunteer Corps
and their exclusion from the commissioned ranks of the aimy, are
disabilities which are looked upon with an irritating sense of racial
differentiation. It would be bad enough if these weie mere disabilities.
Restrictions and prohibitions regarding the possession and use of
arms have tended to emasculate the civil population in India and
expose them to serious danger. The position of Indians in India is
practically this, that they have no real part or share in the direction
of the Government of the country, and are placed under very great
and galling disabilities from which the other members of the British
Empire are exempt, and which have reduced them to a state of utter
helplessness. The existence, moreover, of the system of indentured
emigration gives to the British Colonies and the outside world the
impression that Indians, as a whole, are no better than indentured
coolies* who are looked upon as very little, if at all, above the slave.
The present state of things makes the Indians feel that, though
theoretically they are equal subjects of the King, they hold a very
POST-WAR RBFOBMS lit
inferior position in the British Empire. Other Asiatic races also hold
the same, if not a worse, view about India and her status in the Empire.
Humiliating as this position of inferiority is to the Indian mind, it is
almost unbearable to the youth of India whose outlook is broadened
by education and travel in foreign parts where they come in contact
with other free races. In the face of these grievances and disabilities
what has sustained the people is the hope and faith inspired by
promises and assurances or fair and equal treatment which have been
held out from time to time by our Sovereigns and British statesmen
of high standing. In the crisis we are now going through, the Indian
people have sunk domestic differences between themselves and the
•Government, and have faithfully and loyally stood by the Empire.
The Indian soldiers were eager to go to the battlefields of Europe,
not as mercenary troops but as free citizens of the British Empire
which required their services, and her civilian population was
animated by one desire, namely, to stand by England in the hour of
her need. Peace and tranquillity reigned throughout India when she
was practically denuded of British and Indian troops. The Prime
Minister of England, while voicing the sentiments of the English
people in regard to India's part in this great War, spoke of Indians
as " the joint and equal custodians of one common interest and future.
India does not claim any reward for her loyalty, but she has a right
to expect that the want of confidence on the part of Government, to
which she not unnaturally ascribes her present state, should now be a
thing of the past, and that she should no longer occupy a position of
subordination but one of comradeship. This would assure the
Indian people that England is ready and willing to help them to
attain Self-Government under the aegis of the British Crown, and thus
discharge the noble mission which she has undertaken and to which
she has so often given voluntary expression through her rulers and
statesmen. What is wanted is not merely good Government or
efficient administration, but Government that is acceptable to the
people because it is responsible to them. This is what, India under-
stands, would constitute the changed angle of vision.
If, after the termination of the War, the position of India practi-
cally remains what it was before, and there is no material change
in it, it will undoubtedly cause bitter disappointment and great dis-
content in the country, and the beneficient effects of participation in
common danger, overcome by common effort, will soon disappear,
leaving no record behind save the painful memory o! unrealised
expectations. We feel sure that the Government is also alive to the
situation and is contemplating measures of reform in the administra-
tion of the country. We feel that we should avail ourselves of this
opportunity to respectfully offer to Government our humble sugges-
tions as to the lines on which these reforms should proceed. They
must, in our opinion, go to the root of the matter. They must give to
iv , THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
the people real and effective participation in the Government of the
country, and also remove those irritating ^disabilities as regards the
possession of arms and a military career, which indicate want of con-
fidence in the people and place them in a position of inferiority and
helplessness. With this view, we would take the liberty to suggest
the following measures for consideration and adoption :
1. In all the Executive Councils, Provincial and Imperial, half-
the number of members should be Indians; the European element in
the Executive Councils should, as far as possible, be nominated from
the ranks of men trained and educated in the public life of England^
so that India may have the benefit of a wider outlook and larger
experience of the outside world. It is not absolutely essential tha t the
members of the Executive Councils, Indians or Europeans should have
experience of actual administration, for, as in the case of ministers in
England, the assistance of the permanent officials of the departments
is always available to them. As regards Indians, we venture to say
that a sufficient number of qualified Indians, who can worthily fill the
office of members of the Executive Council and hold portiolios, is
always available. Our short experience in this direction has shown
how Indians like Sir S. P. Siiiha, Sir Syed Ah Imam, the late
Mr. Krishnaswami Aiyar, Sir Shams-ul-Huda and Sir Sankaran Nair
have maintained a high level of administrative ability in the discharge
of their duties. Moreover, it is well known that the Native States,
where Indians have opportunities, have produced renowned adminis-
trators like Sir Salar Jang, Sir T. Madhava Rao, Sir Sheshadri Aiyar,,
Dewan Bahadur Raghunath Rao, not to mention the present adminis-
trators in the various Native States of India. The statutory obliga-
tion, now existing, that three of the members of the .Supreme Execur
tive Council shall be selected from the public services in India, and
similar provisions with regard to Provincial Councils, should be
removed. The elected representatives of the people should have a
yoice in the selection of the Indian members ±oi the Executive
Councils and for that purpose a principle of election should be
adopted.
2. All the Legislative Councils in India should have a substantial
majority of elected representatives. These representatives, we feel
sure, will watch and safeguard the interests of the masses and the
agricultural population with whom they are in closer touch than any
European officer, however sympathetic, the latter can possibly be.
The proceedings of the various Legislative Councils and the Indian.
National Congress and the Muslim League bear ample testimony to
the solicitude of the educated Indians for the welfare of the masses and
their acquaintance with their wants and wishes. The franchise should
be broadened and extended directly to the people ; Muslims or
Hindus, whereas they are in a minority, being given proper and
POST-WAR REFORMS V
adequate representation, having regard to their numerical strength
and position.
3. The total number of the members of the Supreme Council
should be not less than 150, and of the Provincial Councils not less
than 100 for the major Provinces, and not less than 60 to 75 for the
minor Provinces.
4. The Budget should be passed in the shape of money bills,
fiscal autonomy being conceded to India.
5. The Imperial Legislative Council should have power to
legislate on, and discuss and pass resolutions relating to, all matters
of Indian administration, and the Provincial Councils should have
similar powers with regard to Provincial administrations, save and
•except that the direciiou of military affairs, of foreign relations,
•declarations of war, the making of peace, and the entering into
treaties, other than commercial, should not be vested in the Govern-
ment of India. As a safeguard, the Governor-General-in-Council or
the Governor-in-Council, as the case may be, should have the right of
veto, which, however, should be exercised subject to certain conditions
and limitations.
6. The Council of the Secretary of State should be abolished.
The Secretary of State should, as far as possible, hold in relation to
the Government of India a position similar to that which the Secretary
of State for the Colonies holds in relation to the Colonies. The
Secretary of State should be assisted by two permanent Under-
secretaries, one of whom should be an Indian. The salaries of the
Secretary and the Under-Secretaries should be placed on the British
estimates.
7. In any scheme of Imperial Federation, India should be given
through her chosen representatives a place similar to that of the Self-
Governing Dominions.
8. The Provincial Governments should be made autonomous,
as stated in the Government of India's despatch dated 25th
August, 1911.
9. The United Provinces, as well as the other major Provinces ,
•should have a Governor brought from the United Kingdom and
should have an Executive Council.
10. A full measure of Local Self-Govern me nt should be
immediately granted.
11. The right to carry arms should be granted to Indians oa
the same conditions as to Europeans.
12. Indians should be allowed to enlist as volunteers and unit*
of a territorial army established in India.
VI THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
13. Commissions in the army should be given to Indian youths
under conditions similar to those applicable to Europeans.
Manindra Chandra Nandy of Ibrahim Rahimtoola.
Kasimbazar. B. Narasimheswara Sarma.
D. E. Wacha. Mir Asad AH.
Bhupendranath Basu. Kamini Kumar Chanda.
Bishan Dutt ShukuL Krishna Sahay.
Madan Mohan Malaviya. R. N. Bhanja Deo of Kanika. i
K. V. Rangaswamiengar. M. B. Dadabhoy.
Mazharul Haque. Sita Nath Roy.
V. S. Srinivasan. Mahomed Ali Mahomed.
Tej Bahadur Sapru. M. A. Jinnah.
Appendix II
THE CONGRESS-LEAGUE SCHEME
(a) That having regard to the fact that the great communities of
India are the inheritors of ancient civilisations and have shown great
capacity for government and administration, and to the progress in
education and public spirit made by them during a century of British
Rule, and further having regard to the fact that the present system of
Government does not satisfy the legitimate aspirations of the people
and has become unsuited to existing conditions and requirements,
the Congress is of opinion that theltime has come when His Majesty
the King-Emperor should be pleased to issue a Proclamation
announcing that it is the aim and intention of British policy to confer
Self-Government on India at an early date.
(b) That this Congress demands that a definite step should be
taken towards Self-Government by granting the Reforms contained
in the scheme prepared by the All-India Congress, Committee in
concert with the Reform Committee appointed by the All-India
Muslim League (detailed below).
(c) That in the reconstruction of the Empire, India shall be lifted
from the position of a dependency to that of an equal partner in the
Empire with the Self-Governing Dominions.
REFORM SCHEME
I-PROVINCIAL LEGISLATIVE COUNCILS
1. Provincial Legislative Councils shall consist of four-fifths
elected and of one-fifth nominated members.
2. Their strength shall be not less than 125 members in the
major Provinces, and from 50 to 75 in the minor Provinces.
3. The members of Councils should be elected directly by the
people on as broad a franchise as possible.
4. Adequate provision should be made for the representation of
important minorities by election, and the Muslims should be
Vlll THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
represented through special electorates on the Provincial Legislative
Councils in the following proportions :—
Punjab-One-halt of the elected Indian Members.
United Provinces-30 p.c. „ „
BengaMO p.c. „ „
Bihar-25 p.c.
Central Provinces-1 5 p.c, „ „
Madras 15 p.c. „ „
Bombay-One-third „ „
Provided that no Muslim shall participate in any of the
other elections to the Imperial or Provincial Legislative Councils,
save and except those by electorates representing special interests.
Provided further that no bill, nor any clause thereof, nor a
resolution introduced by a non-official member affecting one or the
other community, which question is to be determined by the
members of that community in the Legislative Council concerned,
shall be proceeded with, if three-fourths of the members of that
community in the particular Council, Imperial or Provincial, oppose
the bill or any clause thereof or the resolution.
5. The head of the Pi ovincial Government should not be the
President of the Legislative Council but the Council should have the
right of electing its president.
6. The right of asking supplementary questions should not be
restricted to the member putting the original question, but should be
allowed to be exercised by any oilier member.
7. (a) Except customs, post, telegraph, mint, salt, opium,
railways, army and navy, and tributes from Indian States, all other
sources of revenue should be Provincial.
(b) There should be no divided heads of revenue. The
Government of India should be provided with fixed contributions
from the Provincial Governments, such fixed contributions being
liable to revision when extraordinary and unforeseen contingencies
render such revision necessary.
(c) The Provincial Council should have full authority to deal
with all matters affecting the internal administration of the Province,
including the power to raise loans, to impose and alter taxation
and to vote on the Budget AH items of expenditure, and all propo-
sals concerning ways and means for raising the necessary Revenue
should be embodied in Bills and submitted to the Provincial
Council for adoption.
(d) Resolution on all matters within the purview of the
Provincial Government should be allowed for discussion
THE CONGRESS-LEAGUE SCHEME XT
in accordance with rules made in that behalf by the Council
itself.
(e) A resolution passed by the Provincial Legislative Council
shall be binding on the Executive Government, unless vetoed by the
Governor-in-Council, provided however that if the resolution is again
passed by the Council after an interval of not less than one year, it
must be given effect to.
• (/) A motion for adjournment may be brought forward for the
discussion of a definite tn uter of urgent public importance, if sup-
ported by not less than one-eighth of the members present.
8. A special meeting of the Provincial Council may be summon-
ed on a requisition by not less than one-eigth of the members.
9. A Bill, other than a Money Bill, may be introduced in
Council in accordance with rules made in that behalf by the Council
itself, and the consent of the Government should not be required
therefor;
10. All Bills passed by Provincial Legislatures shall have to
receive the assent of the Governor before they become Law, but may
be vetoed by the Governor-General.
11. The term of office of the members shall be five
years.
II-PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS
1. The head of every Provincial Government shall be a
Governor who shall not ordinarily belong to the Indian Civil
Service or any of the permanent services.
2. There shall be in every Province an Executive Council
which, with the Governor, shall constitute the Executive Government
of the Province.
3. Members of the Indian Civil Service shall not ordinarily be
appointed to the Executive Councils.
4. Not less than one-half of the members of the Executive
Council shall consist of Indians to be elected by the elected members
of the Provincial Legislative Council.
5. The term of office of the members shall be five
years.
HI-IMPERIAL LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
1. The strength of the Imperial Legislative Council
shall be 150.
2, Four-fifh of the members shall be elected.
X THE HISTORY OF THE COKGBBSS
3. The franchise for the Imperial Legislative Council should be
widened as far as possible on the lines of the electorates for
Muslims for the Provincial Legislative Councils, and the
elected members of the Provincial Legislative Councils should also
form an electorate for the return of members of the Imperial
Legislative Council.
4. One-third of the Indian elected members should be
Muslims elected by separate Muslim electorates in the several
Provinces, in the proportion, as nearly as may be, in which ,
they are represented on the Provincial Legislative Councils by
separate Muslims electorates.
Vide provisos to section 1, clause 4.
5. The President of the Council shall be elected by the
Council itself.
6. The right of asking supplementary questions shall not be
restricted to the member putting the original question but should
be allowed to be exercised by any other member.
7. A special meeting of the Council may be summoned on a
requisition by not less than one-eighth of the members.
8. A Bill, other than a Money Bill, may be introduced in
Council in accordance with rules made in that behalf by the Council
itself, and the consent of the Executive Government should not be
required therefor.
9. All Bills passed by the Council shall have to receive the
assent of the Governor-General before they become law.
10. All financial proposals relating to sources of income and
items of expenditure shall be embodied in Bills. Every such Bill and
the Budget as a whole shall be submitted for the vote of the Imperial
Legislative Council.
11. The term of office of members shall be five years.
12. The matters mentioned herein below shall be exclusively
under the control of the Imperial Legislative Council.
(a) Matters in regard to which uniform legislation for the whole
of India is desirable.
(b) Provincial legislation in so far as it may affect inter-Provin-
cial fiscal relations.
(c) Questions affecting purely Imperial Revenue, excepting
tributes from Indian States.
(d) Questions affecting purely Imperial expenditure, except that
no resolution of the Imperial Legislative Council shall be binding oa
THE CONGRESS-LEAGUE SCHEME * XT
the Governor-General-in-Councii in respect of military charges for
the defence of the country.
(«) The right of revising Indian tariffs and customs duties, of
imposing, altering, or removing any tax or cess, modifying the existing
system of currency and banking, and granting any aids or bounties to
any or all deserving and nascent industries of the country.
(/) Resolutions on all matters relating to the administration of
the country as a whole.
13. A resolution passed by the Legislative Council should be
binding on the Executive Government unless vetoed by the
Governor-General in Council ; provided however that if the resolution
is again passed by the Council after an interval of not less than one
year, it must be given effect to.
14. A motion for adjournment may be brought forward for the
discussion of a definite matter of urgent public importance if
supported by not less than one-eighth of the members present
15* When the Crown chooses to exercise its power of veto in
regard to a Bill passed by the Provincial Legislative Council or by
the Imperial Legislative Council, it should be exercised within
twelve months from the date on which it is passed, and the Bill
shall cease to have effect as from the date on which the fact of
such veto is made known to the Legislative Council concerned.
16. The Imperial Legislative Council shall have no power to
interfere with the Government of India's direction of the military
affairs and the foreign and political relations of India, including,
the declaration of war, the making of peace and the entering into
treaties.
IV. THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
1. The Governor-General of India will be the head of the
Government of India.
2. He will have an Executive Council, half of whom shall be
Indians.
3. The Indian members should be elected by the elected,
members of the Imperial Legislative Council.
4. Members of the Indian Civil Service shall not ordinarily be
appointed to the Exective Council of the Governor-General.
5. The power of making all appointments in the Imperial
Civil Services shall vest in the Government of India, as constituted
under this scheme, due regard being paid to existing interests^
subject to any laws that may be made by the Imperial Legislative
Council
Xli THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
6. The Goverment of India shall not ordinarily interfere in the
local affairs of a Province, and powers not specifically given to a
Provincial Government shall be deemed to be vested in the former.
The authority of the Government of India will ordinarily be limited to
general supervision and superintendence over the Provincial Govern-
ments.
7. In legislative and administrative matters the Government of
India, as constituted under this scheme, shall, as far as possible, be
independent of the Secretary of State.
8. A system of independent audit of the accounts of the Govern-
ment of India should be instituted.
V. THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN COUNCIL
1. The Council of the Secretary of State for India should be
abolished.
2. The salary of the Secretary of State should be placed on the
British Estimates.
3. The Secretary of State should, as far as possible, occupy the
same position in relation to the Government of India, as the Secretary
of State for the Colonies does in relation to the Governments of the
Self-Go verning Di minions.
4. The Secretary of State for India should be assisted by two
Permanent Under-Secretaries, one of whom should always be an
Indian.
VI. INDIA AND THE EMPIRE
1. In any Council or other body which may be constituted or
convened for the settlement or control of Imperial affairs, India shall
be adequately represented in like m inner with the Dominions and
with equal rights.
2. Indans should be placed on a footing of equality in respect
of status and rights of citizenship with other subjects of His Majesty
the King throughout the Empire.
VII. MILITARY AND OTHER MATTERS
1. The military and naval services of His Majesty, both in their
commissioned and non-commissioned ranks, should be thrown open
to Indians and adequate provision should be made for their selec-
tion, training and instruction in India.
2. Indians should be allowed to enlist as volunteers.
3. Executive Officers in India shall have no judicial powers
entrusted to them, and the judiciary in every Province shall be placed
under the highest Court of that Province.
Appendix II-A
MULSHIPETA SATYAGRAHA
Mulshipeta is about 30 miles from Poona. In 1920 The Tata
Power Company launched a scheme of bunding the streams and water*
falls in that mountainous area for supplying electricity to G. I. P.
Ry. , B. B. C. I. Ry. and the Bombay City. Mulshipeta was renowned
for its excellent paddy crop and the Mavalas the inhabitants of that
area — were the sturdy fighters in the army of Shivaji. When they
(Mavalas) saw the army ot labourers in their land they were confounded
and consulted their friends in Poona as to the measures to be adopted
for saving their land. The atmosphere was surcharged with Non-co-
operation at that time. About 51 villages and J 1,000 men, women
and children were on the point of being rendered homeless and
landless. A meeting was held in the peta under the Presidentship
of Syt. N. C. Kelkar and call the Mavalas gave out that they would
either get back the land or die in the Satyagraha fight. Noting
this grim determination, the Poona leaders got ready to take the lead
in the light.
Consequently a draft pledge was prepared and it was agreed, that
if 1,200 Mavalas would sign it, the fight was to be commenced.
Mr. V. M. Bhuskute visited whole area and obtained about 1,300 signa-
tures and in spite of Baramati, the leaders proceeded to launch the
fight. The whole Maharashtra was agitated over the question. Help in
form of men and money was forthcoming. The Mavalas themselves
contributed about 1,000 rupees worth of rice for the fight. The 16th
of April 1921, the Rama Navami day, was chosen for the commence-
ment of Satyagraha. It is claimed that Maharashtra undertook the
fight as part of the programmes of Congress though not directly
under its authority. If it succeeded the prestige of the Congress
would be enhanced and Gandhi ji's cult would be vindicated. If it
failed, the responsibility would be theirs.
On Rama Navami day 1,200 Mavalas with women and
children and all prominent leaders from Poona were present
at the scene. They went and sat on the dam. Immediately
5,000 labourers of the Company stopped 'work. This Satyagraha
went on for about a month strictly in accordance with the
principles of Gandhi's Non-violence. It became successful,
inasmuch as the Company discontinued the work. But the
turning point came in the Monsoon. Like other peasants, the
Mavalas were burdened with heavy debts and were at the mercy
of the Sowkars. The latter were perturbed over the affair.
3tlV THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
They were afraid that if Satyagraha continued they would receive
less compensation from the Company and they were backed by a
section of leaders in this behalf. Negotiations went on with the
Engineers and managers of the Company for getting adequate
compensation. The Mavalas were ignorant of these attempts.
The Company depending on these assurances gave promises of
liberal compensation. The Managers of the Company entered
into agreement with the Government and land was acquired under
the Land Acquisition Act. The Mavalas were out for land* and
wanted no such return however liberal it might be. It must be
stated here that Maharashtra like other places was split up into
"Pro-Changers and No-Changers". Most of the No-Changers were
faithful followers of Gandhi and they determined to support the
Mavalas in their fight for land. They had two opponents now.
•Sowkars and the Company. This struggle went on for two years
and half. The second campaign was started in December 1921.
Arrests, convictions, intimidations and oppression were in full
swing. S. M. Paranjpe, Dr. Phatak, G. N. Kanitkar, S. K. Damle.
S. D. Deo, Vasukaka Joshi, H. G. Phatak, P. M. Bapat, V.M. Bhuskute
Dastane, Dr. Palsule, J. S. Karandikar and many others were,
arrested and convicted. In all 125 Mavalas, 500 volunteers and.
leaders including: women suffered imprisonment. Rs 7,500 were
spent for the fight. When all the local and outside leaders went
behind the prison bars, Sowkars made their utmost to persuade the
Mavalas to accept the compensation and in this attempt they were
helped by those leaders who were not keen about the fight.
Ultimately the Satyagraha had to be abandoned. Mr. P. M. Bapat
and his colleagues made supreme sacrifices to the end for the cause.
It must be stated that as a result of this Satyagraha the
peasants were given rather fair compensation for the land. But
the sum went into the coffers of Sowkars and thousands of
'peasants were rendered landless and homeless.
Appendix III
THE FARIDPUR PROPOSALS
1. That joint electorates with adult suffrage should form the
basis of representation in the future constitution of India.
2. (a) That with adult suffrage, reservation of seats only for
minorities less than 25 per cent, in the Federal and Provincial Legisla-
tures should be permitted, on the basis of population with the right
to contest additional seats.
(b) That in the provinces where Muslims are in a minority of
less than 25 per cent, seats shall be reserved for them on a population
basis with the right to contest additional seats, but in case other
communities are given weightage, Muslims shall be similarly treated
and the present weightage enjoyed by them shall be maintained.
(c) If adult franchise is not established, or franchise is not
extended so as to reflect the proportion of the population on the
electoral register, in the Punjab and Bengal seats shall be reserved
for the Muslims, until adult suffrage is established or franchise is
extended so as to reflect the proportion of population on the
electoral register, in such position of minority or even of
equality.
3 That the representation of Muslims in the Federa
legislature shall be one-third of the respective houses.
4. That all appointments shall be made by a Public Service
Commission, according to a minimum standard of efficiency,
without at the same time depriving any community of its fair share
in the services and that in the case of lower grades no monopoly
shall be permitted.
5. That in the Federal and Provincial Cabinets, Muslim
interest* shall be adequately recognised by means of a convention
agreed to by all the parties in the different legislatures.
6. That Sind shall be constituted into a separate
Province.
7. That the N. VV. F. Province and Beluchistan, shall have
exactly the same form of Government and administration as other
Provinces in British India.
8. That the future constitution of the country shall be
federal and the residuary powers shall vest in the federating
units.
Xvi THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
9. (a) That there shall be a provision of fundamental rights
in the constitution guaranteeing to all the citizens the protection
of their cultures, language, sctipt, education, profession and
practice of religion, religious endowments and economic
interests.
(b) That the fundamental rights and personal laws shall
be effectively protected by specific provision to be embodied in
the constitution.
t
(c) That there shall be no change in the Constitution so-
far as fundamental rights are concerned except with the
concurrence of a three-fourth majority of each house of the federal
legislature.
Strictly Confidential.
Appendix to Proceedings
ALTERNATIVE PROPOSALS & FORMULAE.
THE BHOPAL FORMULAE.
A
ALL PARTIES FORMULA
(a) Joint Electorates to be introduced at the end of ten years
with adult suffrage, provided that if the majority of the
Muslim Members in any Legislature, Federal or Provin-
cial, agree to accept Joint Electorates at any time before
the expiry of ten years, separate electorates will be
abolished qua such Legislature,
or
(b) First election under the new constitution to be on the
basis of separate electorates and a referendum on the
question of joint versus separate electorates at the
beginning of the 5th year of the first legislature.
B
ALTERNATIVE SCHEME — NATIONALIST PARTY.
(a) Joint electorates to be adopted for the first ten years on the
expiry of which period a referendum should be held on
the question of electorates.
(b) In the first Legislature 50 per cent, of the Muslim Members
to be elected by joint electorate and 50 per cent, by-
separate electorates. In the second legislature, 2/3 to
be elected by joint and 1/3 by separate electorates*
Thereafter joint electorates and adult suffrage.
C
AMENDMENT TO ABOVE : —
In the first legislature, 2/3 members to be elected
by separate and 1/3 by joint electorates.
SOME FRIENDS, SUGGESTION.
50 : 50 for second legislature and joint thereafter and
adult suffrage thereafter.
Separate electorate for first 5 years, Joint next five years,
and a referendum at the beginning of the 9th year to
obtain the community's verdict on the two,
or
2/3 representatives to be chosen by separate and 1/3
joint electorates, and referendum at the beginning of the
5th year.
B
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
D
A PROPOSAL— SHAUKAT ALI
When Joint electorates are introduced, whether in whole
or in part, Maulana Mohammed All's formula should be
accepted for the first 20 years.
* • • »
F
PROPOSAL AT THE 2ND MEETING AT BHOPAL.
First five years Separate Electorates, after that Joint
Electorates with Maulana Mohammed Ali's formula.
This formula, howtver, it will be open to the Muslim
members of any Legislature to drop by a sixty per cent,
majority.
G
FINAL FORMULA AT SIMLA.
First ten years Separate Electorates, after that Joint
Electorates, unless the Muslim Members of any Legis-
lature by a 2/3 majority vote against the introduction
of Joint Electorates.
Appendix IV
THE G. 0. ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF PRISONERS.
TEXT OF THE PRESS COMMUNIQUE
Important decisions of the Government of India regarding the
Jail Rules are announced in a Press Communique which runs :
The Government of India have for sometime had under
consideration the amendment of jail rules in certain respects. The
matter had been referred to Local Governments who have formulated
their views after extensive consultation of unofficial opinion. A
conference of the provincial representatives was thereupon held and
the Government of India have also had discussions with some
prominent members ot the Legislative Assembly. The problems
under examination have been found difficult and complex and
have led to the expression of widely divergent opinions. The
Government of India have endeavoured to give due weight to these
even when they have not been able to accept in full the represent-
ations made. The conclusions at which they have arrived on the
more important points and which are designed to secure on matters
-of principle substantial uniformity throughout India, are now
announced.
CLASSIFICATION OF PRISONERS
Convicted prisoners will be divided into three divisions or
-classes, A, B and C. Prisoners will be eligible for class ' A ' if (1)
they are non-habitual prisoners of good character (2) they, by social
status, education and habit of life, have been accustomed to a superior
mode of living and (3) they have not been convicted of (a) offences
involving elements of cruelty, moral degradation or personal greed,
(b) seditious or premeditated violence, (c) seditious offences against
property, (d) offences relating to possession of explosives, fire arms
and other dangerous weapons with the object of committing an offence
or of enabling an offence to be committed, (e) abetment or incitement
of offences falling within these sub-clauses.
Prisoners will be eligible for class * B' who, by social status,
education or habit of life have been accustomed to a superior mode
of living. Habitual prisoners will not be excluded automatically.
The classifying authority will be allowed discretion to suggest their
inclusion in this class, having regard to their character and
antecedents, subject to confirmation or revision by the Local
Government.
Class ' C ' will consist of prisoners who are not classified in
•classes 'A'and'B*.
XX THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
The classifying authorities are High Courts, Session Judges,
District Magistrates, Stipendiary Presidency Magistrates, Sub-
divisional Magistrates and Magistrates of the first class (the two latter
through the District Magistrate) in cases tried by them originally or
in any other case. The District Magistrate should make an initial
recommendation for classification in classes A or B to the Local
Government, by whom these recommendations will be confirmed or
reviewed.
PRIVILEGES OF PRISONERS.
Certain forecasts of their decisions which have been brought ta
the notice of the Government of India indicate considerable mis-
apprehension in regard lo this tripartite division and its effect upon the
existing classes of prisoners. It should be clearly understood that all
prisoners within the A Class are eligible for the privileges of that
class. No class of prisoners will be eligible for any additional
privileges on grounds of race. All privileges now given to special
class prisoners will be continued to * A ' class prisoners, such as
separate accommodation, necessary articles of furniture, reasonable
facilities for association and exercises, and suitable sanitary and
bathing arrangements.
In other matters, the following decisions have been arrived at :
The diet for classes • A ' and ' 15 ' will be superior to the ordinary
prison diet given to prisoners in class C and will be based on a flat
rate of cost per prisoner, within the limits of which the actual food
may vary- The cost of the superior diet provided in the classes A
and B should be borne by the Government, as special class prisoners
are under the existing rules permitted to supplement prison diet at
their own expense. This privilege will be retained as at present as
regards * A ' class prisoners.
The existing rules regarding privileges of special class prisoners
to wear their own clothes will continue. As regards 'A1 class
prisoners, if they desire to have clothing at Government expense,
they will be provided with that prescribed for ' B ' class prisoners.
•B1 class prisoners will wear prison clothing modified in certain
respects and of a better type than that worn by C class prisoners.
ACCOMMODATION
A separate jiil in each Province for classes A and B is desirable,
and its provision though it must depend on the available financial
resources of the Local Governments, should be regarded as the goal
to be aimed at. Meanwhile, the Government of India hope that
Local Governments will carefully review the resources of the jails now
existing in the Provinces and endeavour, by such measures as are
within their power, to secure the end in view.
G. O. CLASSIFYING PRISONERS XXi
In addition to separate accommodation, the Government of
India desire to emphasise the necessity of a special staff to deal with
4 A ' and ' B ' class prisoners, and are of opinion that this matter
should receive the earliest possible attention.
In accordance with the principle already applied, the importance
of which is reaffirmed, the tasks allotted to prisoners in « A ' and * B '
classes should be assigned after due consideration on medical
grounds, and with careful regard to the capacity, character, previous
modes of life and antecedents of the prisoners.
PRISONERS' INTELLECTUAL REQUIREMENTS
The Government of India accept the principle that reasonable
facilities, subject to safeguards, should be provided by the
Government for the intellectual requirements of the educated and
literate prisoners. Local Governments will be requested to examine
the condition of jail libraries in the Provinces and in cases where
those are non-existent or defective, to take early steps to establish or
improve them. Literate prisoners may be allowed to read books
and magazines from outside subject to the approval of the Jail
Superintendent.
Newspapers will be allowed to * A ' class prisoners on the same
conditions as under the existing rules, they are allowed to special
class prisoners, that is, in special circumstances and with the
approval of Local Government. As regards literate prisoners
generally, where the Local Governments publish a jail newspaper or
where they intend to publish it, this publication will be available
once a week for literate prisoners. Where the Local Governments
are unable to publish a weekly newspaper, the Government of India
have decided that a few copies of a weekly paper approved by the
Local Government should be provided at Government expense for
<A' and *Bf classes of prisoners.
"A" class prisoners will be allowed to write and receive one letter
and have one interview a fortnight, instead of once a month as at
present "B" class prisoners will be allowed to write and receive one
letter and have an interview once a month instead of at the consi-
derably longer intervals now permitted under the various jail manuals*
Publication of matters discussed at interviews or of the substance of
the letters received from prisoners may entail the withdrawal or
curtailment of the privilege.
TREATMENT OF UNDER-TRIAL PRISONERS.
The Government of India accept the principle that some diffe-
rentiation of treatment is desirable in the case of under-trial prisoners
whof by social status, education or habit of life, have been accustomed
to a superior mode of living. There will therefore be two classes oi
XXii THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
under-trial prisoners based on the previous standard of living only.
The classifying authority will be the trying court, subject to the
approval of the District Magistrate. The diet provided for 'A1 and 'B*
class convicted prisoners will be given to the former and the diet of
<C cla-s prisoners to the latter. Under-trial prisoners in either class,,
will be allowed to supplement this diet hy private purchase through
the jail authorities. Under the existing rules, they are allowed to wear
their own clothing. The suggestion has been made that in cases
where under-trial prisoners are inadequately clad or are unable to
obtain clothing from outside, suitable clothing, which should not be
prison clothing, should be provided by jail authorities. The Govein-
ment of India commend this suggestion for adoption to the Local
Governments.
The Government of India are of opinion that the interpretation of
the existing rules in a liberal spirit, together with the modifications
now proposed and the provision of better cellular accommodation, will
effect improvements in the directions which enquiry has indicated as
desirable. They, therefore, hope that Local Governments will make
every effort to improve the existing accommodation and will at once
utilize and adapt their existing resources to the best possible
advantage. In many of the opinions received by the Government of
India, stress had been laid on the desirability of separating under-trial
prisoners, who are habituals or charged with grave offences, ftom those
who have not been previously convicted. On this subject, the Govern-
ment of India consider that no further orders are necessary as they
understand that this is the existing practice.
The Local Governments are now being invited to amend their jail
manuals in the light of these principles, and to frame rules where
necessary under Section 60 of the Prisoners Act. Pending such
revision they are being requested as far as possible to give immediate
practical effect to these changes.
Appendix IV-A
PEACE PROPOSALS IN JULY & AUGUST 1980
THE CORRESPONDENCE
Sir Tej Bahadur Sapm and Mr. Jayakar have made the following
statement embodying the correspondence that passed between them
and the Congress leaders in jail in the course of the last two months :
" The facts connected with the efforts which we have been making
for over two months for the restoration of peaceful conditions in the
country are as follows •
(1) On the 20th June 1930 Pandit Motilal Nehru gave an
interview to Mr. George Slocombe, Special Correspondent of "The
Daily Herald" (London) with regard to his views about attending the
Round Table Conference. This interview has already appeared in
India.
(2) Shortly thereafter Mr. Slocombe had a conversation with
Pandit Motilal Nehru in Bombay as the result of which certain terms
were drafted by Mr. Slocombe and submitted to Pandit Motilal Nehru
and approved by him at a meeting in Bombay at which Pandit Motilal
Nehru, Mr. Jayakar and Mr. Slocombe alone were present One
copy of these terms was sent to Mr. Jayakar by Mr. Slocombe as
agreed upon by Pandit Motilal Nehru as the basis of his (Mr. Jayakar's)
or any third party's approach to the Viceroy,
(3) Mr. Slocombe likewise addressed a letter to Dr. Sapru at
Simla forwarding a copy of these terms. In the course of this letter
Mr. Slocombe said that Pandit Motilal Nehru had agreed to our
acting as intermediaries for the purpose of approaching the Viceroy
on the basis of these terms. We give below the full text of this
document ;
THE BASIS OF THE NEGOTIATIONS.
The statement submitted to Pandit Motilal Nehru in Bombay on
June 25th, 1930, and approved as the basis of an informal approach to
the Viceroy by a third party ran as follows :
If in certain circumstances the British Government and the
Government of India, although unable to anticipate the recommend-
ations that may in perfect freedom be made by the Round Table
Conference or the attitude which British Parliament may reserve for
such recommendations, would nevertheless be willing to give a
private assurance that they would support the demand for full respon-
sible Government for India, subject to such mutual adjustments and
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
terms of transfer as are required by the special needs and conditions
of India and by her long association with Great Britain and as may
be decided by the Round Table Conference ;
Pandit Motilal Nehru would undertake to take personally such
an assurance— or the indication received from a responsible third party
that such an assurance would be forthcoming— to Mr Gandhi and to
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. If such an assurance were offered and
accepted it would render possible a general measure of conciliation
which should entail the simultaneous calling off of the civil disobe-
dience movement, the cessation of Government's present repressive
policy and a general measure of amnesty for political prisoners and
would be followed by Congress participation in the Round Table
Conference on terms to be mutually agreed upon."
LETTER TO THE VICEROY
On the basis of this document, we interviewed the Viceroy in
Simla more than once in the early part of July last and explained to
him the situation in the country and ultimately wrote to him the
following letter.
Simla, July 13
Dear Lord Irwin,-- We would beg leave to draw your Excel-
lency's attention to the political situation in the country which in our
opinion makes it imperative that some steps should be taken with-
out any loss of time to restore normal conditions. We are alive to
the dangers of the civil disobedience movement with which neither
of us have sympathised nor have been associated, but we ieel in the
contest between the people and the Government, which has involved
the adoption of a policy of repression and consequent embitter-
tnent of popular feeling the true and abiding interests of the country
are apt to be sacrificed. We think it is our duty to our country and
to Government that we should make an endeavour to ameliorate
the present situation by discussing the question with some of the
leaders of the movement in the hope and belief that we may be
able to persuade them to help in the restoration of normal condi-
tions.
If we have read Your Excellency's speech aright, we think, while
your Excellency and your Government feel compelled to resist the
civil disobedience movement) you are not less anxious to explore
every possibility in finding an agreed solution of the constitutional
problem. We need scarcely say that we believe that with the cessa-
tion of the movement, there will be no occasion for the continuance
on the part, of Government of the present policy and those emergency
measures which have been passed by Government to implement that
policy.
PEACE PROPOSALS IN JULY AND AUGUST 1930 XXV
We, therefore, approach Your Excellency with a request that you
may be pleased to permit us to interview Mr. Gandhi, Pandit Motilal
Nehru and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, so that we may put our points of
view before them and urge them in the interest of the country to
respond to our appeal to enable the big issue of constitutional advance
being solved in a calm atmosphere. We desire to make it plain that in
going to them we shall be going on our own behalf, and we do not
profess to represent either the Government or any party in taking
*bis step. If we fail in our attempt the responsibility will be ours.
Should Your Excellency be pleased to grant us permission to see
these gentlemen in jail, we shall request you to issue necessary orders
to the local Governments concerned to allow us necessary facilities.
We further request that if the necessary permission is granted to us
Dve may be allowed to talk to them privately without there being any
officer of Government present at our interview. We further submit
lhat in our opinion it is desirable we should see them at the earliest
possible date.
The reply to this letter may be sent to Mr. Jayakar at Hotel
Cecil.
Yours sincerely,
Tej Bahadur Sapru,
M. R. Jayakar.
THE VICEROY'S REPLY
To the above the Viceroy made the following reply: -
Dear Mr. Jayakar,— I have received your letter of 13th July. You
and Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru state your desire to do all in your power to
bring about the return of peaceful conditions in the country and ask
for permission to approach Mr. Gandhi, Pandit Motilal Nehru and
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru with this object. I had occasion in my
address to the Legislature on the 9th July to define the attitude of
myself and of my Government both to the civil disobedience move-
ment and to the constitutional issues. We consider the civil disobe-
dience movement is doing unmixed harm to the cause of India and
/nany important communities, classes and parties hold the same view.
With their help, therefore, Government must continue to oppose it by
all means in their power, but you rightly recognise we are not less
anxious to see the achievement of the solution of the constitutional
problem by agreement among all interests concerned.
It is evidently not possible for me to anticipate the proposals that
will be made by the Government of India after they have had time
to consider the Satatutory Commission's Report or by the Round
Table Conference and still less the decision of Parliament, but I made
it plain in my speech that it remains my earned desire, as it is that
XXVI THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
of my Government, and I have no doubt also that of His Majesty's
Government to do everything, that we can in our respective spheres
to assist the people of India to obtain as large a degree of manage-
ment of their own affairs as can be shown to be consistent with the
making of provision for those matters in regard to which they are not
at present in a position to assume responsibility. What those matters
may be and what provisions may best be made for them will engage
the attention of the conference, but I have never believed that with
mutual confidence on both sides it should be impossible to reach an
agreement. I, therefore, believe that by the action proposed, you
may be able to assist in the restoration of normal conditions in the
country, ahd it would not be right for me or my Government to
interpose any obstacle to your efforts, nor do I think that those who
have stood side by side with my Government in steadily opposing the
civil disobedience movement and whose co-operation I so much
value would wish me to do so On hearing from you I will accordingly
ask the Local Governments concerned to issue necessary instructions
which will enable you to make your public spirited attempt in the
cause of peace in India.
Yours sincerely,
Irwin."
GANDHIJPS NOTE TO NEHRUS
With these two documents we interviewed Mr. Gandhi in Yeravada
Jail, Poona, on the 23rd and 24th July 1930. During the interview, we
explained to Mr. Gandhi the whole situation and gave him the
substance of our conversation with the Viceroy. Mr. Gandhi gave
us the fallowing note and letter to be handed over to Pandits Motilal
Nehru and Jawaharlal Nehru at Naini Jail, Allahabad.
" (1) So far as this question is concerned inv personal position
is that if the Round Table Conference is restricted to a discussion. of
the safeguards that may be necessary in connection with full
self-government during the period of transition, I should have no
objection, it being understood that the question of Independence
should not be ruled out if any body raised it. I should be sat is tied
before I could endorse the idea of the Congress attending the
conference about its whole composition.
(2) If the Congress is satisfied as to the Round Table Conference,
naturally civil disobedience would be called off. That is to say-
disobedience of certain laws for the sake of disobedience but peaceful
"picketing of foreign cloth and liquor will be continued unless Govern-
ment themselves can enforce prohibition of liquor and foreign cloth.
But the manufacture of salt by the populace will have to be continued
and the penal clauses of the Salt Act should not be enforced. There
will be no raids on Government salt depots or private depots/ I
PEACE PROPOSALS IN JULY AND AUGUST 1930 XXvii
will agree even if this clause is not made a clause in these terms, but
is accepted as an understanding in writing.
(3) (a) Simultaneously with the calling off of civil disobedience,
all Satyagrahi prisoners and other political prisoners convicted or
under trial who have not been guilty of violence or incitement to
violence should be ordered to be released.
(b) Properties confiscated under the Salt Act, the Press Act
and the Revenue Act and the like should be restored.
(c) Fines and securities taken from the convicted Satyagrahis
or under the Press Act should be refunded.
(d) All officers including village officers who have resigned or
who may have been dismissed during the civil disobedience
movement and who may desire to rejoin Government service should
be restored.
N.B. The foregoing should refer also to the Non-Co-operation
periods.
(e) The Viceregal Ordinances should be repealed.
This opinion of mine is purely provisional because I consider a
prisoner has no right to pronounce any opinion upon political
activities of which he cannot possibly have full grasp while he is shut
out of personal contact. I therefore feel my opinion is not entitled to
the weight I should claim for it if I was in touch with the movement.
Mr. Jayakarand Dr. Sapru may show this to Pandit Motilal Nehru,
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Mr. Vallabhbhai Patel and those who are in
charge of the movement. Nothing is to appear in the press. This
is nor to be shown to the Viceroy at this stage. Even if the foregoing
terms are accepted, I should not care to attend the conference unless
in the event of going out of prison I gained self-confidence which I have
not at present and unless among those Indians who would be invited
there were preliminary conversations and agreement as to the
minimum by which they should stand under all circumstances. I
reserve to myself the liberty when occasion arises of testing every
Swaraj scheme by its ability to satisfy the object underlying the
eleven points mentioned in my letter to the Viceroy.
M. K. Gandhi.
23rd July,
Yeravada Central Prison"
GANDHI'S LETTER TO PT. MOTILAL
The following is Mr. Gandhi's covering letter to Pandit Motilal
Nehru :—
"My position is essentially awkward. Being temperamentally so
built, I cannot give a decisive opinion on matters happening outside
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
the prison walls. What I have therefore given to our friends is the
roughest draft of what is likely to satisfy me personally. You may
not know I was disinclined to give anything to Mr. Slocombe and
wanted him to discuss things with you, but I could not resist his
appeal, and let him publish the interview before seeing you. At the
same time, I do not want to stand in the way of an honourable
settlement if the time for it is ripe. I have grave doubts about it but
after all Pandit JawaharlaPs must be the final voice. You and I can only
give our advice to him. What I have said in my memorandum given
to Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and Mr. ]ayakar is the utmost limit to which
1 can go, but Jawaharlal, for that matter also you may consider my
position to be inconsistent with the intrinsic Congress policy or the
present temper of the people. I should have no hesitation in supporting
any stronger position upto the letter of the Lahore resolution. You
need therefore attach no weight to my memorandum unless it finds an
echo in the hearts of you both. I know that neither you or Jawahar
were enamoured of the eleven points brought out in my first letter to
the Viceroy, 1 do not know whether you still have the same opinion.
My own mind is quite clear about them. They are to me the
substance of Independence. I should have nothing to do with
anything that would not give the nation power to give immediate
effect to them. In restricting myseh to the three only in the
memorandum, I have not waived the other eight, but three are now
brought out to deal with the civil disobedience. I would be no
party to any truce which would undo the position at which we have
arrived to-day.
Yours sincerely,
M. K GANDHI,
23rd July, 1930
Yerawada Mandir."
Accordingly on the 27th and 28th July we saw Pandits Motilal
Nehru and Jawaharlal Nehru at Naini Jail, Allahabad and after a
review of the entire position in the light of the Viceroy's letter and
Mr. Gandhi's note and the letter referred to above. Pandits Motilal
Nehru and Jawaharlal Nehru gave us the following two documents to
be taken to Mr. Gandhi at Yeravada, Poona.
NEHRUS* NOTE TO GANDHIJI.
Memorandam dated 23th 193J by Pandits Motilal Nehru and
Jawaharlal Nehru, Central Prison, Naini, Allahabad.
* We have had a long conversation with Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru
~*and Mr. Jayakar and they have informed us of the variation in events
which led to their seeking interviews with Gandhiji and with us in our
respective prisons in order, if possible to terminate or suspend the
PEACE PBOPOSALS IN JULY AND AUGUST 1930
present hostilities between the people of India and the British Govern-
ment. We appreciate their earnest desire for peace and would gladly
explore all avenues which might lead to it provided such peace was an
honourable one for the people of India who have already sacrificed so
much in the national struggle and meant freedom for our country. As
representatives of the Congress we have no authority to alter in any
material particular its resolutions but we might be prepared under
certain circumstances to recommend various details provided the
fundamental position taken up by the congress was accepted. We are*
however, faced with initial difficulty. Both of us are in prison and for
sometime past have been cut of! from the outside world and the
national movement. One of us tor nearly three months was not
allowed any daily newspaper. Gandhiji has also been in prison for
several months. Indeed almost all our colleagues, of the original
Working Committee of the Congress, are in prison and the
Committee itself has been declared an illegal organisation. Of the 360
members of the All-India Congress Committee which is the final
authority in the National Congress organisation subject only to a full
session of the Congress, probably 75 per cent, are in prison. Cut off as
we are from the national movement we cannot take upon ourselves the
responsibility of taking a definite step without the fullest consultation
with our colleagues and especially Gandhiji. As regards the Round
Table Conference we feel untimely to achieve anything unless an
agreement on all vital matters is previously arrived at. We attach
great importance to such an agreement which must be definite and
there must be no room for misunderstanding or misinterpretation*
Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and Mr. Jayakar have made very clear and
Lord Irwin has also stated in his published letter to them that they are
acting on their own behalf and cannot commit him or his Govern-
ment. It is however possible they may succeed in paving way to such
an agreement between the Congress and the British Government. As
we are unable to suggest any definite terms for truce without consult-
ing Gandhiji and other colleagues we refrain from discussing the
suggestions made Dy Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and Mr. Javikar and by
Gandhiji in the note of his dated 23rd July which has been shown to
us. We might however agree generally with Gandhiji's 2nd and 3rd
points, but we should like the details of these points and specially his
point (1) to discuss with him and others before we can finally make
our suggestions. We suggest this note of ours be treated confidential
and be shown only to such persons as see Gandhiji's note dated
23-7-'30.
XXX THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
PT. JAWAHARLAL'S LETTER.
Letter dated 28-7-'30 from Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Central
'Prison, Naini, Allahabad to Mr. Gandhi, Yeravada Jail, Poona :—
CENTRAL PRISON, NAINI,
28— 7— '30.
"My dear Bapuji,— It is a delight to write you again after a long
interval even though it be from one prison to another. I would like
to write at length, but I am afraid I cannot do so at present. I
shall, therefore, confine myself to the matter in issue. Dr. Sapru
and Mr. Jayakar came yesterday and had a long interview with
father and me. To-day they are coming again. As they have
already put us in possession of all facts and shown us your note and
letters and we felt we could discuss the matter between us two and
arrive at some decision even without waiting for a second interview.
Of course if anything new turns up at the second interview we are
prepared to vary any previously formed opinion. Our conclusions for
"the time being are given in the note which we are giving to Sir
Tej Bahadur Sapru and Mr. Jayakar. This is more or less brief but
it will, I hope give you some idea of how our minds are working.
I might add that father and I are in full agreement in regard to what
our attitude should be. 1 might confess your point (1) regarding the
constitutional issue has not won me over nor does father fancy it.
I do not see how it fits in with our position or our pledges or the reali-
ties of to-day. Father and I entirely agree with you that we can be
"no panics to any truce which would undo the position at which we
have arrived to-day." It is because of this that fullest consideration is
essential before any final decision is arrived at I must confess I do
not see an appreciable advance yet from the other side and I greatly
fear a false or weak move on our part. I am expressing myself
moderately. For myself I delight in warfare. It makes me feel that
I am alive. Events of the last tour month-; in India have gladdened
'my heart and have made me prouder of Indian men, women and
even children that I had ever been, but I realise that most people are
not warlike and like peace and so I try hard to suppress myself and
take a peaceful view. May I congratulate you on the new India you
have created by your ma^ic touch ! What the future will bring I know
not but the past has made life worth living and our prosaic
•existence has developed something of epic greatness in it. Sitting
here in Naini Jail, I have pondered on the wonderful efficacy of non-
violence as a weapon and have become a greater convert with res-
ponse of a convert to it than ever before. I hope you are not dissatis-
fied with the response of the country to the non-violence creed.
Despite occasional lapses, the country has stuck to it wonderfully,
certainly far more grimly than I had expected. I am afraid I am still
somewhat of a protestant regarding your eleven points. Not that I
PEACE PROPOSALS IN JULY AND AUGUST 1930
disagree with any one of them Indeed they are important. Yet I do
not think they take the place of Independence. But I certainly agree
with you that we should have "nothing to do with anything that
would not give the nation power to give immediate effect to them.
Father has been unwell the last eight days ever since he took an
injection. He has grown very weak. This long interview last
evening tired him out.
(Sd.) Jawaharlal.
Please do not be anxious about me. It is only a passing
trouble and I hope to get rid over it in two or three days. Love.
(Sd.) Motilal Nehra"
P. S.— "We have had another talk with Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru
and Mr. Jayakar. At their desire we have made some alterations
in our note, but they do not make any vital difference. Our position
is quite clear and I have no doubt whatever about it. I hope you
will appreciate it."
Accordingly, Mr. Jayakar alone saw Mr. Gandhi on the 31st
July, 1st August and 2nd August when Mr. Gandhi dictated to him
the following notes :—
"(1) No constitutional scheme would be acceptable to Mr. Gandhi
which did not contain a clause allowing India the right to secede
irom the Empire at her desire and another clause which gave
the right and power to India to deal satisfactorily with his eleven
points.
"(2) The Viceroy should be made aware of this position of
Mr. Gandhi in order that the Viceroy should not consider later that
these views of Mr. Gandhi had taken him by surprise when they were
urged at the Round Table Conference. The Viceroy should also
be made aware that Mr. Gandhi would insist at the Round Table
Conference on a clause giving India the right to have examined by
an independent tribunal all the British claims and concessions given
to Britishers in the past."
CONGRESS LEADERS' DEMANDS.
After that a joint interview took place in Yeravada Jail,
Poona, on the 14th and 15th August between us on the one hand
and Mr. Gandhi, Pandits Motilal Nehru and Jawaharlal Nehru,
Mr. Vallabhbhai Patel, Dr. Syed Mahomed, Mr. Jairamdas Daulat
Ram and Mrs. Naidu on the other. As a result of our conversations
with them on these occasions, the Congress leaders gave us a letter
with permission to show it to the Viceroy. This letter is set out
below.
XXXii . THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Yerawada Central Prison,
15th August, 1930.
Dear Friends,
We are deeply grateful to you for having undertaken the dutj
of trying to effect a peaceful settlement between the British
Government and the Congress. After having perused the corres-
pondence between yourselves and His Excellency the Viceroy and
having had the benefit of protracted talks with you and having
discussed among ourselves, we have come to the conclusion that the
time is not yet ripe for securing a settlement honourable for our'
country. Marvellous as has been the mass awakening during the past
live months and great as has been the suffering of the people amona
all grades and classes representing the different creeds, we feel that
the sufferings have oeen neither sustained enough nor large enough
for the immediate attainment otthe end. Needless to mention we
do not in anyway share your view or the Viceroy's that civil dis-
obedience has harmed the country or that it is ill-timed or
unconstitutional. English history teems with instances of bloody
revolts whose praises Englishmen have sung unstintingly and
taught', us to do likewise. It therefore ill-becomes the Viceroy or
any intelligent Englishman to condemn a revolt that is in intention
and that has overwhelmingly remained in execution peaceful, but
we have no desire to quarrel with condemnation whether official or
unofficial of the present civil disobedience campaign. The
wonderful mass response to the movement is, we hold, its sufficient
justification. What is, however, the point here is the fact that we
gladly make common cause with you in wishing, it it is at all
possible, to stop or suspend, civil disobedience. It can be no
pleasure to us needlessly to expose the men, women and children
of our country to imprisonment, lathi charges and worse. You will,
therefore, believe us when we assure you and through you the Viceroy
that we would leave no stone unturned to explore any and every
channel for honourable peace, but we are free to confess as yet we
see no such sign on the horizon. We notice no symptom of conver-
sion of the English official world to the view that it is India's men
and women who must decide what is best for India. We distrust
the pious declarations of the good intentions, often well meant, or
officials. The agelong exploitation by the English of the people
of this ancient land has rendered them almost incapable of
seeing the ruin, moral, economic and political of our country
which this exploitation has brought about. They cannot
persuade themselves to see, that one thing needful for them
to do is tj get of! our backs and do some reparation for
the past wrongs by helping us to grow out of the dwarfing process
that has gone on for a century of British domination, but we know
you and some of our learned countrymen think differently. You
PEACE PROPOSALS IN JULY AND AUGUST 1930 XXXiii
believe a conversion has taken place, at any rale, sufficient to
warrant participation in the proposed Conference. In spite, therefore,
of the limitation we are labouring under, we would gladly
co-operate with you to ihe extent of our ability.
The following is the utmost response it is possible for us,
circumstanced as we are, to make to your friendly endeavour.
We feel the language used by the Viceroy in the reply given to
your letter about the proposed Conference is too vague to enable us
to assess its value in terms of the National Demand framed last year
in Lahore nor are we in a position to say anything authoritative
without reference to a properly constituted meeting of the Working
Committee of the Congress and if necessary to the A. I. C. C. but
we can say that for us individually no solution will be satisfactory
unless (a) it recognises in as many words the right of India to secede
at will from the British Empire, (b) it gives to India complete
national Government responsible to her people including the control
of defence forces and economic control and covers all the eleven
points raised in Gandhiji's letter to the Viceroy and (c) it gives to
India the right to refer if necessary to an independent tribunal such
British claims, concessions and the like including the so-called public
debt of India as may seem to the National Government to be unjust or
not in the interest of the people of India.
Note :— Such adjustments as may be necessitated in the interest*
of India during the transference of power to be determined by
India's chosen representatives.
(2) If the foregoing appears to be feasible to the British
Government and a satisfactory declaration is made lo that effect,
we should recommend to the Working Committee the advisability
ot calling off civil disobedience, that is 10 say disobedience of
certain laws for the sake of disobedience, but peaceful picketing
of foreign cloth and liquor will be continued unless Government
themselves can enforce prohibition of liquor and foreign cloth.
The manufacture of salt by the people will have to be continued
and the penal clauses of the Salt Act should not be enforced
There will be no raids on Government or private salt depots.
(3) Simultaneously with the calling of! of civil disobedience
(a) all the satyagrahi prisoners and other political prisoners
convicted or under trial who have not been guilty of violence or
incitement to violence should be ordered to be released,,
(b) Properties confiscated under the Salt Act, the Press Act, the
Revenue Act and the like should be restored, (c) Fines and
securities taken from convicted satyagrahis or under the Press Act
should be refunded, (d) all the officers including village officers
C
XXXIV THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
who have resigned or who may have been dismissed during the
civil disobedience movement and who may desire to rejoin
Government service should be reinstated.
Note :— The foregoing sub-clauses refer also the Non-Co-opera-
tion Period.
(e) All the Viceregal Ordinances should be repealed.
(4) The question of the composition of the proposed
Conference and of the Congress being represented at it can omy
be decided after the foregoing preliminaries are satisfactorily
settled."
Yours sincerely,
Motilal Nehru,
M. K. Gandhi,
Sarojini Naidu,
Vallabhbhai Patel.
Jairamdas Daulatram,
Syed Mahomed,
Jawaharlal Nehru.
PEACE-MAKERS1 LETTER TO CONGRESSMEN
Copy of a letter dated Bombay 16th August 1930.
" We sent them the following reply from Winter Road Ma'abar
Hill, Bombay, on 16-8-30.
Dear Friends-We desire to express our thanks to you all for
the courteous and patient hearing which you have been good
enough to give us on the several occasions on which we visited you
either in Poonaor in Allahabad. We regret we should have
caused you so much inconvenience by these prolonged conversations
and we are particularly sorry that Piudit Motilal Nehru should have
been put to the trouble of coming down to Poona at a time when his
health was so bad.
We beg formally to acknowledge receipt of the letter which > ou
"have handed us and in which you state the terms on which you are
prepared to recommend to the Congress the calling of! of civil
disobedience and participation in the Round Table Conference.
As we have informed you, we took up this work of mediation on the
basis of (1) the terms of the interview given by Pandit Motilal
Nehru, then the Acting President of the Congress, to Mr. Slocombe
in Bombay on 20th- June 1980 and particularly ;2) the terms of the
statement submitted by Mr. Slocombe to Pandit Motilal Nehru in
Bombay on the 25th June 1930 and approved by him (Pandit Moiilal
Nehru) as the basis of an informal approach to the Viceroy by us.
PEACE PROPOSALS IN JULY AND AUGUST 1930 XXXV
Mr. Sclocotnbe forwarded both the documents to us and we
thereupon approached His Excellency the Viceroy for a mission to
interview Mahatma Gandhi, Pandits Motilal Nehru and Jawaharlal
Nehru in order to explore the possibilities of a settlement A copy
of the second document referred to above has been taken by you
from us. We now find the terms embodied in the letter, you gave
us on the 14th instant are such that, as agreed between us, it must
be submitted to His Excellency the Viceroy for his consideration
and we have to await his decision. We note your desire that material
documents relating to these peace negotiations including your said
letter to us should be published and we shall proceed to do this
after His Excellency the Viceroy has considered your letter.
Before we conclude, you will permit us to say that we had
reasons to believe, as we told you, that with the actual calling off
of the civil disobedience movement the general situation would
largely improve. Non-violent political prisoners would be released,
all the Ordinances with the exception of those affecting the
CMttagong and the Lahore Conspiracy Cases woulJ be repealed and
the Congress would get representation at the Round Table
Conference larger than that of any other single political party. We
need scarcely add that we emphasised also that in our opinion
there was substantially no difference between the point of view
adopted by Pandit Motilal Nehru in his interview and the
statement sent to us by Mr. Slocombe with Pandit Mot Hal's approval
and His Excellency the Viceroy's letter to us.
Yours sincerely,
T. B. Sapru,
M. R. Jayakar.
VICEROY'S LETTE< TO SIR T. B. SAPRU
Thereafter Mr. Jayakar alone took the letter of the Congress
ieaders to Simla on the 21st August and had conversations with
the Viceroy. Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru joined him on the 25th.
We then had several interviews with the Viceroy and some
members of his Council between the 25th and 27th August. As
a result of the same the Viceroy gave us a letter to show to the
Congress leaders in Allahabad and Poona.
The following is the text of that letter :
Viceregal Lodge,
Simla, 28th August 1930.
Dear Sir Tej Bahadur, — I have to thank you for informing me of
the results of the conversations held by Mr. Jayakar and yourself with
the Congress leaders sow in prison and for sending me copies of
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGEESS
their joint letter of the 15th August and of your reply thereto. I
should wish you and Mr. Jayakar both to know how great has been
my appreciation of the spirit in which you have pursued your self-
imposed public spirited task of endeavouring to assist in the resto-
ration of normal conditions in India. It is worth recalling the con-
ditions under which >ou entered upon your undertaking. In my
letter of 16th July, I assured you that it was the earnest desire of
myself, my Government and I had no doubt also of His Majesty's
Government, to do ever) thing we could to assist the people of India to
obtain as large a degree of management of their own affairs as
could be shown to be consistent with the making of provision for those
matters in regard to which they were not at present in a position to
assume responsibility. It would be among the functions of the Con-
ference to examine in the light of all the material available what
those matters might be and what provision might be made for them,
I had previously made two other points plain in my speech to the
legislature on the 9th July. The first is that those attending the Con~
ference would have the unfettered right of examining the whole consti-
tutional problem in all its bearing. Secondly, that any agreement at
which the Conference was able to arrive would form the basis of
the proposals which His Majesty's Government would later submit to
Parliament. I fear as you will no doubt recognise that the task you
had voluntarily undertaken has not been assisted by the letter you
have received from the Congress leaders. In view both of the
General tone by which the letter is inspired and of its contents, as
also of its blank refusal to recognise the grave injury to which the
country has been subjected by the Congress policy, not the least
in the economic field, I do not think any useful purpose would be
served by my attempting to deal in detail with the suggestions-
there made and I must frankly say I regard discussion on the basis of
the proposals contained in the letter as impossible. 1 hope if you^
desire to see the Congress Leaders again you will make this plain.
" There is one further comment I must make upon the last
paragraph of your reply to them dated 16th August. When we
discussed these matters, I said if the civil disobedience movement
was in fact abandoned, I should not desire to continue the Ordinances
(apart from those connected with the Lahore Conspiracy Case and
Chittagong) necessitated by the situation which ex-hypothesi would no
longer exist. But I was careful to make it plain that I was unable to
give any assurance, if and when the civil disobedience movement
ceases, that Local Governments would find it possible to release all
persons convicted or under trial for offences in connection with the
movement not involving violence, and that while I should wish to see
a generous policy pursued in this matter, the utmost that I could
promise would be to move all the Local Governments to consider
with sympathy all the cases individually on. their merits.
PEACE PROPOSALS IN JULY AND AUGUST 1930 XXXVii
" Upon ihe point of your reference to the representation of the
Congress at the Conference in the event of their abandoning the
civil disobedience movement and desiring to attend, my recollection is
yon explained that the demand ot the Congess was not for predominant,
in the sense of majority, representation at the conference and that I
expressed the view that I should anticipate little difficulty in
recommending to His Majesty's Government to secure that the
Congress should be adequately represented. 1 added that if events
-so developed, 1 should be ready to receive a panel of names from the
leaders ot the Congress Party of those whom they would regard as
suitable representatives. I feel that you and Mr. Jayakar would
•desire to be clearly informed of the position of myself and my
Government as it may be desirable that the letters should be
published at an early date in order that the public may be fully
informed of the circumstances, in which your efforts have failed to
produce the result you hoped and they so certainly deserved.
Yours sincerely,
(Sd.) Irwin.
NOTES OF CONVERSATIONS WITH VICEROY
His Excellency th3 Viceroy also permitted us to mention to the
Congress leaders the result of our conversations with him on certain
specific points raised by us in connection with the letter of the
Congress leaders. We left Simla on the 28th of August, and
interviewed Pandit Motilal Nehru and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, and
Dr. Syed Mahmood at Naini Jail, Allahabad, on August 30 and 3lst.
We showed them the said letter of the Viceroy, and placed before
them the result oi our conversations. We explained to them with
reference to the several points raised in their letter to us of August
15 and not covered by the Viceroy's letter of 28th August, that we had
reason to believe from the conversations we had with the Viceroy
that a settlement was possible on the following basis: —
(a) On the constitutional question ihe position would be as
stated in the four fundamental points in para 2 of the Viceroy's letter
to us of 28th August.
(b) With reference to the question whether Mr. Gandhi would
be allowed to raise at the Round Table Conference the question of
India's right to secede from the Empire at will, the position was as
follows: "As the Viceroy has stated in his said letter to us, the
Conference was a free Conference. Therefore, anyone could raise
.any points he liked, but the Viceroy, thought it would be very
unwise for Mr. Gandhi to raise this question now. If, however, he
'faced the Government of India with such a question, the Viceroy
would say the Government were not prepared to treat it as an
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
open question. Jf, in spite of this, Mr. Gandhi desired to raise the
question, the Government would inform the Secretary of State of
his intention to do so at the Round Table Conference."
(c) As regards the right to raise the question at the Round
Table Conference of India's liability to certain financial burdens
and to get them examined by an independent Tribunal, the position
was that the Viceroy could not entertain any proposition amounting;
to total repudiation of all debts, but it would be open to anyone
to raise, at the Round Table Conference, any question as to any
financial liability of India and to call for its examination.
(d) As regards the granting of relief against the Salt Act, the
position of the Viceroy was that (I) the Salt Tax was going to be
provincialised if the recommendation of the Simon Commission ia
that behalf was accepted, and (2) there has been already great loss of
revenue and therefore the Government would not like to forego this
source, but if the Legislature was persuaded to repeal the Salt Act
and if any proposal was put forward to make good the loss of revenue
occasioned by such repeal, the Viceroy and his Government would
consider the question on its merits. It was not, however, possible
for the Viceroy to condone open breaches of the Salt Act so long as
it was Law. When goodwill and peace were restored and, if Indian
leaders desired to discuss with H. £. the Viceroy and his
Government how best economic relief could be given to the poorer
classes on his behalf, the Viceroy would be glad to call a small con-
ference of Indian leaders.
(e) With reference to picketing, the position was that if
picketing amounted to nuisance to any class of people or was coupled
with molestation or intimidation or the use of force, the Viceroy
reserved to the Government the right of taking such action as the law
allowed or taking of such legal powers as might be necessary to meet
any emergency that might arise. Subject to the above when peace
was established, the Ordinance against picketing would be withdrawn.
(/) With regard to the re-employment of the officers who
resigned or had been dismissed during the civil disobedience
campaign, the position was that this matter was primarily
a question for the discretion of Local Governments, subject
however to there being vacancies and as long as it did not involve
dismissing men who had proved loyal, the Local Government would
be expected to re-employ men who had thrown up their appointments
in a fit of excitement or who had been swept off their feet.
(g\ As for the restoration of Printing Presses confiscated under
the Press Ordinance, there would be no difficulty.
PEACE PROPOSALS IN JULY AND AUGUST 1980
(h) As regards the restoration of tines and properties confiscated
under the Revenue Law, that required closer definition. As to the
properties confiscated or sjld under such law, there might be the
rights of third parties involved. As to refunding fines, there were
difficulties. In short, all that the Viceroy could say was that the
Local Governments would exercise their discretion with justice -and
take all the circumstances into consideration and try to be as
accommodating as they could.
(t) As to the release of prisoners the Viceroy had already
explained his views in his letter to us dated July 28th.
NBHRUS* KINAL NOTE TO GANDHIJI.
We made clear to Pandit Motilal Nehru and Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru and Dr. Syed M ihomed, during their said two interviews with
us, that though the time before us was limited further progress with
our negotiations was possible on the lines indicated above. They,
however, expressed unwillingness to accept any settlement on this
basis and gave us a note for Mr. Gaudhi which is as follows : —
Naini Central Prison,
31st August, 1930.
" We have had further interviews with Mr. M,R. Jayakar and Sir
Tej Bahadur Sapru yesterday and to-day, and have had the advantage
of long talks with them. They have given us a copy of the letter,
dated August 23, addressed to them by His Excellency Lord Irwin.
In this letter, it is stated clearly that Lord Irwin regards discussion on
the basis of the proposals contained in our joint letter of August 15th,
to Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and Mr. Jayakar as impossible, and under
the circumstances he rightly concludes their efforts have failed to
produce any result. This joint letter, as you know was written after a
full consideration by the signatories to it, and represented the
utmost they were prepared to go in their individual capacities. We
stated there that no solution would be satisfactory unless it fulfilled
certain vital conditions, and that a satisfactory declaration to that effect
was nude by the British Government. If such a declaration was
made, we would be prepared to recommend to the Working Com-
mittee the desirability of calling of! of civil disobedience, provided
simultaneously certain steps indicated in our letter were taken by
the British Government in India.
" It was only after a satisfactory settlement of all these prelimi-
naries that the question of the composition of the proposed London
Conference and of the Congress being represented at it could be
decided. Lord Irwin, in his letter, considers even a discussion on the
basis of these proposals as impossible. Under the circumstances,
Xl THE HISTORY OF THE CONGEESS
there is or can be no common ground between us. Quite apart from
the contents, the tone of the British Government in India clearly indi-
cate that the Government has no desire for peace The proclamation
of the Working Committee as an illegal body in the Delhi Province
soon after a meeting of it was announced to be held there, and the
subsequent arrest of most of its members can have that meaning and
no other. We have no complaint against these or other arrests or
other activities of the Government, " uncivilised" and "barbarous" as
we consider some of those to be. We welcome them. But, we feel, we
are justified in pointing out that a desire for peac-s and an aggressive
attack on the very body, which is capable or giving peace and with
which it is sought to treat, do not go well together. The proscription
of the Working Committee all over India and the attempt to prevent
its meetings must necessarily mean thai the National struggle must
go on, whatever the consequences, and that there will be no pos-
sibility of peace, for those who may have some authority to represent
*he people of India will spread out in British prisons all over India.
* "Lord Irwin's letter and the action taken by the British Govern-
ment make it plain that the efforts of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and
Mr. Jayakar have been in vain. Indeed, the letter and sometot the ex-
planations thad had been given to us take us back, in some respects,
even from the position that was previously taken. In view of the
great hiatus that exists between our position and Lord Irwin's, it is
hardly necessary to go into details, but we should like to point out to
you certain aspects of the letter. The first part of the letter is prac-
tically a repetition of his speech to the Legislative Assembly and of
the phrases used in his letter dated July 16, addressed to Mr. Jayakar
and Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru. As we pointed out in our joint letter,
this phraseology is too vague for us to asses* its value. It may be
made to mean anything or nothing In our joint letter we have
made it clear that a complete National Government responsible to
the people of India, including control over the Defence Forces and
economic control, must be recognised as India's immediate demand.
There is no question of what are usually called safeguards or any
delay. Adjustments there necessarily must he lor tlie translerence
of power and in regard to these we stated they were to be deter-
mined by India's chosen representatives.
As regards India's right of secession at will from the British
Empire and her right to refer British claims and concessions to an
independent tribunal all that we are told is that the Conference will
be a free conference and any point can be raised there. This is no
advance on the previous statement made. We are further told,
however, that if the British Government in India were definitely faced
with the possibility of the former question being raised, Lord Irwin
would say they were not to treat it as an open question, AH they
PEACE PROPOSALS IN JULY AND AUGUST 1930 xll
could do was to inform the Secretary of State of our intention to
raise the question at the Conference.
"As regards the other proposition, we are told that Lord
Irwin could only entertain the idea of a few individual financial
transactions being subjected for scrutiny. While such scrutiny may
take place in individual cases, its scope will have to extend to the
^ whole field ot British claims including, as we have stated, the
'-so-called Public Debt of India. We consider both these questions
as of vital importance and previous agreement in our joint letter
seems to us essential.
" Lord Irwin's reference to the release of prisoners is very
restricted and unsatisfactory. He is unable to give an assurance
that all of the non-violent civil disobedience prisoners even will be
discharged. All he proposes to do is to leave the matter in the hands
of the Local Governments. We are not prepared to trust in such a
imtterto the generosity or sympathy of Local Governments or local
officials but apart from this, there is no reference in Lord Irwin's
letter to other non-violent prisoners. There are a large number of
Congressmen and others who were sent to prison tor political
offences prior to the civil disobedience movement. We might
mention in this connection the Meerut Case prisoners who have
already spent an year and a half as undertrials. We have made
it clear in our joint letter that all these persons should be
released.
Regarding the Bengal and the Lahore Case Ordinances we
feel no exception should be made in their favour as suggested by
Lord Irwin. We have not claimed release for those political
prisoners who may have been guilty of violence not because we
would not welcome their release but because we felt that as our
movement was strictly non-violent, we would not confuse the
issue. But the least we can do is to press for ordinary trial for
these fellow countrymen of ours and not by an extra-ordinary
court constituted by an ordinance which denies them the right of
appeal and theordina y privileges; of accused.
Amazing events including the brutal assaults that have occured
even in open court during the so called trial make it imperative that
the ordinary procedure should be followed. We understand that
*ome of the accused in protest against the treatment accorded to
them have been on hunger-strike for a long period and are now at
death's door. The Bengal Ordinance, we understand, has been
replaced by an Act based on it and most objectionable, and the fact
that an unrepresentative body like the present Bengal Council has
passed it, does not make it any the better.
Xlii THE HISTORY OF THE CONGEESS
" As regards the further picketing of foreign cloth and liquor
shops, we are told, Lord Irwin is agreeable to the withdrawal of
the Picketing Ordinance, but he states that if he thinks it
necessary, he will take fresh legal powers to combat picketing.
Thus he informs us that he might re-enact the Ordinance or do
something in Simla to it whenever he considers it
necessary. The reply regarding the Salt Act and certain other
matters referred to in our joint letter is also wholly unsatisfactory.
We need not deal with it at any length here as you are an *
acknowledged expert on salt-reason to modify our previous
position as regards these matter.
" Thus Lord Irwin has declined to agree to all the major
propositions and many of the minor ones laid down in our joint
letter. The difference in his out-look and ours is very great,
indeed fundamental We hope you will show his note to
Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, Mr. Vallabhbhai Patel, Mr. Jairamdas
Daulaltram and in consultation with them give your reply to
Mr. Jayakar and Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru. We feel that the
publication of the correspondence must no longer be
delayed, and we are not justified in keeping the public
in the dark. Even apart from the question of publication, we are
requesting Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and Mr. Jayakar to send copies
of all correspondence and relevent papers to Chaudhuri Khaliq
Uzaman, the Acting President of the Indian National
Congress We feel we ought to take no step without immediate
information being sent to the Working Committee, which happens to
be functioning."
(Sd,) Motilal,
(Sd.) Syed Mahmud.
(Sd.) JawaharlaL
LEADERS' JOINT REPLY
We accordingly saw Mr. Gandhi and other Congress leaders in
Yerawada Jail, Poona on the 3rd, 4th and 5th September, gave them
the said letter, and discussed the whole question with them.
As a result of such conversations, they gave us the statement
which is reproduced below :—
Yerawada Central Prison,
59-1930.
Dear Friends,— We have very carefully gone through the letter,
written to you by H. E. the Viceroy dated 23-8-1933. You have kindly
supplemented it with a record of your conversations with the Viceroy
on points not covered by the letter. We have equally carefully gone
PEACE PROPOSALS IN JULY AND AUGUST 1930 Xliil
through the Note signed by Pandit Motilal Nehru, Dr. Syed Mahmud
and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, and sent by them through you. The
note embodies their considered opinion on the said letter and the
conversation.
We gave two anxious nights to these papers and we had the
benefit of a full and free discussion with you on all the points arising
out of these papers. And as we have told you we have all arrived at
the definite conclusion that; we see no meeting ground between the
Government and the Indian National Congress so far as we can speak
for the latter, being out of touch with the outside world. We
unreservedly associate ourselves with the opinion contained in the
Note sent by the distinguished prisoners in the Naini Central Prison,
but these friends expect us to give in our own words our view of the
position finally reached in the negotiations for peace which you, with
patriotic motives, have carried on during the past two months at
considerable sacrifice of your own time and no less inconvenience to
yourselves. We shall therefore allude as briefly as possible to the
fundamental difficulties that have stood in the way of peace being
achieved.
The Viceroy's letter dated 16-7-30 is, we have taken, intended
to satisfy, so far as may be, the terms of the interview, Pandit
Motilal Nehru gave to Mr. George Slocomte on June 20th, and
the statement submitted by Mr. Slocombe to him, on June 25 and
approved by him. We are unable to read in the Viceroy's language
in his letter of July 16 anything like satisfaction of the tenns of
the interview of the said statement. Here are the relevant parts
of the interview and the statement.
In the interview it was stated, "If the terms of the Round
Table Conference are to be left open we are expected to go to
London to argue the case for Dominion Status. I should decline.
If it was made clear, however, that the Conference would meet to
frame a constitution for a Free India subject to such adjustments
of otir mutual relations as are required by the special needs and
conditions of India and our past agitation, I for one would be
disposed to recommend to the Congressmen to accept the
invitation to participate in the conference. We must be masters
in our household, but we are ready to agree to reasonable terms
for the period of transaction of power from a British administration
in India to a responsible Indian Government. The Conference
must be to meet British people discuss these terms as Nation to
Nation and on an equal footing.
The statement contained the following. " The Government would
give private assurance that they would support the demand for full
responsible Government for India subject to such mutual adjustments
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
and terms of transfer as are required by the special needs and condi-
tions of India and by her long association with Great Britain and as
may be decided by the Round Ta^le Conference."
Here is the relevant part of the Viceroy's letter. " It remains my
earnest desire, as it is, that of my Government and I have no doubt
also that of His Majesty's Government to do everything we c*u in our
respective spheres to assist the people of India to obtain as large a
degree of management of their own affairs as can be shown to bj con-
sistent with making provision for those matters in regard to which
they are not at present in a position to assume responsibilities. What
those matters may be, and what provisions may best be made for them,
will engage the attention of the conference, but I have never believed
that, with mutual confidence on both the sides, it should be impossible
to reach an agreement."
We feel that there is a vast difference between the two positions.
Where Pandit Motilalji visualises a Free India enjoying a status
different in kind from the present as a result of the deliberations of the
proposed Round Table Conference, the Viceroy's letter merely
commits him and his Government and the British Cabinet to an earnest
desire to assist India to obtain as large a degree of the management
of their own affairs as can be shown to be consistent with making
provision for those matters in regard to which they are not at present
in a po^iton to assume responsibility. In other words, the prospect
held out by the Viceroy's letter is one of getting, at the most, some-
thing more along the lines of reforms commencing with those known
to us as the Landsdowne Reforms. As we had the fear that our inter-
pretation was correct in our letter of 15-8-'30 signed also by Pandit
Motilal Nehru, Dr. Syed Mahmud and Pandit Jawahar Lai Nehru,
we put our position negatively and said what w mid not in our
opinion satisfy the Congress. The letter you have now brought from
H.E. the Viceroy reiterates the original position taken up by him in
his first letter and we are grieved to say contemptuously dismisses
our letter as unworthy of consideration and regards discussion on
the basis of the proposals contained in the letter as impossible.
You have thrown further light on the question by telling us that if
Mr. Gandhi definitely faced the Government of India with such a
question (i.e.,) the right of secession from the Empire at India's will,
the Viceroy would say, they were not prepared to treat it as an open
question. We, on the other hand, regard the question as the central
point in any constitution that India is to secure and one which ought
not to need any argument. If India is now to attain full Responsible
Government or full Self-Government or whatever other term it is to
be known by, it can be only on an absolutely voluntary basis, leaving
each party to sever the partnership or association at wilL If
PEACE PROPOSALS IN JULY AND AUGUST 1930 xlv
India is to remain no longer a part of the Emipire but is to become
an equal and free partner in the Commonwealth, she must feel
the want and warmth of thai association and never otherwise. You
will please observe this position is clearly brought out in the interview
already alluded to by us. So long, therefore, as the British Govern-
ment, or the British people regard this position as impossible or
untenable, the Congress must, in our opinion, continue the fight for
freedom.
The attitude taken up by the Viceroy over the very mild proposal
made by us regarding the Salt Tax affords a further painful insight
into the Government's mentality. It is as plain as daylight to us
that, from the di/zy heights of Simla, the Rulers of India are unable to
understand or appreciate the difficulties of the starving millions living
in the plains whose incessant toil makes Government from such a
giddy height at all possible.
If the blood of innocent people that was split during the past
five months to susiatn the monopoly of a gift of nature next in
importance to poor people only to air and water, has not brought
home to the Government the conviction of its utter immorality, no
Conference of Indian leaders as suggested by the Viceroy can
possibly do so. The suggestion that those who ask for the repeal of
the monopoly should show a source of equivalent revenue adds
insult to injury. This attitude is an indication that if Government
can help it the existing crush ingly expensive system shall continue
to the end of time. We venture further to point out that not only
does the Government here, but Governments all the world over,
openly condone breaches of measures which have become unpopular
but which for technical or other reasons cannot straightaway be-
repealed. We need not now deal with many other important matters
in which too there is no adequate advance from the Viceroy to the
popular position set fonh by us. We hope we have brought out
sufficient weighty matters in which there appears at present to be
an unbridged gulf between the British Government and the Congress.
There need, however, be no disappointment, for the apparent
failure of the Peace negotiations. The Congress is engaged in a
grim struggle for Freedom. The nation has resorted to a weapon
which the Rulers being unused to it will take time to understand and
appreciate. We are not surprised that a few months* suffering has
not converted them. The Congress desires to harm no single
legitimate interest by whomsoever acquired. It has no quarrel
with Englishmen as such, but it resents and will resent with all
the moral strength at its command, the intolerable British domination.
Non-violence being assured to the end, we are certain of the early
fulfilment of the national aspiration. This we say, in spite of the-
THE HISTORY OF THE CONCEESS
bitter and often insulting language used by the powers that be in
regard to civil disobedience.
Lastly, we once more thank you for .the great pains you have
taken to bring about peace, but we suggest that the time has not
arrived when any further peace negotiations should be carried on
with those in charge of the Congress organisation. As prisoners, we
labour under an obvious handicap. Our opinion is based, as it
must be, on second-hand evidence and runs the risk of being faulty.
•It would be naturally open to those in charge of the Congress
organisation to see any of us. In that case, and when the
•Government itself is equally desirous for peace, they should have no
difficulty in having access to us.
(Sd.) M. K. Gandhi.
(Sd.) Sarojini Naidu.
(Sd.) Vallabhbhai Pat el,
(Sd.) Jairamdas Doulatram.
We content ourselves with publishing for the information of the
public material facts and documents and in strict conformity with our
duties and obligations as intermediaries, we refrain in this statement
from putting our own interpretation or offering our own comments on
the facts and documents set out above. We may mention that we
have obtained the consent of H. E. The Viceroy, and the Congress
leaders to the publication of the documents above set out
Appendix V.
FORMS OF DECLARATION BY INDIAN MILLS.
We hereby declare :
1. That we have full sympathy with the national aspirations of
» the people.
2. That not less than 75 per cent, of the share capital of the Com-
pany is held by Indians. (The Special Committee nominated by the
President of the Congress in this behalf may, however, permit exemp-
tions in regard to this clause as special cases.)
3. That not less than 66 per cent, of the Directors of the Com-
pany apart from the ex-officio Directors are and will continue to be
Indian. In the event of the ex-officio Directors being non-Indians, the
Indian Directors should form a majority in the Board.
4. That there is no foreign interest in the Managing Agents'
firm.
5. That the partners of the Agents1 firm or the firm are not
interested in any foreign insurance companies or in the import trade
of foreign yarn or foreign piece-goods.
6. That we will assist in the propagation of Swadeshi, firstly by
taking steps to eliminate the competition of mill cloth with khadi
(i.e. hands pun and handwoven cloth) and secondly by refraining
from exploiting in our own interest the situation arising out of the
movement in respect of the price or quality of cloth.
7- That the ownership as well as the management of the mills is
Indian and the personnel of the management is Indian in outlook and
spirit and is pledged to safeguard Indian interest.
In pursuance of the above declarations, we hereby undertake to do
as follows:
1. No person connected with the management of the mills will
engage himself in propaganda hostile to the national movement or
participate in any activity organised voluntarily or at the instance or
on behalf of the British Goverment in India in opposition to the
movement.
2, Recruitment of staff will be restricted to Indians, except for
special reasons.
Xlviii THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
3. We shall pass as early as possible the insurance business of
our Company to Indian Insurance Companies.
4. As far as possible we shall pass our Banking and shipping
business to Indian Banks and Indian Steamship Companies.
5. \Ve shall henceforth employ as far as possible, Indians as
our auditors, solicitors, shipping agents, buying or selling brokers, con-
tractors or suppliers of goods required lor our nulls.
6. We shall purchase, as far as possible, store articles of Indian
manufacture and will only buy such foreign articles as are indispeu- «
sable and as cannot be replaced by Indian Swadeshi articles (List
of such foreign articles as are indispensable is enclosed herewith)
7. We shall not make use of any kind of foreign yarn or foreign
silk or artificial silk or thread or yarn made in mills on the boycott
list.
8. We shall not bleach or dye any yarn or cloth that is foreign
or produced in mills that are placed on the boycott list.
9. We shall put our stamps distinctly on boih ends of each piece
of cloth manufactured in our mills and will not send any cloth out-
side without the proper stamps.
10. We shall not name, stamp or siyle any of our cloth as khadi,
11. We shall not make cloth of the following specifications :
Any cloth, grey or bleached, warp, and weft counts each coarser
than 18 plain weave, one up and down, single or double and weft
including checks plain weave, also those made on drop box and
circular box and carpets. (18 counts shall include either single
or multifold yarn the count of which (multifold) comes to IS
or less).
The mills, however, shall be at liberty to make drills, satins,
tussers, twills, cloth on jacquards and dobby pa terns in the bod> ,
dyed cloth made from dyed cotton, blankets and malidas.
12. We shall, as far as possible, do all our selling or buying
business with or through Indian concerns.
t 13. Persons connected with management of our mills will wtar
Swadeshi cloth.
Name of the Company
Address , . . • .
Names of the Agents or Proprietors.
FORMS OF DECLARATION BY INDIAN MILLS
FORM
DECLARATION BY NON-INDIAN MILLS
We hereby declare :
1 . That we have full sympathy with the national aspirations of
the people.
2. That not less than 75 per cent, of the share capital of the
company is held by Indians. (The Special Committee nominated by
the President of the Congress in this behalf may, however, permit
exemption in regard to this clause as special cases).
3. That not less than 66 per cent of the Directors of the Company
apart from the ex-officio directors are and will continue to be Indians.
(In the event of the ex-officio Directors being non-Indians, Indian
Directors should form a majority in the Board.
4. The partners of the Agents1 firm are not in any way interested
in the import trade of foreign yarn or foreign piecegoods.
5. That we will assist in the propagation of Swadeshi, firstly by
taking steps to eliminate the competition of mill cloth with khadi (i.e.
handspun and handwoven cloth) and secondly by refraining from
exploiting in our own interest the situation arising out of the move-
ment in respect of the price or quality of cloth.
8. That the personnel of the management is Indian in outlook
and spirit and is pledged to safeguard Indian interest.
In pursuance of the above declaration we hereby undertake to do
as follows :
1. No person connected with the management of the mills will
engage himself in propaganda hostile to the national movement or
participate in any activity organised voluntarily or at the instance or
on behalf of the British Government in India in opoositton to the
movement.
2. Recruitment of staff will be restricted
special reasons
3. As far as possible we shall pass
Shipping business to Indian Insurance
Indian Steamship Companies.
4. We shall henceforth employ, as f;
as our auditors, solicitors, shipping age
contractors or suppliers of goods required
D
1 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
5. We shall purchase, as far as possible, store articles of
Indian manufacture and will only buy such foreign articles as are
indispensable and as cannot be replaced by Indian Swadeshi articles
(A list of such foreign articles is enclosed herewith.)
(To be supplied by the mills.)
6. We shall not make use of any kind of foreign yarn or foreign
silk or artificial silk or thread or yarn made in mills on the boycott
list.
7. We shall not bleach or dye any yarn or cloth that is
foreign or produced in mills that are placed on the boycott
list.
a We shall put our stamps distinctly at both ends on each
piece of cloth manufactured in our mills and will not send any
cloth outside without proper stamps.
9. We shall not name, stamp or style any of our cloth as
khadi.
10. We shall not make cloth of the following specifications.
Any cloth grey or bleached, warp and wett, counts each coarser
than Id plain weave, one up and down, single or double end weft
including checks, plain weave, also those made on drop box and
circular box and carpets (IS counts shall include either single or
multifold yarn, the count of which (multifold) comes to 18 or less.)
The mills, however, shall be at liberty to make drills, satins
tussers, twills, cloth on jacquards arid dobby patterns in the body
dyed cloth, made from dyed cotton blankets and malidas.
11. We shall hence forth do our selling or buying business as
far as possible, with or through Indian concerns.
12. Persons connected with the management of our mills will
wear Swadeshi cloth.
Name of the Company
Address
Managing Agentsor Proprietors
FORM
DECLARATION ISSUED BY THE BOMBAY
PROVINCIAL CONGRESS COMMITTEE.
We declare that we have full sympathy with the national
aspirations of the people and appreciate the impetus given to the
cause of Swadeshi by the National Movement
FORMS OF DECLARATION BY INDIAN MILLS
For the protection of Khadi we agree not to stamp or sell as
Khadi any cloth manufactured at our mills and not to manufacture
any cloth below average 10 counts except of certain sorts to be
agreed upon by the mills and your Committee. (Bombay Provincial
Congress Committee).
To preserve and promote Swadeshi character of our mill industry
the following scheme was approved of and we agree to and accept
the same, namely:
(a) That ownership and management of the mills is and will
continue Indian and national in outlook and spirit, pledged to
safeguard Indian interest.
(b) That no person connected with the management of the
mills will engage in any anti-national activities.
(c) That not less than 75 per cent, of the share capital of the
'Company is and will continue to be held by Indians, except in
•cases and to the extent agreed to by the President of the Congress
as special cases.
(d) That not less than 65 percent of the Directors apart from
•the ex-officio Directors of every such Company are and will continue
ito be Indians.
(e) That the management and control of the company will
remain and continue Indian, except in the case of Mills (a list
is settled by consent) which are now managed by non-Indian Mill
agents and which have accepted these term saving this clause.
If) That recruitment of the staff will be restricted to Indians
excepting for special reasons.
(g) That the mills will confine their purchases to Indian
Swadeshi products as far as possible and will place their
business with Indian Banking, Insurance and Shipping Companies
as far as possible.
(h) That the Mills will not dye or bleach any foreign yarn or
cloth which has been declared non-Swadeshi by the Bombay
Provincial Congress Committee.
(i) That the Mills will not use foreign yarn and will not use
jnercerised yarn and artificial silk after 3lst December, 1930.
Ij) That the Mills will stamp every piece of cloth with their
name.
(k) That no Millowner, Mill Agent or other persons connected
with the control and the management of the Mills will directly or
'indirectly import or deal in foreign yarn or piecegoods.
Hi THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
(1) That the Mills will not exploit in their own interest
the spirit of Swadeshi generated and encouraged by the national
movement and will guard against profiteering by middlemen and
will make Swadeshi goods available to the consuming public
at reasonable rates and in particular.
i. will sell during the period ending 31st December 1930 the
current sorts produced at the Mills at current rates or rates
prevailing on 12th March, 1930, whichever at the time be lower.
ii. will publish and circulate for the information of the
general consuming public the selling prices of current sorts
prevailing from time to time.
iii. will meet the representatives of the Bombay Provincial
Congress Committee from time to time and adopt such
further means as may be mutually agreed upon to prevent
profiteering and to secure a constant supply of Swadeshi
piecegoods to the consuming public at reasonable prices.
Appendix VI
The announcement by His Majesty's Government of the
Communal Award has been made. The following is the full
text :-
(1) In the statement made by the Prime Minister on December
last, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, at the close of the second
session of the Round Table Conference, which was immediately
afterwards endorsed by both Houses of Parliament, it made plain that»
if the communities in India were unable to reach a settlement
acceptable to all parties on communal questions which the Conference
had failed to solve, His Majesty's Government were determined that
India's constitutional advance should not on that account be
frustrated, and they would remove this obstacle by devising and
applying themselves to a provisional scheme.
(2) On March 19 last, His Majesty's Government, having been
informed that the continued failure of the communities to reach an
agreement was blocking the progress of plans for the framing of the
new constitution, stated that they were engaged upon a careful
re-examination of the difficult and controversial questions which
arise. They are now satisfied that, without the decision of at least
some aspects of the problems connected with the position of the
minjrities under the new constitution no further progress can be
made with the framing of the constitution.
SCOPE OF THE SCHEME.
(3) His Majesty's Government have accordingly decided that
they will include provisions to give effect to the scheme set out below
in the proposals relating to the Indian constitution to be laid in due
course before Parliament. The scope of this scheme is purposely
conn* ned to the arrangements to be made for the representation of
British Indian Communities in Provincial legislatures consideration of
representation in the Legislature at the Centre being deferred for the
reason given in paragraph 20 below. The decision to limit the scope
of the scheme does not imply a failure to realise that the framing of
the constitution will necessitate the decision of a number of other
problems of great importance to minorities, but has been taken in
the hope that, once a pronouncement has been made upon the
basic question of the method and proportions of representation, the
communities themselves may find it possible to arrive at a 'modus
.Vivendi' on the other communal problems which have not as yet
received the examination they require.
liv THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
(4) His Majesty's Government wish it to be most clearly
understood that they themselves can be no parties to any
negotiations which may be initiated with a view to the revision of
their decision, and will not be prepared to give consideration to-
any representation aimed at securing a modification of it, which is
not supported by all the parties affected. But they are most
desirous to close no door to an agreed settlement, should such
happily be forthcoming. If, therefore, before the new Government
of India Act is passed into law, they are satisfied that the
communities who are concerned are mutually agreed upon a
practicable alternative scheme, either in respect of any one or more
of the Governor's Provinces, or in respect of the whole of British
India, they will be prepared to recommend to Parliament that the
alternative should be substituted for the provisions now
outlined.
(5) Seats in the Legislative Councils in Governor's Provinces or
in the Lower House, if there is an Upper Chamber, will be allocated
as shown in para 24 below.
SEPARATE ELECTORATES
(6) Election to the seats alloted to Muslim. European and
Sikh constituencies will be by voters voting in separate communal
electorates, covering between them the whole area of the Province
(apart from any portions which may, in special cases, be excluded
from the electoral area as "backward' •
Provision will be made in the constitution itself to empower
revision of this electoral arrangement (and other similar
arrangements mentioned below) after ten years, with the assent to
the communities affected, for the ascertainment of which suitable
means will be devised.
17) All qualified electors, who are not voters either in a
Muslim, Sikh, Indian Christian (see para. 10), Anglo Indian
(see para. 11) of European constituency, will be entitled to vote in
a general constituency.
(8) Seven seats will be reserved for Mahrattas in certain
selected plural member general constituencies in Bombay.
DEPRESSED CLASSES
(9) Members of the "Depressed Classes" qualified to vote wh7
vote in a general constituency. In view of the fact that, for a
considerable period, these classes would be unlikely, by this means
alone, to secure any adequate representation in a legislature, a
number of special seats will be assigned to them as shown hi
para. 24 below. These seats (will be filled by election from special
COMMUNAL QUESTION: PREMIER'S DECISION Iv
constituencies in which only members of the "Depressed Classes1'
electorally qualified will be entitled to vote. Any person voting in
such special constituency will, as stated above, be also entitled to
vote in a general constituency. It is intended that these
constituencies should be formed in selected areas where the
"Depressed Classes11 are most numerous, and that, except in Madras
they should not cover the whole area of the Province.
In Bengal, it seems possible that, in some general constituencies,
the majority of voters will belong to the Depressed Classes.
Accordingly, pending further investigation, no number has been
fixed for members to be returned from special Depressed C'asses
constituencies in that Province. It is intended to secure that the
Depressed Classes should obtain not less than ten seats in the
Bengal Legislature.
The precise definition in each Province of those who
(if electorally qualified) will be entitled to vote in special Depressed
Class constituencies has not yet been finally determined. It would
be based as a rule on the general principles advocated in the
Franchise Committee's Report. Modification may, howjever, be found
necessary in some Provinces in Northern India where the application
of the general criteria of untouchability might result in a definition
unsuitable in some respects to the special conditions of the Province.
His Majesty's Government do not consider that these special
Depressed Classes constituencies will be required for more than a
limited time. They intend that the constitution shall provide that
they shall come to an end after twenty years, if they have not
previously been abolished under the general powers of electoral
revision referred to in para. 6.
INDIAN CHRISTIANS.
(10) Election to the seats allotted to Indian Christians will be
by voters voting in separate communal electorates. Tt seems almost
certain that the formation of Indian Christian constituencies covering
the whole area of a province will be impracticable and that, accord-
ingly, special Indian Christian constituencies will have to be formed
only in one or two selected areas in a Province. Indian Christian
voters in these areas will not vote in a general constituency Indian
Christian voters outside these areas will vote in a general consti-
tuency, special arrangements may be needed in Bihar and Orissa,
where a considerable proportion of the Indian Christian Community
belongs to aboriginal tribes.
ANGLO-INDIANS
(11) Election to seats allotted to Anglo-Indians will be by
voters voting in separate communal electorates. It is at present
ivi THE HISTORY OF THE CONGBESS
intended, subject to Investigation of any practical difficulties that
may arise, that Anglo-Indian constituencies shall cover the whole
area of each Province, postal ballot being employed ; but no final
decision has yet been reached.
(12) The method of filling seats assigned for representatives from
backward areas is still under investigation, and the number of seats
so assigned should be regarded as provisional, pending final decision
as to the constitutional arrangements to be made in relation to such
areas.
WOMEN
(13) His Majesty's Government attach great importance to
securing that the new legislatures should contain at least a small
number of women members. They feel that at the outset, this object
•could not be achieved without creating a certain number of seats
specially allotted to women. They also feel it is essential that women
members should not be drawn disproportionately from one
community. They have been unable to find any system which would
avoid this risk, and would be consistent with the rest of the scheme
for representation which they have found it necessary to adopt, except
that of limiting the electorate for each special woman's seat TO voters
from one community, subject to the exception exp'ained in para. 24
below. Special women's seats have accordingly been specifically
divided, as explained in p<*ra. 24 below, between the various commu-
nities. The precise electoral machinery to be employed in these
special constituencies is still under consideration.
SPECIAL INTEREST
(14) Seats allotted to "Labour" will be filled trom non-communal
constituencies. Electoral arrangements have still to be determined,
but it is likely that, in most Provinces Labour constituencies
will be partly Trade Union and partly special constituencies, as
recommended by the Franchise Committee.
(15) Special seats allotted to Commerce and Industry, Mining
and Planting will be filled by election through Chamber of Commerce
and various Associations. Details of the electoral arrangements fo,.
these seats must await further investigation.
(16) Special seats allotted to Landholders will be filled by
election by special Landholders' constituencies.
(17) The method to be employed for election to University
seats is still under consideration.
(18) His Majesty's Government have found it impossible, in
determining these questions of representation in provincial
legislatures, to avoid entering into considerable detail. There
COMMUNAL QUESTION: PREMIER'S DECISION Ivii
remains nevertheless the determination of the constituencies. They
intend that this task should be undertaken in India as early as
possible.
It is possible, in some instances, delimitation of constituencies
might be materially improved by a slight variation from the number
of seats now given. His Majesty's Government reserve the right to
make such slight variations for such purpose, provided they will not
materially affect the essential balance between the communities. No
such variations will, however, be made in the case of Bengal and the
Punjab.
SECOND CHAMBERS
(19) The question of the composition of Second Chambers in
the Provinces has so far received comparatively little attention in the
•constitutional discussions and requires further consideration before a
decision is reached which Provinces shall have a Second Chamber or
& scheme is drawn i p for their composition.
His Majesty's Government consider that the composition of the
Upper House in a Province should be such as not to disturb, in any
essential, the balance between the communities resulting from the
composition of the Lower House.
(20) His Majesty's Government do rot propose at present to
enter .into the question of size and composition of ihe Legislature at
the centre, since this involves, among other questions, that of
representation of Indian States, which still needs further discussion.
They will, of course, when considering the composition, pay full
regard to the claims U all communities for adequate representation
therein.
SEPARATION OF SIND
(21) His Majesty's Government have already accepted " the
recommendation that Sind should be constituted a separate Province,
ii satisfactory means of financing it can be found. As the financial
problems involved still have to be reviewed in connection with other
problems of federal finance, His Majesty's Government have thought
it preferable to include, at this stage, figures for a legislature for the
existing Province of Bombay, in addition to the schemes for separate
legislatures for the Bombay Presidency proper and Sind.
(22) The figures given for Bihar and Orissa relate to the existing
Province. The question of constituting a separate Province of Orissa
is still under investigation.
(23) The inclusion, in para 24 below, of figures relating to the
legislature for the Central Provinces, including Berar, does not imply
that any decision has yet been reached regarding the future
constitutional position of Berar.
Iviii THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
(24) The following will be the allocation of seats in provincial
legislatures (Lower House only) :—
MADRAS
General seats (including six women) ... 134
Depressed Classes ... 18
Representative from Backward areas ... 1
Muslims (including one woman) ... 29
Indian Christians (including one woman) ... 9
Anglo-Indians ... 2
Europeans ... 3
Commerce and Industry, Mining and Planting. 6
Landholders ... 1
University ... I
Labour ... 6.
Total ... 210
BOMBAY
(INCLUDING SlND)
General seats (including five women) ... 97
Depressed Classes ... 10
Backward Areas ... 1
Muslims (including 1 woman) ... 63
Indian Christians ... a
Anglo-Indians ... 2
Europeans .„ 4
Commerce etc ... &
Landholders, ._ 3
University ... i
Labour ... 8
200
BENGAL
General seats (including 2 women) ... 80
Depressed Classes ... —
Muslims (including 2 women) ... 119
Indian Christians ... 2'
Anglo-Indians (including 1 woman) ... 4
Europeans .„ n
Commerce etc. ... jfr
Landholders ... 5
University ... 2
Labour ... 8
Total ... 250
COMMUNAL QUESTION: PREMIER'S DECISION lix
UNITED PROVINCES
General seats (including 4 women) ... 132
Depressed Classes ... 12
Muslims (including 2 women) ... 66
Indian Christians — 2
Anglo-Indians ... 1
Europeans .- 2
Commerce etc. ... 3
Landholders ... 6
University .~ 1
Labour ... 3
Total ... 228
PUNJAB
General seats (including one woman) ... 43
Sikhs (including 1 woman) ... 32
Muslims (including two women) ... 86
Indian Christians ... 2
Anglo-Indians ... 1
Europeans ... 1
Commerce etc. ... 1
Landholders ... 5
University ... 1
Labour ... 3
Total ... 175
BIHAR AND ORISSA
General seats (including 3 women) .. 99
Depressed Classes ... 7
Representatives from Backward Areas ... 8
Muslims (including 1 woman) ... 42
Indian Christians ._ 2
Anglo-Indians .. 1
Europeans .„ 2
Commerce etc. ... 4
Landholders ._ 5
University ... 1
Labour ... 4
Total ... 175
>lX THE HISTORY OF THE CONGEESS
CENTRAL PROVINCES
(INCLUDING BERAR)
General seats (including 3 women) .„ 77
Depressed Classes .. 10
Representative from Backward Areas ... 1
Muslims ... 14
Anglo-Indians ... 1
Europeans ... 1
Commerce etc. ... 2
* Landholders ... 3
University ... 1
Labour ... 2
Total ... 112
ASSAM
General seats (including one woman) ... 44
Depressed Classes ... 4
Representatives from Backward Areas ... 9
Muslims ... 34
Indian Christians ... 1
Europeans ... 1
Commerce etc. ... 1 1
Labour .^ 4
Total ... 108
NORTH-WEST FRONTIER PROVINCE
General seats .., 9
Sikhs ... 3
Muslims ... 36
Landholders ... 2
Total ... 50
COMMUNAL QUESTION: PREMIER'S DECISION hd
Seats are also allocated for Bombay without Sind and for Sind
as follows:—
BOMBAY WITHOUT SIND
General seats (including five women) ... 109
Depressed Classes ... 10
Representative from Backward Areas ... 1
Muslims (including one woman) ... 30
Indian Christians ... 3
Anglo-Indians ... 2
Europeans ... 3
Commerce etc. ... 7
Landholders ... 2
University ... 1
Labour ... 7
Total ... 175
SIND
General seats (including one woman) ... 19
Muslims (including one weman) ... 34
Europeans ... 2
Commerce etc ... 2
Landholders ... 2
Labour ... 1
Total ... 60
SPECIAL CONSTITUENCIES
As regards seats for Commerce and Industry, Mining and
Planting, it is stated that the composition of bodies through which elec-
tion of these seats will be conducted, though in most cases either predo-
minantly European or predominantly Indian, will not be statutorily
fixed. It is accordingly not possible in each Province to state with
certainty how many Europeans and Indians respectively will be
returned.
It is, however, expected that, initially, the numbers will be
approximately as follows: —
Madras: 4 Europeans and 2 Indians.
Bombay: (including Sind) : 5 Europeans and 3 Indians.
Bengal : 14 Europeans and 5 Indians.
United Provinces: 2 Europeans and 1 Indian,
Punjab: 1 Indian.
Bihar and Orissa; 2 Europeans and 2 Indians.
Central Provinces (including Berar); 1 European and 1 Indian .
Ixii THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Assam: 8 Europeans and 3 Indians.
Bombay (without Sind:) 4 Europeans and 3 Indians.
Sind: 1 European and 1 Indian.
As regards general seats allocated to Bombay, whether inclusive
or exclusive of Sind, it is stated seven of them will be reserved for
Mahrattas.
As regards allocation of seats for Depressed Classes in Bengal
this number, which will not exceed ten, has not yet been fixed.
The number of general seats will be thirty, less the number of
special Depressed Class seats.
As regards Landholders' s-ats in the Punjab, it is stated one of
these will be a • Zamindars ' seat. Four Landholders1 seats will be
filled from special constituencies with joint electorates. It is probable
from distribution of the electorate that the members returned will
be one Hindu, one Sikh and two Muslims.
As regards allocation of one woman's seat among general seats
in Assam, it is stated this will ba fill 2 d from a non-communal consti-
tuency at Shillong.
PREMIER'S EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
The text of the decison of His Majesty's Government regarding
certain Communal problems connected with the framing of the new
Indian Constitution has now reached India and is being published
simultaneously in both the countries.
On its publication, the Prime Minister has issued the following
statements;—
"Not only as the Prime Minister, but as a friend of India who has
for the last two years taken a special interest in the questions of
minorities I feel that I ought to add a word or two of explanation to the
extremely itnportart decision on communal representation that the
Government are announcing to-day.
We never wished to intervene in the communal controversies
of India. We nude that abundantly clear during both the sessions
of the R.T.C. when we strove hard to get Indians to settle this
matter between themselves. We have realised from the very first
that any decision that we may make is likely, to begin with at any
rate, to be criticised by every community purely from the point of
view of its own complete dem inds, but we believe that in the end
considerations of Indian needs will prevail and all communities will
see that their duty is to co-operate in working the new constitution
which is to give India a new place in the British Commonwealth of
Nations.
COMMUNAL QUESTION: PREMIER'S DECISION Ixiii
SETTLEMENT SUBJECT TO REVISION BY AGREEMENT
Our duty was plain. As the failure of the communities to agree
amongst themselves has placed an almost insurmountable obstacle
in the way of any constitutional development, it was incumbent
upon Government to take action in accordance, therefore, with the
pledges that I gave on behalf of the Government at the Round
Table Conference in response to repeated appeals from represen-
tative Indians and in accordance with the statement to British
Parliament and approved by it. Government are to-day publishing
a scheme ot representation in Provincial Assemblies that they intend
in due course to lay before Parliament unless in the meanwhile
the communities themselves agree upon a better plan.
We should be only too glad if, at any stage before the proposed
Bill becomes law, the communities can reach an agreement amongst
themselves. But guided by the past experience, Government are
convinced that no further negotiations will be of any advantage, and
they can be no party to them. They will, however, be ready and
willing to substitute for their scheme any scheme whether in respect
of any one or more of Governor's Provinces or in respect of the whole
of British India that is generally agreed and accepted by all the
parties affected.
THE CASE FOR SEPARATE ELECTORATES
In order to appreciate the Government's decision, it is necessary
10 remember the actual conditions in which it is being given. For
many years past, separate electorates, namely, the grouping of parti-
cular categories of voters in territorial constituencies by themselves
has been regarded by minority communities as an essential protection
for their rights. In each of the recent stages of constitutional deve-
lopment, separate electorates have consequentially found a place.
However much Government may have preferred a uniform system
of joint electorates, they found it impossible to abolish the safeguards
to which minorities still attach vital importance. It would serve no
purpose to examine the cause which in the past have led to thin state
of affairs. I am rather thinking of the future. I want to see the
greater and the smaller communities working together in peace and
amity so that there will be no further need for a special form of
protection. In the meantime, however, Government have to face
facts as they are, and must maintain this exceptional form of repre-
sen tation.
THE POSITION OF THE DEPRESSED CLASSES
There are two features of the decision to which I must allude.
One nas to do with the Depressed Classes and the other with the
representation of wbmen. Government would be quite unable to
ustify a scheme which omitted to provide what is really requisite for
either.
THE HISTORY OP THE CONGRESS
Our main object in the case of the Depressed Classes has been
while securing to them the spokesmen of their own choice in the
legislatures of the Province where they are found in large numbers, at
the same time to avoid electoral arrangements which would perpetuate
their segregation. Consequently, Depressed Class voters will vote in
general Hindu constituencies and an elected member in such a con-
stituency will be influenced by his responsibility to this section of the
electorate, but for the next 20 years there will also be a number of
special seats tilled from special Depressed Class electorates in the
areas where these voters chiefly prevail. The anomaly of giving certain
members ot the Depressed Classes two votes is abundantly justified
by the urgent need of securing that their claim should be effectively
expressed and the prospects ot improving their actual condition
promoted.
WOMEN'S RIGHTS.
As regards women voters, it has been widely recognised in recent
years that the women's movement in India holds one of the keys of
progress. It is not too much to say that India cannot reach the
position to which it aspires in the world until its women play their
due part as educated and influential citizens. There are undoubtedly
serious objections to extending to the representation of women the
communal method, but if seats are to be reserved for women as such
and woman members are to be fairly distributed among the commu-
nities, there is, in the existing circumstances, no alternative.
With this explanation, I commend the scheme to Indian Commu-
nities as a fair and honest attempt to hold the balance between the
conflicting claims in relation to the existing position in India. Let
them take it though it may not for the moment satisfy the full claims
of any of them as a workable plan for dealing with the question ot
representation in the next period of India's constitutional develop-
ment. Let them remember, when examining the scheme, that they
themselves failed when pressed again and again to produce to us
some plan which would give general satisfaction.
COMMUNAL CO-OPERATION AND CONDITION
OF PROGRESS.
In the end, only Indians themselves can settle this question.
The most that Government can hope for is that their decision wiH-
remove an obstacle from the path of constitutional advance and wiU
thus enable Indians to concentrate their attention upon solving the
many issues that still remain to be decided in the field of constitutional
advance. Let leaders of all Indian Communities show, at this critical
moment in India's constitutional development, their appreciation ot
fact that communal co-operation is a condition of progress and that is
their special duty to put upon themselves the responsibility of making
the new constitution work.
COMMUNAL QUESTION : PREMIER'S DECISION 1XV
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Appendix VII
THE INDO-BR1TISH TRADE AGREEMENT, 1935.
The text of the agreement signed yesterday, in I,ondon by Sir
Walter Runciman, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, in the
United Kingdom, and Sir B. N. Mitra, on behalf of the Government
of India, provides inter alia that when the question of the grant of
substantial protection to Indian Industry is referred for inquiry to the
Tariff Board, the Government of India will afford full opportunity to
any industry concerned in the United Kingdom to state its case and
. answer cases presented by other interested parties.
The Government of India further undertake that, in the event of1
any radical changes in the conditions affecting the protected industries
during the currency of the period of protection, they will, on the
request of His Majesty's Government, or on their own motion, cause
an enquiry to be made as to the appropriateness of the existing duties
from the point of view of the principles laid down in Article III and
that, in the course of such an enquiry, full consideration will be given,
to any representations which may be put forward by any interested
industry in the United Kingdom.
TEXT OF AGREEMENT.
New Delhi, Jan. 10, 1935.
The following is the Text of the Agreement signed yesterday in.
London by Sir Walter Runciman, on behalf of His Majesty's Govern-
ment in the United Kingdom, and Sir B. N. Mitra, on behalf of the
Government of India, as a supplement to the Ottawa Trade Agree-
ment.
PREAMBLE.
His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom and the
Government of India hereby agree that, during the continuance of
the Ottawa Trade Agreement, the following undertakings on the
part of His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom and of
the Government of India shall be deemed to be supplementary to
that Agreement namely :
Article 1 : It is recognised by His Majesty's Government in
the United Kingdom and the Government of India that, while pro-
tection to Indian Industry against imports of whatever origin may
be necessary in the interests of the economic well-being of India*
conditions within the industries in India, in the United Kingdom.
INDO-BRITISH TRADE AGREEMENT, 1935
.and in the foreign countries may be such that Indian Industry
requires a higher level of protection against foreign goods than
against the imports of United Kingdom origin.
Article 2 ; It is recognised by His Majesty's Government in the
United Kingdom that, under the existing conditions, the import duties
constitute an indispensable element in the revenues of the Government
of India, and that revenue considerations must be given due weight
*n fixing the levels of the import duties.
PRINCIPLES OF PROTECTION.
Articled: The Government of India undertake that protection
be aflbrded to such industries only as, after due enquiries by the
Tariff Board, have, in the opinion of the Government of India
established claims thereto, in accordance with the policy of discrimi-
nating protection laid down in the resolution adopted by the Legisla-
tive Assembly on February 16, 1923, provided that this under-
taking shall not apply to the safeguarding of the industries under
the Safeguarding Act of 1933.
2. The Government of India further undertake that the measure
of protection to be afforded shall only be so much as and no more than
•will equate the prices of the imported goods to fair selling price for
similar goods produced in India and that, wherever possible, having
regard to provisions of this Article, lower rates of duty will be imposed
on goods of United Kingdom origin.
3. Differential margins of duty established in accordance with the
principles laid down in the preceding clauses of this Article as
between the United Kingdom goods on the one hand, foreign goods
on the other, shall not be altered to the detriment of the United
Kingdom goods.
4. Undertakings contained in this Article shall not prejudice the
right of the Government of India in such cases in which they find is
essential in the interests of revenue to impose an overriding revenue
duty on the imported goods higher than the protective duty required.
INTERMEDIATE ENQUIRY.
Article 4 : When the question of the grant of substantive protec-
tion to the Indian Industry is referred for enquiry to the Tariff Board,
the Government of India will afford full opportunity to any industry
concerned in the United Kingdom to state its case and answer cases
presented by other interested parties^ The Government of India
further undertake that in the event of any radical changes in the
-conditions affecting the protected industries during the currency of the
period 'of protection, they will, on the request of His Majesty's Govern-
ment or of their own motion, cause an enquiry to be made as to the
Ixviii THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
appropriateness of the existing duties from the point of view of the
principles laid down in Article 3, and that, in the course of such-
enquiry, full consideration will be given to any representation which
may be put forward by any interested industry in the United
Kingdom.
Article 5 : His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom
will give consideration to the steps that might be taken in co-opera-
tion with the respective commercial interests to develop the import
from India of raw or semi-manufactured materials used in the manu' ,
facture of the articles of such class on which importation into India
are subject to the differential protective duties, hi particular, they
invite the Government of India to take note ot the steps that have
already been taken in the United Kingdom in pursuance of Article 8,
ot the Ottawa Agreement, with a view to widening the area 01 the
consumption of the Indian cotton, and they undertake to continue the
use of all possible efforts in co-operation with the commercial interests
to stimulate the consumption of Indian cotton in all possible ways,
including technical research, commercial i lives ligation, market liaison
and industrial propaganda.
Articles: His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom
undertake that, in accordance with the principles of the foregoing
article, the privilege oi duty-free entry ot Indian pig iron into
the United Kingdom will be continued so long as the duties
applicable to the Article on Iron and Steel imported into India are
not less favourable to the United Kingdom than those provided for in
the Iron and Steel Protection Act of 1934, without prejudice, however,
to the provisions in Sub-section 3 (4) and 3 (5) of the Indian Tariff
Act 1894 as amended by Section 2 of the Iron and Steel Duties Act
of 1934.
Article 7 : His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom and
the Government of India undertake that, in all matters relating to
this Agreement, they shall, at all times, receive and consider any con-
clusions, agreements or reports which may be framed as a result of the
conferences between the accredited representatives of the industries
concerned in the United Kindom and in India.
MODY-LEES AGREEMENT.
As an annexure to the supplement to the Ottawa Trade Agree-
ment, the Notes that were exchanged between Sir Walter Runciman,
President of the Board of Trade in England, and Sir B.N. Mitra, High
Commissioner for India in London, are published.
The first Note from Sir Walter Runciroan says :—
" Sir, I am authorised to undertake on behalf of H. M.'s Govern-
ment in the United Kingdom, that, if at any time, any further or other
INDO-BEITISH TRADE AGREEMENT., 1935
special steps are taken by the Colonies and Protectorates to facilitate
the sale of United Kingdom cotton goods in competition with foreign
cotton goods, they will invite the Governments of the Colonies and
protectorates to accord as favourable a treatment to Indian cotton
goods of any description, as may be proposed for similar United
Kingdom cotton goods. The above undertaking shall remain in force
so long as the Agreement of October 28, 1933, between the Lancashire
Delegation and the Mill-owner's Association, Bombay, or any subse-
quent agreement which may be concluded between the cotton textile
industries of the two countries remain in force".
Replying to Sir Walter Runciman's Note, Sir B. N. Mitra says :
"I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter number 1
of to-day's date. I am authorised to undertake, on behalf of the
Government of India, that, as soon as the second surcharge comes off
as a general measure, the tariff rates on the United Kindom cotton
piecegoods will be reduced to 20 per cent, ad valorem or three and a
half annas per pound on plain grey goods, and 20 per cent, ad valorem
on other goods, provided that, on the expiry of the period of the
Agreement of October 28, 1933, between the Lancashire Delegation and
Mill-owners' Association, Bombay, duties on United Kingdom goods
for the remaining period of protection will be fixed on a review of the
conditions then existing, and in the light of such experience as may
have been gained. By reference to the second surcharge coming off
as a general measure is meant the removal of the surcharge on a
reasonably large proportion of, not necessarily all, items now subject
to it. (Sd.) B. N. Mitra.
Acknowledging Sir B.N. Mitra's letter, Sir Walter Runciman
says : —
" I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter No. 2 of
to-day's date.— (Sd.) Runciman."
Appendix VII A
GUJRAT FLOODS
Before we closed the history of 1927, we owed it to Gujrat to
give a short account of the remarkable work done by Congressmen
in connection with the Gujrat floods that year. Towards the end of
July 1927 the Province of Gujrat in the Western India was visited by
a great natural catastrophe. Over fifty inches of rain fell in a sudden
downpour over a large portion of Gujrat within four or five days.
Whole villages were swept away,— cattle, cottages, belongings and
all. Thousands of people were rendered destitute, rich lands with
standing crops were covered with layers of sand several feet high,
district towns were marooned, Railway and Telegraph communica-
tions cut off and the city of Ahmedabad itself was threatened.
The outstanding feature of the catastrophe was the number of fallen
houses all over the Districts of Gujrat including the territory in the
Indian State of Baroda. At the lowest estimate no less than 4,000
•villages were affected. The percentage of fallen houses varied
between 50 and 60 to even 90.
The adversity made the people forget their social prejudices and
their narrow domestic pettinesses, and they rose to the occasion in
•one grand effort at mutual help under the able leadership of Sirdar
Vallabhbhai Patel who was then the Lord Mayor of Ahmedabad and
ithe President of the Gujrat Provincial Congress Committee. An
emergency relief organisation of nearly 2,000 workers sprang up as if
in a night's time and before the Government official world would
even realise the nature and extent of the disaster and take counsel at
the high quarters as to their duty by way of relief activities, the
Congress machine was working in full swing.
Though Gandhi was away in Mysore Stnte at the time recouping
his health after a sudden breakdown during one of his whirlwind
tours round the country, he offered to go to Gujrat but the proposal
was stoutly opposed by Sirdar Vallabhbhai who preferred his
province to give an occular demonstration of how the Mahatma's
teaching had leavened the social strata and had fired men with the
spirit of service.
Through one vast expanse of water the Congress workers and
volunteers carried provisions to the marooned villages as also to the
Government officials who were in the same plight. In the service of
the distressed they had no politics and no preferences. The District
Magistrate of Kaira was cut off from the world for days and gratefully
GUJRAT FLOODS Ixxi
accepted the Congress help in the shape of provisions and other
things sent by Sirdar Patel through special volunteers. The
Government machinery had broken down completely for a week or
so and while their officers at the head-quarters awaited reports from
their subordinates in the Districts and regarded certain areas as
unapproachable, the Congress organisation was busy distributing
relief and giving succour to the distressed in the farthest villages
affected. It was an unique demonstration of self-help and mutual
help by an intelligent resourceful populace charged with the Spirit of
Service.
But the extent of the disaster was beyond the power of any
popular non-official agency to cope with. The immediate relief by
way of distribution of tood and other things being over the problem
of resowing the entire crops, of reclaiming the valuable lands and
rehabilitating the homeless families faced both the people and the
Government. Valuable days were passing and the season tor
resowing would be lost. The Government hesitated and wavered.
They raised technical objections. It was again the intelligent public
opinion all over the Province of Gujrat under the inestimable
leadership of Sirdar Patel that compelled the unwilling Government
of Sir Leslie Wilson to declare their policy in time and to set
apart a sum of Rs. 1,54,00,000 (out of the Famine Insurance
Fund set apart from the general revenue by the Government) for
distributing relief to the cultivators and to the distressed by way
oi easy loans with which to purchase implements, bullocks, house
building materials and so on. The Provincial Congress Committee
in close co-operation with the Bombay Central Relief Committee
(another non-official body set up by the leading citizens of
Bombay in aid of distressed (Gujrat) distributed relief during the
following months throughout Gujrat and so efficient was the Congress
organisation that all other reliet distributing agencies including
Government themselves had to utilise it as their medium of
operation. Government however made the best of it and bouing
to the inevi liable, Sir C. V. Mehta, the then Finance Member
of the Government of Bombay, made graceful gesture at the Relief
Conference held at Anand as also at the Conference assembled at
Nad lad by inviting Sirdar Patel and other Congress workers to the
Conference and by accepting the Congress Agency for their
distribution of relief. Besides Government amounts, nearly
Rs. 3,00,000 were in all collected by the joint efforts of Congress and
the non-official bodies and distributed. The Government, the
Congress, the Baroda State and the various popular relief
organisations sprung into existence for the time being were thus ah
blended into one vast organisation for making a huge effort oi
reconstruction under the Congress lead for nearly a year. It gave
a splendid training to the Gujart youth and gave a new sense of
Ixxii THE HISTORY OF THE CONQBE8S
self-confidence and a new hope to the people of Gujrat. So happy
indeed was the new experience of all that the Finance Member while
introducing thejbudget during the ensuing session of the Bombay
Legislative Council ungrudgingly paid the following tribute, to the
Congress and its great leader Mahatma Gandhi :
"The immediate work of relief required courage, promptness
and resource. Bands of enthusiastic volunteers carried help to the
distressed and the stranded and in some cases prevented possible
loss of life, arranged for the conveyance ot food and clothing with
a cheerfulness and promptitude which excite admiration".
"Business absorbed Gujrat, till a few years ago, and it could
scarcely boast of self-sacrificing social public work. It must be an
intense satisfaction to Mahatma Gandhi that his labours for the
creation of a band of selfless workers to be poineers of missionary
social activities, particularly in the rural areas, have met with an ample
response and that the volunteers mostly drawn from the Vid>apith
should have acquitted themselves so creditably in the absence of their
beloved leader in the face of an uniorseen calamity. How the
mantle was at once taken up by Mr. Vallabhbhai Patel and with
what energy he carried out his pl«in of work is now well-known.
These workers belong to the old school of no-changers and it is
gratifying that they felt that this was no time to oppose or keep aloof
from Government
"It is my sincere hope that the atmosphere for missionary service
created by Mahatma Gandhi will he permanent"
The flood disaster was thus rightly regarded by many as a
blessing in disguise.
Appendix VIII
THE BIHAR EARTHQUAKE.
On the 15th of January 1934, large tracts of the Province of Bihar
were devastated by a severe earthquake which has been regarded by
reports as the greatest recorded in history both in the area affected
and the damage caused. The area of greatest destruction covered
not less than 30,000 Sqr» miles comprising large portions of the
Districts of Champaran, Muzafferpur, Darbhanga, Sarai, Monghyr,
Bhagalpur and Purnea. The population affected was no less than one
crore and fifty lakhs. The number of deaths was estimated at about
20,000, the number of houses damaged and destroyed over 10 lakhs,
number of wells and tanks damaged and destroyed nearly a lakh.
More thcin 8 lakhs of acres of fertile land were covered with sand
thrown out of fissures caused in the earth and vast tracts became
covered with water similarly thrown out% Rai Iways and roads were
destroyed extensively and for months traffic became difficult in many
parts.
Apart from Government measures, relief on an extensive scale
was organised by a non-official Committee, known as the Bihar
Central Relief Committee on which Congressmen very largely prepon-
derated. The brunt of the most arduous work of relief fell on
Congressmen who had been in prison in connection with the Civil
disobedience movement. The President of the Committee Babu
Rajendra Prasad made an announcement offering co-operation to
Government in the matter of relief work which was handsomely
acknowledged by the Government. The response to the Com-
mittee's appeal for funds was most spontaneous and generous. The
donations in cash amounted to nearly 29 lakhs of rupees besides
large quantfties of goods like blankets, wearing appaiels, cloth, rice,
flour, utensils, medicines, tea, invalid food, building materials, like
bamboos, timber, corrugated iron sheets, tarpaulins, hessians, tents
and other equipments valued at about three lakhs.
The distributions of relief was a most difficult affair in the absence
of any pre-existing organisation. The Committee appointed agents
in each District and centres were opened which ultimately came to
more than 250 in number. Help came from all parts of the country
not only in the form of money and goods but also in the form of
volunteers headed by Mahatma Gandhi and Seth Jamnalal Bajaj and
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the last named being soon disabled from
serving by imprisonment on a charge of sedition. The number of
volunteers in the period of intensest activity was over 2,000 and it
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
included Doctors, Engineers, expert accountants and auditors and
public workers of note.
The forms that provision of immediate relief took were the
removal of debris, disposal of dead bodies, supply of food, clothing,
temporary shelter, water and medical help. One form of immediate
relief was the supply of sugar cane crushers to enable agriculturists to
save the vast sugar cane crop which would have been destroyed
owing to more of the sugar factories having been put out of action by
the earthquake. In this work of immediate relief the Committee
distributed over seven thousand maunds of grain, Rs. 20,000-cash for
food, 28,000 blankets, immense quantity of clothing, desilted more
than two thousand wells, sank, 339 tubes and erected or helped in
erecting over 72,000 shelters of huts. The total expenditure under
these heads came to over a lakh and ninety thousands besides the
value of the goods distributed.
The work of reconstruction was taken towards the end of March
and the first item was the question of supply of water. The Commit-
tee succeeded in sinking nearly 7,000 wells and re-excavating nearly
700 tanks. It had decided at an early stage not to encourage
begging and had insisted on some sort of work being done for giving
food and large numbers were employed in repairing village roads
and re-excavating water channels and repairing embankments
which had been damaged by the earthquake, and the Committee
spent nearly a lakh ot rupees in the form ot unemployment relief.
The number of persons who received doles in this form in
Champaran alone which was the worst affected in this respect
came to over a lakh.
In July and August the lands which had suffered severely from
the earthquake and also lar^e areas which has comparatively escaped
much damage from the earthquake were subjected to heavy floods
and the damage done was more or less of the same character as
by the earthquake except that in some cases it was worse. The
work of rescue and relief kept the organisation engaged till after
October and a special form of relief which became even more
urgent was the relief to cattle, all crops and fodder having been
destroyed in vast tracts. The Committee had provided for nearly 150
boats for rescue work, 100 of which were placed at the disposal of
the Government.
It was during and after the winter 1934—35 that the Committee
took up the work of distributing relief on an extensive scale for
building houses and has distributed nearly eight lakhs for this purpose
besides a sum of nearly three lakhs spent on huts and semi per-
manent structures which included small grants to poorer people to
set up small huts and structures. The amount spent ou water supply
THE BIHAB EARTHQUAKE IxXV
comes to more than five lakhs, 35 thousands on flood relief over 2£
lakhs, cattle relief over 75 thousands including nearly Rs. 49,000
earmarked by donors for the purpose, nearly 38,000 for medical relief,
36,000 on seeds. Another form of relief was the opening of
cheap grain shops and cheap building materials shops which sold
food grains and building materials to sufferers at reduced or cost
prices and succeeded in keeping down the level of prices which
showed a great tendency to rise.
A n interesting item of work which is in hand is the rebuilding
of a number of villages on new sites in the District of Muzafferpur.
The work is being done from the funds contributed by the Viceroy's
Relief Fund and the Bihar Central Relief Committee Funds and is
being executed under the supervision of Dr. Pierre Ceresole who is
the head of the international Voluntary Service for peace assisted by
local workers.
One problem which at one time threatened to be most difficult
and disastrous of all has been fortunately solved to a considerable
extent by nature. The immense quantity of sand thrown out has not
proved to be as destructive of crops as was feared and the greater
portion of the area covered under it has borne crops. The work of
the Committee is now drawing to a close, and its funds are nearly
exhausted except what is allotted for particular purposes. Its
accounts and reports have been published every quarter.
INDEX
Abanindranath Tagore, 251
Abdul Gafur Khan, 709, 850, 851, 866, 867, 939, 965,
969
Abdul Rashid, 517
Abdur Rahaman, 503
Abhayankar M. V. 495
Abkari, 130
Abyssinian War, 128
Adam John, 18
A damson — Sir Harvey, 56
Address, (to Graduates of the Calcutta University)
Hume's 11
Afghan War 10, 14
Against Council Boycott, Bengal and Maharashtra, 613
Aga Khan, H. H. 73
Agarkar G. G., 27
Agrarian Riots (Deccan), 11
Agricultural Banks, 61, 62
Ajit Singh Sardar, 114, 172
Akali Dal, 443
Albert Hall, 15
Alexander H. G., 714
Ali Brothers 225, 264, 310, 336, 359, 365 to 367, 395,
397, 451
Ali Imam, Sir. 873'
All India Congress Committee, 43
Home Rule League, 92
Khaddar Board, 443
Muslim League, 43, 125
National Union, 22
Spinners' Association, 608
Tilak Memorial Fund, 349, 356
Village Industries Association — Formation, 993,
994
„ Working Committee, 686
All Parties' Conference, 408, 466, 546, 551, 553, 557, 565,
598 (Meeting of 16-11-29) 646
Ambalal Desai, 113
Ambalal Sarabhai, 244
Ambica Charan Mazumdar 15, 101, 185, 186, 215, 246,
260, 425
Ixxviii THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Ambedkar Dr., 900, 907
Amarcndranath Chatter jec, 511
Amir of Afghanistan 14
Ampthill, ^ 119
Amrit Kaur, 698
Amritalal Thakkar, 903, 904
Anandaoharlu, 27, 97, 142
Ananda Mohan Bose 14, 15, 20, 50, 100, 155, 175, 176
Anasuya Ben 241 to 244
Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 112
Andamans, 583
Andhra Congress Circle — Formation of 250
Andhra Congress Province, 93
Andrews C. F., 290, 292, 293, 299, 308, 331, 332, 352,
377, 437, 447, 463
Aney M. S., 509, 764, 933, 935, 939, 941, 945, 964, 966,
968, 970, 996, 1009
Annapurnay y a , 586
Annexation of States, 8
Announcement of August 20th, 1917, 44
Ansari Dr., 320, 400, 410, 431, 504, 538, 547, 817, 934,
950, 952, 956
Anstey Chesholm, 173
Anugrah Bahu, 234
Apte W. S., 27
Argylle, Duke of 135
Arjunlal Seth, 249
Arms' Act, 10, 51, 107, 208, 328
Army Amalgamation Scheme, 53, 54
Arundale, 127, 216, 221. 22?,
Arya Samaj, 20, 21
Babu Ganno, 700
Bagelkhand, 893
Baijnath Lala, of Agra 26
Baikuntanath Sen, 185, 246, 247
Brailsford, 687, 706, 708
Bajaj, Jamanlal 356, 363, 408, 410, 430, 431, 433, 784,
810, 960
Bajpai G. S., 436
Bakshi Sohanlal, 358
Baldwin, 597
Balfour, Arthur on Ireland 64
Bande Mataram, 116, 186
INDEX
Banerjee, Gurudoss 114
„ Saroda Charan, 31, 181, 182
Bannon, Capt. 84, 137
Baptista, Joseph, 206, 253, 303
Bardoli and Borsad, 701
Bardoli No-Tax Campaign 548, 549, 551
„ Development*, 794, 795
Barisal, 762
Behar Earthquake, 949, 950, 1013
Benares College, 21
Bemirsidas Chaturvedi, 471
Bengal (C. D.), 704
„ International differences, 610
„ National League, 57
„ Province (1910), 41
„ Tenancy Act, 234, 236
Benn, 573, 601, 617, 833
Benthalls's Circular 872-874
Bentinck, Lord William, 7, 17
Bepin Chandra Pal, 114, 116, 140, 185, 186, 252, 254,
295, 343, 348
Berlin (Students' Information Bureau), 584
Bernard Houghton, 248
Besant Mrs., 21, 26, 44, 92, 103, 109, 124, 126, 127, 151,
159, 170, 193, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 211, 212,
213, 214, 216, 218, 220, 221, 222, 223, 226, 232,
233, 234, 243, 247, 248, 251, 266, 269, 273, 291,
292, 296, 297, 298, 299, 3C;3, 305, 325, 332, 344,
346, 430, 475, 476, 510, 535, 541, 593, 647, 1019
Bhagat Singh and Dutt 582, 745, 767, 768, 770, 783
Bhagawandas Lala Malik 193
Bhagawandas Dr. 762
Bhaktavatsalam, M. 604
Bhandarkar, R.G. 26
Bhashyam lyengar, Sir V. 185
Bhopal, Nawab of 905
Bhulabhai Desai 839, 846, 850, 952, 998, 1001, 1002
Bhupendranath Basu 74, 104, 186, to 188, 194, 222, 245,
246, 257, 260
Bhupendra Nath Dutta 117, 121
Bihar 706
Bihar and Orissa, (1912) 41, 91, 118, 120
Birkenhead, Lord 478, 479, 482, 485, 486, 488, 506,
514, 535, 536, 597
1XXX THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Birla 903, 904
Bishan Narayandhar 73, 118, 189, 190, 216
Blackett, Sir 486>
Bloomfield 550
Boer Republics 77
Boer War 53, 64, 258
Bombay Association 13
Bombay Chronicle 292
Bombay Lathi-charge 697, 698
Bomb outrage 607
Bombay Presidency Association 16
Bombay Riots 394
Bonar Law 227
Bonerjee, W. C. 22, 27, 97, 142, 155, 156
Booth, General 136
Borsad Satyagraha 412
Bosworth Smith 281, 284, 288, 289
Boycott of British goods 70
Boycott movement 70, 141, 687
Brahmo Samaj 21
Brahmo Samaj (Sadharan) 20
„ (of Bengal) 20
Bright, John, 25, 128
Brij Kishore Babu 234, 431
British Congress Committee 132, 158
„ Parliament 5, 6
„ Soldier, increase in pay of 52
„ War office 54
Brodrick 119
Buckingham .' 18
Budge Budge 81, 584
Bupesh Chandra Nag 116
Burke, Edmund 6, 113
Burma Upper (annexation of) 28
„ (separation of) 86
Burn Circular 73
Burnham, Lord 546
Byomakesh Chakravarti 604
Cadet Corps 53
Caine, W. Sv 83, 132, 135, 160
Calcutta Journal 18*
Calcutta, Seat of Government shifted from 119>
INDEX
Calcutta Communal Riots 512
Canning, Lord 61, 136
Canadian Privy Councils order in continuous journey
clause 80
Canal Colonization Bill 114
Captain 293
Cape Town Conference 525, 527
Carson, Lord 479
Cawnpore riots 770
Chaganlal Gandhi 242
Chakravarti, B . 275, 338
Chamberlain, Austin, 44
Chambers, W. A. Ill
Champaran, (C. D.) 706
Satyagraha 237; 238
Chanchayya, P. 295
Chandavarkar, N. G. 27, 104, 150, 179, 185, 202,
256, 294
Charles Teggart, Sir 578
Charter (1793, 1813, 1833, 1853) 5, 6, 7
Charter Act 18
Chaudhuri, A. 104
Chauri Chaura 397, 407
Chelmsford, Lord 229, 232, 233, 234, 252, 254, 265,
290, 306, 309, 321, 332, 403, 836
Chelmsford, Lord, verdict on Minto Morley Reforms
40, 103, 104, 223
China 53
Chintamani, C. Y. 66, 184, 352
Chiplonkar, S. H. 13, 24
Chirol, Sir V. 258, 266, 296, 303
Chittagong (raid) 701
Chittaranjan Das 246, 257, 275, 299, 300, 303, 304,
305, 306, 337, 343, 347, 348, 349, 355 to 357,
373, 374, 376, 378, 379, 410, 415, 421, 423,
424, 425, 426, 430, 451, 452, 454, 457, 466, 473,
476, 477, 479, 480, 482, 486, 487, 488, 490, 491,
493, 495, 507, 511, 516, 705
(anniversary)
Chittaranjan, Mrs. 611
Chothafci, Seth ' 410
Chowkidar Tax . 706
Chunilal Mehta, Sir 900
IxXXli THE HISTORY OP THE CONGRESS
Churchill 437, 1019'
Circular, Bengal Government's (1890) 109
Civil Control over Military 35
Civil Service (Competitive Examination for) 9, 47
„ (Age raised to ) 14
Marriage Act (1872) 20
Civil Disobedience Committee 411, 413, 414, 415, 443
Clarke, Dr. 133
Class Areas Bill in S. A. 472, 525
Clergyman's Message to MacDonald 669
Coinage Act (1893) 146
Colvin, Sir Auckland 10, 15, 60, 107, 156
Complete independance 605
Commerce and Industries 64
Commonwealth of India Bill 475
Communal Representation 71
„ question 607, 807 to 810
(Working Committee's Statement)
Commonweal 212, 220, 221
Comrade 265
Congress Constitution revised (1935) 995
Congress Democratic party 611
Congress League Scheme 44
, Ultimatum 558
Connought, Duke 54, 351, 353, 375
Connemara, Lord 107
Constantinople, Ball in 136
Constitutional changes 36
Constitution, Congress 86
Cooch Bchar, Maharaja of 20
Cooper's Hill College 50
Cotton, Sir Henry 102, 137, 194, 207
Cotton Import Duties (1877) 14
Couch, Sir Richard 58
Council Boycott Resolution 442
Council of State 45
„ (of Secretary of India, abolition of) 28-34
„ (of Secretary of India, appointment of Indians)
38
Council Reform 36
Cousins, M. E. 253
Creed of Congress — change of Sreenivas lyangar 610
Crew, Lord lift
INDEX Ixxxiii
Criminal Law Amendment Act 117, 120, 268, 354, 373,
374, 447
Cross, Lord, Act of Council Reform of (1892) 37, 56,
57, 133
Currie, Major 358
Curzon, Lord 53, 61, 72, 97, 105, 111, 112, 113, 118,
119, 148, 149, 168, 182, 189, 193
Curtis' Scheme 256
Curzon Willy, Sir 118
Customs Duties (Reimposition of) 51
Dadablmi Naoroji 13, 27, 56, 89, 102, 114, 138, 139,
140, to 142, 155, 156, 160, 161, 194, 248, 442
Dalhousie, Lord 25
Damodar Hari Chapckar 160
Das, S. R. 105, 613
Dayananda Saraswati 21
Day, Earnest 451, 464
Deccan Ryot 131
Decentralize the Work of the Congress 608
Declaration, Independance day 615
Defence of India Act 217, 218, 249, 254, 264, 265, 268
Realm Act 217, 264, 332
Delhi Congress (1918) 46
(1932) 895
Delhi, Seat of Government shifted to 119
Demands unsatisfied (till 1918) 93
Deputation to London (1917) 222
Dispatch of August 25, (1911) 120, 126
Deshpande, G. B. 431, 934
Devar Babu 412
Diamond Jubilee (Her Majesty's, 1897) 50
Dinanath 446
Dodkins, Lieut. 284
Dominion Status, Viceroy's Statement on 593, 601, 602
„ Conception of 596, 613
Dorothy Jinarajadasa 253
Dowton, Captain 287, 288
Doraswami lyengar, C. 474
Drink and Prostitution 82
Dufferin, Marquis of 22, 23, 56, 107, 156
Durbar, (Delhi) 10, 14
Dutt, R. C. » , 160, 161, 191
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Dutta, A. K. 443
Dyarchy 45, 46
Dyer, General 279, 281, 288, 290, 300, 301, 309, 311,
334, 338, 354, 446
Earnest Hotson, Sir 815
East Africa 590
East African Committee 471
Eastern Bengal and Assam 72
East India Association 13
East India Company 5, 6, 8, 18, 154
Edinburgh ' Duke of, presents to Indian Princes 128
Educational Committee (Hogg's) 573
„ Service 49
Edward VII 52, 85
Elphinstone Land and Press Co. 136
Elgin, Lord , 77, 175
Elliot, Sir Charles 69
Emerson 731, 733, 744, 745, 875
Emperor of Delhi 8
English Education 7
English rule contrasted with Muslim rule 65
Enquiry into obnoxious measures in N. W. F. Province
615
Epic Fast by Pyarelal 899
Excise Bill 145
Excise Commission (1883) 83
„ Duty 65, 121
Executive Councils in India, appointment of Indians to
the 38
Executive Councils in India, appointment of Indians to
the, (Madras and Bombay) 40
Executive Councils in India, appointment of Indians to
the, (Bengal, 1910) 41
Executive Councils, Governor General's, — Indian
appointed (1909) 40
Executive Councils, Bombay and Madras, Place demand-
ed for Indians (1896-97) 50
Famines 61
„ (Insurance Fund) 62
„ Commission . • ' 61
Fawcett ' J , • ' , • 128
INDEX 1XXXV
Fazl-ul-Haq ' 247, 300
Feetham Commission ' 264
Federal Structure Committee 30
Finlay, Lord 338, 446
Firing on the Punjab Governor 705
Flag-hoisting day 699
Flag of Complete Independance 609
Foreign Cloth Boycott Committee 576
Forest Department 60
Forest Laws 10, 62, 63, 67
Forest Satyagraha (C.P.) 702
Fox 6
Franchise different for different Communities 72
Free and Federal Empire 120
Free Trade 67
Fuller, Sir. Bamfylde 113, 116
Fundamental rights 46, 779 to 782
(Congress resolution)
Oandhi 30, 77, 78, 79, 97, 152, 165, 171, 203, 210, 214
to 217, 233, 234, 237 to 245, 250, 254, 255, 268,
272 to 275, 278, 289, 291 to 295, 299, 300, 304,
306, 307, 320, 322 to 324, 330 to 332, 334 to
337, 340, 341, 343, 346 to 349, 355. 356, 359,
363, 368, 372, 379, 383 to 393, 397, 398, 399,
401, 402, 406 to 410, 421, 423, 425, 441, 447,
451, 452, 454, 457, 458, 460 to 463, 465 to 467,
470, 475 to 482, 486 to 492, 495, 498, 504,
512, 516, 517, 524, 527, 528, 534, 535, 541, 547,
548, 561, 564, 566, 567, 576, 577, 588, 589, 598,
599, 610, 613, 614, 619, 620, 624 to 630. 637,
639, 642, 643, 647, 648, 649, 650, 651, 652, 654,
656, 659 to 662, 669, 671, 673, 677, 678 to 682,
710 to 714, 717, 718, 723 to 731, 733, to 737,
746 to 758, 764 to 769, 773, 778 782, 784, 787,
788, 789, 791, 795, 796, 804, 806, 811, 814 to
819, 821 to 823, 826 to 839, 841, 842, 850, 851,
857 to 859, 866, 867, 872, 873, 875 to 877, 885,
936, 937, 942, 943, 945, 946, 950, 952, 957, 958,
960, 961, 966, 970, 983, 990, 992, 1013, 1020,
1023, 1025, 1030, 1034, 1036
Gandhi's Ashram 152
„ Breaking Salt Law . 656
IxxXVi THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Gandhi Day 699
Gandhi (decides his course re-fast) 897
„ (declines any conditions of release) 899
(breaks fast) 902
Gandhi, Devidas 430, 441, 850
Gandhi's Eleven Points 619
Gandhi-Emerson correspondence 796 to 804, 823 to 825
(on arbitration Board)
Gandhi's Harijan fast 937
Gandhi's Interview on his fast 923 to 928
Gandhi-Irwin Agreement 738 to 741, 744
Gandhi's Letter to Lord Irwin 630
Gandhi's Letter to Bombay Government (Depressed
Classes) 920 to 923
Gandhi-MacDonald correspondence (Depressed Classes)
908, 917 to 920
Gandhi's Letter to S. 0. S. 896
March 638, 640
„ Speech at the Minorities Committee 906
„ Statement on Satyagraha 953 to 956
„ „ withdrawing from Congress 972
to 982
„ suspending C. D. 938
„ on fasts 902
Gandhi-Willingdon correspondence (on return from
England) 860 to 866, 869 to 872
Ganesh Shankar Vidyardhi 770, 771
Ganga Prasad Varma 27, 184
Ganga Singh Kambhoj 696
Garth, Sir Richard 160
George Hamilton, Lord 77
George, King 85, 353
Gidwani 450
Gladstone 121, 133, 134
Goal (of British Policy) 592
Gokarnath Misra 604
Gokhale 115, 117, 118, 140, 143, 146 to 152, 155, 159, 160,
161, 165, 166, 173, 179, 202 to 207, 211, 212
„ on Passive Resistance 79, 82
(Speech on I. C. S. 5th Congress) 48, 105
Gokuldas Tejpfll Sanskrit College 26, 27
Gold Bill 146
Gopalkrishnaiah, D. 369^
INDEX bcxxvii
Gopal Menem 371, 530
Gopinathpur 705
Gorak Babu 234
Goswami, T. C. 507
Gour, Dr. 113, 474
Gordon, R. G. 839, 840
Government Circular 28, 59
„ Regarding Education 129
Government Communique on suspension of C. D. 941
Govindaraghava lyyer, L. A. 294
Govinda Vallabh Pant 842
Grahampole, Major 253
Gulbarga riots 505
Gulzarilal Nanda 244
Guntur-No-Tax Campaign 391
Gupta, Sir K. G. 222
Gurukabag affair 413, 414, 422, 447
Gurudutt Singh 81, 386, 446, 447
Gurudwara Bill 445, 505
Gurukula 21
Guruvayoor Referendum 948
Habeas Corpus 59
Habibul-ul-lah, Sir. M. 103, 526
Hamdard 265
Hakim Ajmail Khan 266, 376, 378, 410
Haig 901
Haig's Statement in Assembly on Gandhi's representa-
tion 906
Hansraj 279
Hansa Mehta, Sreemathi 698
Hardinge, Lord 119, 121, 207, 403
Harisarvothama Rao, G. 117
Hardikar N. S. 807
Harijan Sevak Sangh 903
Harkishen Lai 353
Hassan Imam 45, 105, 260, 295
Hassain Yakub 357, 371, 385
Hastings, Lord 18
Hastings, Warren 6
Healy 698
Hearsay, Capt. 8, 4, 135
Heartzog-General i 525, 526
IxXXviii THE HISTORY OP THE CONGRESS
Herschell Commission 146
Hewett, Sir John 73
Higher Ranks of Army closed to Indians 54
Hilton Young Commission (currency and exchange) 512
Hindu, The 13, 152, 221, 226
Hinduism, superstitions in 21
Hindu-Muslim Concordat 44
Hindu-Muslim Unity 31
Hindusthan Seva Dal 507, 530, 585
Hindu University 171
History of Excise and Import duties 621 to 623
History of Salt 626, 627
Hizle (Bengal) Detenues 849
-Holmes 504
Home Charges 144
Home Rule 44
Home Rule League 126
Home Rule League (Maharashtra) 93
Homiman, B. G. 292, 296, 310, 351, 504, 534
Horniman, Headed Press Deputation 124
Hotchner, Mr. and Mrs. 226
House of Commons, Direct Representation to the (1904)
38
Hotson 698
Hubert Carr, Sir 832
Hudson, General 280
Hunger-strike Bill 587
Hume 9 to 11, 16, 23, 25, 27, 97, 107, 108, 128 to 130,
132, 135, 167, 831
Hunter Commission 46, 279, 281, 288, 290, 299, 300,
301, 308, 324, 330, 333, 334, 338, 339
Hunter, Sir William . 153, 160
Hussan Ahmed 365
Ilbert Bill 14
Ilbert, Mr. 15
Immigration Act 80
Imperial Conference (1923) 471, 527 (1918), 514
Imperial Legislative elected Element 43
Income per head— England, France, Germany and India
69
Income Tax Act 107
Indemnity Bill ( ^ 290, 291
INDEX
Indentured Labour 80
India 87, 88, 245
Indian Association 14
Indians Abroad 76
India Council 34, 40, 135, 152
Indian Christians only admitted as volunteers 55
Indian Civil Service — (age limit raised from 19 to 23)
48
Indian (abolition of) Committee — (1861) 47
Indian (abolition of) Councils' Act (1892) 32
Indian Mutiny 19
Indian National Union 16, 24
Indian States Commission 573, 606
Indian Telegraph Union . 26
Indian Union 16
Individual C. D. (defined) 399
Industrial Commission 268
International Exhibition 16
Interpellation 38
Interpellation, short preface 38
Irwin Lord 39, 512, 513, 532, 534, 535, 542, 553, 556,
573, 599, 617, 618, 637, 680, 714, 715, 729, 745,
746, 764, 787, 792, 794, 815, 817, 835, 849, 875
Irwin, Lord's announcement 590, 591
Jackson 118, 531
Jagannath Sanker Seth 13
Jairamdas Doulatram 576, 659, 713, 714
Jalianwallah Bagh 46, 97, 278, 300, 404
James Fitz Stephens, Sir 148
Jambulinga Mudaliar 104
Jamnadas Dwarakadas 292
Jardine, John 194
Jatindas 604
Jawharlal Nehru 299, 422, 429, 431, 432, 493, 499, 529,
541, 543, 552, 556, 560, 561, 565, 588, 589, 600
602, 608, 610, 646, 681, 711 to 713, 718, 779.
822, 842, 851, 866, 867, 876, 940, 946, 950 951 r
965, 987
Jayakar, M. R. 300, 389, 495 to 497, 503, 509, 510, 514,
518, 523, 711, 712, 713, 735, 814, 815, 818, 821.
837, 873, 900
Jenkins, Sir Lawrwence 123
XC THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Jinnah, M. A. 187, 188, 194, 216, 221, 348, 389, 392,
565, 566, 599, 1000, 1001, 1009
Jitendralal Banerjee 247, 347
Joint Manifesto 598
John Seurr 253
Johnson, Colonel 281, 283, 284, 287, 354
Joseph, George 443
J. P. C. Report §9
Joshi, M.. Sir 510
Kadimbini Ganguli, Mrs. 193
Kaira Satyagraha 238, 239
Kakori Case 504
Kamala Nehru Mrs. 507, 698
Karachi Session of Congress (1913) 35, 74, 80
Karnataka 93
Kasi _69
Kasturi Ranga lyengar 221, 226, 410, 442
Keir Hardy 133, 207
Kelappan's fast 931, 932, 948
Kelkar, K C. 64, 111, 291, 295, 303, 359, 495, 496, 497,
503, 509, 518, 530
Kcmal Pasha 386, 425
Kennedies 1 1 7
Kerala 93
Kesava Pillai P. 185
Keshab Chandra Sen 19, 20, 83
Khaparde, G. S. 64, 216, 295, 298, 299, 345, 348
Kharandikar R. P. 64
Khare D. A. Mr. 183, 216, 495
Khaparde B. G. 495
Khaitan, Rev. 700
Khan Saheb Dr. 850
Kharak Singh, Sardar 446
Khartar Singh Bhai 445
Khitish Babu 548
Khudiram Bose 117
Kimberley, Lord 57
King's Coronation (1911) 119
Kingsford 117
Kitchlew Dr. 276, 307, 365, 374, 450, 934
Kitchner Lord (Army re-organisation scheme) 53, 54
Knight, Holford 133, 346, 348
INDEX XCi
Kohat Riots 465, 469, 474
Komagatamaru 81, 386, 446
Kripalni, Prof. 234
Krishna Das 374
Krishti& Kumar Mitra 116
Krishna Murti, Jiddu 202
Krishna Nair, Sir M. 103
Krishnaswami Tycr V. 102, 103
Kumaraswami Sastry 266
Kunzru Haridayanatli 167
Labour Association, Ahmcdabad 245
Lnhiri B. K. 247, 604
Lajapat Rai, 21, 68, 70, 140, 162, 172. 173, 188, 194,
203, 308, 338, 347 to 349, 357, 359, 373, 374, 399
Lala Harikishen Lai 290
Lai Mohan Ghosc 97, 172, 177
Lancashire 65
Land Revenue 10, 60
Lnndsdown Lord 37
Lansbury 298, 597
Lawley, Sir Arthur 102
Lawrence, Pethwick 133, 518
Lahore Conspiracy Case 582, 586
Lahore Prisoners 595
Lahore Trial Ordinance 587
Legal and Judicial Problems 55
Legislative Councils 19
Lionel Curtis 257, 258, 259
Lloyd, Lord 413
Local Self-Government 14
Loka Sangraha 22
London Conference 596
Lothian Committee 896
Lucknow Congress (1916) and Congress League Scheme
43
Lytton, Lord 8, 9, 11, 14, 121, 128, 132, 134, 150, 473
531
Macaulay 7
MacDonald, Ramsay 133, 190, 478, 536, 573, 617, 620,
718, 896 (communal decision by), 897
Macdonnel, Sir A. 219
XC11 THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Macedonia • 122
Mac Swiney 350, 587, 590
Madanjit 77
Madanlal Dinghra 118
Madan Mohan Malaviya 46, 65, 66, 67, 118, 140, 169,
170, 203, 222, 245, 266, 268, 291, 293, 299, 300,
304, 348, 359, 375, 395 (Conference), 410, 447,
503, 513, 593, 599, 621 to 623, 671, 698, 719,
804, 805, 817, 818, 873, 900, 903, 935, 960, 966,
5* " ' r' 968, 996
Madhavan Nair 371
Madhava Rao, V. P. 295
Madras Irrigation Co. 136-
Madras 398 (scenes on the 13th Jan. 1922)
Magna Carta 59
Mahajana Sabha (Madras) 16
Mahomed Ali 31, 122, 123, 248, 265, 310, 320, 322,
365, 367, 368, 374, 439, 441, 465, 517, 566
Maharaja of Betiah 234
Maharaja of Bikaner 231, 699
Maharaja of Burdwan 104
Maharaja of Kutch 105
Mahendranath, Dr. 339
Mahesh Narayan 250
Main Liquor Law 83
Mitra, H. C. , 202
Malabari, B. M. 27
Malcolm Hailey, Sir 259; 358, 453, 804, 842
Malvi Tubhuvandas 162, 163
Mangaldas Nathubhai 13
Mangal Singh, Sirdar 586
Mani Ben 698
Manifestoes (of leaders in 1928) 593
Manifesto, Delhi ..601
Man Mohan Gosh 57, 97, 176
Manoranjan Guha, Thakurta 116
Markby Sir William j. 58
Marriageble age of girls 20
Martial Law 404
Martial Law (Sholapur) 694
Martial Law (Punjab) 46, 185
Martial Law (Prisoners) 595
Max Muller ' 160
Maxton , ' 133'
INDEX
Maxwell 550
Mayo 131
Mazrul Hague 187, 188, 194, 216, 367
MoPherson— Testimony 448
Meghan Ram Pandit on Forest Laws (Punjab) 63
Mehta Jemshed, N. R. 767
Mehtab Singh, Sirdar Bahadur 445
Memorial in London, (4,000 sent to Lord Mayor) 62
Meston Sir James 219, 231, 257, 258, 259
Metcalfe, Charles 8, 10, 19, 121
Michael O'Dwyer, Sir 185, 224, 276, 281, 292, 309r
324, 341, 383
Middleton .. 119
Military Colleges 51, 52
Military problem 51
Milner, Major 1019
Minto, Lord 39, 72, 97, 104, 115, 118, 119, 150, 151,
169, 186, 220
Mitter Provosh Chander, Sir 105, 266
Moghul Emperor 18
Mohanlal Pandya . 239, 240.
Moideen Koya 371
Monghyr 706
Montague 40, 44, 45, 76, 84, 103, 222, 225, 226, 227, 228,
229, 232, 233, 234, 248, 252, 256, 257, 259, 29*,
299, 304, 305, 333, 334, 338, 476
Montague-Chelmsford Report 255, 266
Montgomery 7W*
Montford Scheme 233, 375
Monuments Preservation Act, Ancient 149
Moonjee 76, 400, 495 to 407, 503, 509
Moplah Outrages Act, (Rebellion) 370, 498
Morgan Brown 136
Morley, Joha 39, 40, 104, 118, 119, 151
Morley-Minto Reforms 38, 71, 118, 188
Mota Singh 447, 586
Motilal Ghosh 422, 425
Motilal Nehru 213, 257, 299, 300, 310, 348, 349, 363,.
373, 393, 410, 415, 421, 424, 426, 448, 452, 453,
454, 457, 466v 473> 474, 479, 481, 482r 483, 485,
486, 490, 495, 496, 497, 503, 506, 507, 609, 5H>r
511, 513, 514, 518, 522, 530, 531, 536» 546, 543,'
553, 556, 564, 567, 588r 589, 599, 683, 686, 6»,
711, 712, 718, 719, 723 to 726
o
XdV THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Muddiman, A. Sir 522
Muddiman Committee 484 to 486
Mudholkar 69, 111, 184, 202
Mujaffarpur 117, 706
Mukharjee S. C. 114
Multan Riots 428
Muralidhar, Lala : 66, 193
Murdoch, Rev. John 16
Muriel Lister 830
Murray, Gilbert 1,024
Muslim League 75
Musher Hassan Kiduai
Nagpur Satyagraha 433, 434
Nair, Sir S. 256, 309
Naoroji Furdunji 13
Nariman, K. F. : 784, 789, 902
Natesan, G. A. , 103
Nandalal 465
Nankhana Massacre 357, 358
Narayana Menon, M. P. 372
Narendra Nath Rajah . 447
Narendra Nath Sen 27, 142
Narendra Nath Raja 447
Narottam Morarji 518
Nambyar 584
Natal Borough's Ordinance 472
Natal Law 77
National Education Society for promotion of 141 in
Bengal 114, Bengal, Maharashtra, C. P., Punjab
and Andhra 115
National Pact 443
Nationalism 22, 64
National Flag Day 586, 811, 812
Natarajan, K. 386
Natu, Sardars 58, 111, 160
Nawab Syed Mahamed Bahadur 74
Nehru's gift of Anandhbhawan 646
Neogi, B. S. 363
New India 11,4, 124, 126, 186, 212, 220, 221
. Nissar Ahmed 365
Nineteen Memorandum 213, 223, 224
Ninnal Chandra Chandar 511, 512
INDEX XCV
North Arcot 62
North Brooke 132, 135
North-West Province and Oudh 28, 36
Norton, Eardley 34, 134, 135, 290 (John Bruce Norton)
135
No-tax campaign (U. P., Karnataka) 702
Notification dated 25th June, 1821, gagging Press 121
Nulkar, K. L. Rao Bahadur 13
N.-W. Frontier Regulations 694, 812, 813 (Committee)
O'Brien, Captain 281, 284, 285, 286, 287, 289
O'Donnell Circular 411
Official Secrets Act 111, 149, 189
Oliver, Lord 536"
Omar Sobhani 516
Opposition, Her Majesty's 23
Ordinances 877 to 883
Oriental (culture) 21
Orissa . . 120
Ottoma, Rev. 580
Paddison Deputation 525
Pandya J. B. 590
Panikkar 450
Paranjape, Prof., S. P. 604
Parliament, Native 24
Parnell 151
Partition of Bengal 69, 97, 111, 113, 115, 118, 119, 149.
190, 227
Passive Resistance 44, 79, 103, 152, 223, 225
Patna (C. D.) 705
Patna Session (1912) 121
Paton 699
Patro, A. P. 101, 873
Paul, K. J. 31
Paul Peter Pillai 62
Peace Negotiations (of July 1930) 694
Pearson, W. W.~ 331
Penal Labour Law 69|
Pentland, Lord 105, 126, 220, 224, 256
Peoples Friend 130
Permanent Settlement 59, 61
Permissive Bill— (Sir Wilfred Lawson) 83, 439
Peshwar 691, 694
XCvi THE HISTORY OF THE CONGEE33
Peshwa's Garden 25
Phear, Sir John Budd 58
Pherozshah M. Mehata 16, 27, 97, 100, 105, 142, 163, 171,
173, 174, 175, 202, 205, 206, 207, 211
Phillip Kerr 258
Pir Gulam Majid , 365
Plassey (1757) 8
Polak 216
Police Reform 130
Poona . . 16, 20, 24
Poona Agreement or Pact 900
Poona Agreement (Referendum) 900
Poona Conference (1933) 943, 944
Poona Punitive Police 59
Poona Sarvajanika Sabha 13, 24
Poorna Swaraj Day 614
Prabhashankar Pattani, Sir 815, 822
Prakasam 516
Pararthana Samaj 20
Prasad Gupta (Siva) 580, 584
Premiers' Announcement on Constitution 716
Press Act 107, 117, 120, 122, 265, 268, 310, 328
Press Committees, Secret 111
Press Ordinance Securities under (1823) 18, 697
Prime Minister (on procedure to India) 592
Prince of Wales — visit to India 128
Prince of Wales— Boycott 367, 372, 374
Printing Press and News Papers Act (1867) 122
Proclamation (Queen's) 8, 51, 100, 118
Profulla Ghosh 935
Provincial Autonomy 71, 120
Provincial Legislative Councils, Expansion of 39
Public Safety Bill 555, 573, 574
Public Services 47, 176
„ Royal Commission on 49, 110, 112, 192
„ Report of Commission on 48, 49, 153, 155
„ Service Commission 148, 175
Punjab (conquered) 8, 76
Punjab, Creation of Councils for 36
Punjab Land Alienation Bill 92
Pulin Behari Das 116
Punishottamadoss Tandon 229, 771
Purushottamdas Thakurdas Sir 734, 735
Pyarelal .. 899
€NDK > xcvii
Rabindranath Tagore , \ 901
Raghunadha Rao, R. / 26
Raghavendra Rao, E. 405
Hajagopalachari, C. L 371, 410, 430 to 433, 441, 901, 933,
934
Rajah, M. C. 899
Raja Guru 783
JRaja of Muhammadabad 216, 222, 264
Raja of Panagal 368, 514
Raja Singh Bhai 445
Habindranath Tagore 332
Rahimtoola, Sir., Ibrahim 734 to 736
Hajendra Prasad 234, 357, 430, 431, 441, 490, 493,
719, 900, 933, 934, 990, 992, 1020
Rajendra Lai Mitra 13
Rallia Ram, K. 449
Rambhoja Dutt Chaudhri 439
Ramachandra Rao, Sir., M. 103
Ramachandra Rao, Dr. 770
Ramananda Chatter jee 582
Ram Gopal Ghose ' 13
Rama Krishna Mission 22
Rama Krishna Paramahamsa 22
Ram Mohan Roy 7, 17, 19. 56
Rampal Singh 65, 180
Ramesam 102
Ramaswami Iyer, Sir. C. P. 103, 126, 222, 224, 251,
252, 296, 309
Raimde, M. G. 20, 26, 31, 66, 158, 188, 189
Ranch! Conference 957
Ranchhodlal Amritalal 895
Rand 159
Rangaswaini lyengar 221, 295, 486, 504
Rangachari, T. 453
Rangaiah Naidu, Hon'ble 13, 27. 142
Rangila Rasul, 531
Rangoon and O'Hara Cases 112
Rnnkin, Justice 281
Rash Behari Ghose 90, 101, 140, 162, 163, 182, 213,
216, 222, 223, 246
Rasul, A. 216, 248
Ratan, J., Tata * 79
Ratio, (18d) 523
XCViii ' THE HISTORY OF THE CONGB%$
^t ?r
Rawalpindi *l r ' 90S
Ray, P. C. %* 650
Reading, Lord, 359, 374, 375, 379, 389, 393, 430,
470, 473, 475, 478, 488, 506, 597
Regulating Act 6
Regulation III of 1818 58, 121, $17, 218, 249, 453,
? 583
Regulation II of 1819 58
Regulation XXV of 1827 58
Reddi, Sir K. V. 103
Reforms Act (1892) 148
Reforms — Congress of 1912 on 41
Reforms Statute, Regulations under (1909) 39
Reginald Neville 293, 300, 310, 311
Reid, Mr. 25
Repressive Laws, Repealed (1922) 125
Reserve Bank Bill 553, 554
Review of Resolution, Rapid, 34
Revolt of 1815 8
Revolt National 11
Reynolds, Herbert, J. 58
Ripon, Lord 15, 27, 61, 97
Risley, Sir. Herbert 122
Risal Vartamana 532
Robertson, Sir., B. 436
Rohin Kanta Hatibarua 604
Roberts, Charles 133
Round Table 258, 298
R. T. C., (second) 30
R. T. C., (1930 and 1933) 39
Rowlatt Bills 46, 266, 268, 271 to 274, 291, 294, 295,
309, 310, 328, 330
Rowlatt Committee 249
Royal Commission 28
Roy, Kalinath 294
Royal Proclamation, annulling Partition 101
Rutherford, Dr. H. V. 133
Sabarmati Pact 510, 511, 513, 579
Sabarmati Ashram, Gifted to Harijan Sangh 944
Sachindra Prasad Bose 116
Safeguards, Parliamentary 36
Saha, Gopinath , 451, 464, 488
INDEX XCTX
Saklatwalla, S. J. 607
Salarjung, Sir. 108
Salisbury, Lord 9, 14, 47, 100, 128, 132, 173
Salt Commission 82
Salt monopoly 131
Salt Satyagraha 630, 651
Salt-Tax 67, 82, 144, 148
Samarth, N. M. 104, 113, 188, 194, 245
Sambamurti 595
Samuel Hoare, Sir, 833, 837, 896, 1019
Sandhya 116
Sandhurst, Lord 161
Sankaram, S. B. 55
Sarkar, N. R. 547
Sankaran Nair, Sir 256, 290, 293, 309
Sankaran Nair, Sir, resignation of 46, 102, 160, 388, 389
Santanam, K. 300, 504
Sapru, Sir Tej Bahadur 105, 222, 336, 373, 430, 593,
599, 711, 712, 719, 723, 728, 735, 814, 815, 818,
821, 873, 899
Saraladevi 243
Sarat, C. Bose 512, 522, 998
Sardul Singh 445, 934, 945
Sarma, B. N. 55, 76, 309
Sarojini Naidu, Mrs. 31, 372, 378, 401, 443, 471, 482,
491, 498, 499, 509, 525, 527, 584, 606, 654, 668,
673, 713, 714, 817, 818
Sarvajanik Sabha 24
Sassoon, E. D. 429
Sastri 104, 105, 203, 222, 246, 256, 264, 270, 309, 336,
436, 437, 715, 719, 728, 735
Sathaye, Dr. 295
Satish Chandra Chatterjee 116
Satish Chandradas Gupta 548
Satyagraha Ashramam, Sabannati 243
Satyagraha Movement, 46, 80
Satyagrahi's pledge 642
Satyapal, Dr. 276, 278, 307, 586
Satyamurti 585
Saunders 586, 745
Savarkar, V. 443
Scott, Sir. John 58
Schuster, Sir. G. 733
C THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Season for holding the Annual Session— East Africa, 606
Second Chamber 45
Secrecy of Congress Methods 894
Secretary of State (Despatch 1862) 62
Seditious Meetings Act 117, 120, 268, 367, 445
Segregation Bill 525
Selbourne, Lord 295
Self-Govemment, Conception of 70
Self -Government (1906), Resolution on 141 '
Sen, J. B. 247
Sen-Gupta, J. M. 480, 493, 511, 610, 642, 655
Separate Electorates 42, 43, 72
Separation of judicial and executive functions 56, 57
Servants of India Society 151, 203
Seshagiri Iyer 102
Setlur 363
Setalvad 256
Shahi Bagh 694
Shankarlal Banker 242, 244, 292, 401, 402, 405
Shankey, Lord 833
Shaukat Ali 248, 265, 322, 368, 374, 441, 465, 507, 905
Sheridan 6, 113
Sherwani 851, 867, 866, 997
Sherwood, Miss 280
Skeen Committee 482, 483, 503, 507
Shootings at Virangam and Delhi 46
Sholapur 693
Shraddhananda, 21, 274, 278, 293, 299, 347, 448,
515 to 517, 528, 770
Shyam Sunder Chakravarti 441
Sidney Rowlatt 266
Simon, Sir John's letter to Prime Minister 592, 594,
597? 617
Simon Commission 534, 535, 538, 539, 542, 543
544, 545, 573
Simultaneous examinations 28, 39, 47
Simultaneous resolution, in House of Commons 47, 48
Sindh (conquered) ' 8, 93
Sioha, Sachidananda 105, 188, 193, 194
Sinha, S. P., Sir .43, 104, 122, 203, 206, 207, 223, 231,
245, 246, 257, 293, 353
Sifsi, Siddapore jmd', Ankola 703
Sirdar Dayal Singh Majithia 100
INDEX Cl
:Sitaramaraju, Gudern, 498
Sivaswami Iyer, Sir, P. S. , 103
-Slagg, Mr. 25
Slocombe, George 677, 678, 711
Smith 83, 132, 133
Smith, Lady 403
SmutsXJandhi Agreement 435, 499, 525
Smuts, General 525
Snowdon, Lord 536
Social Reform 108
Socialist Party, its birth 961
Social Conference 31
Soldier-German, French, English, Cost of 69
South Africa 76
Southborough Commission 264
Southborough, Lord 264, 471
Special Congress, Bombay (1918) 45, 46
Spoor, Ben 133, 295, 308, 346, 348
Srinivasa lyengar, S., 245, 256, 424, 494, 510, 511, 514,
516, 525, 529, 530, 532, 554, 556
Standing Committee of House of Commons in place of
India Council " 34
Stanley, Lord of Alderley 135
State regulated prostitution 84
Statutory Civil Service 48
Statutory Covcnated Service 49
Stephen, Justice 123
Steel Protection Bill 522
Stephen, Sir James Fitz James 111
Strikes 583
Subash, C. Bose 451, 582, 531, 560, 561, 565, 608,
610, 624; 705, 858, 942
Subba Rao Pantulu, N. 13, 182, 192, 202, 204, 205, 251
Subodh Chandra Mullick ..itfatfS88^55^^^ 116
Subrahmanya Aiyar, G. 13,
Subrahmanya Aiyar, S.
Suharwardi, A.
Sukradev
Sultan of Turkey
Sunderraman, K. Prof.
Sundara Aiyar, P. R.
Sunderland
Sunder Singh, M.
Cll THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESS
Supreme Court 18
Supreme Legislative Council 37-39
Supreme Legislative Council Expansion of 39
Surat Split 71, 150, 152, 161, 179, 214
Surendranath Banerjea 14, 15, 59, 97, 101, 102, 112,
120, 158, 160, 162, 163, 167 to 169, 172, 175,
189, 20(1, 202, 216, 222, 245, 246, 260, 292, 353,
480
Swadeshi, Boycott and Swaraj 69
Swadeshi, Resolution on 141
Swarajya Party, rebirth of. 951
Sydenham, Lord 224
Syed Ahamed, Sir. 75, 172, 182
Syed Mahmud 108, 713, 935
Tambe, S. B. 495, 496
Tairsee, L. R. 356
Tarn Tarn 705
Taran Taran 444
Telang 16, 27, 104, 142, 156
Textile Industry .Bill 621
Textile Labour Association, Ahmadabad, 244
Theodore Parker 629, 630
Theosophical Convention (1884) 16
Theosophical Movement 21
Thomas 471
Tibetan Mission 53
Tilak, Lokamanya 59, 64, 66, 110, 11Y, 121, 140, 147,
156, 159 to 166, 172, 203, 204 to 206, 215, 216,
233, 251, 252, 254, 255, 266, 267, 295, 296,
308, 324, 325, 326, 331, 334, 335, 338, 345, 407,
495, (anniversary), 697
Trades Disputes Bill 525
Transvaal 77, 78
Trial, The Great 401
Trial by Jury 55
Turkey 74
Tyabji, Abbas 300, 363, 650, 669, 673, 857
Tyabji 16, 104, 108, 155, 185
Uganda, Compulsory segregation 437
Universities 19
U. P. Peasants' Conditions • 843 to 84T
INDEX ail
Vadapalli Firing 788
Vaikam Satyagraha 475
Vallabhbhai, J., Patel 239, 241, 291, 377, 393, 413, 414,
431, 434, 441, 493, 550, 553, 549. 557, 638, 639,
642, 647, 690, 700, 713, 714, 719, 733,
737, 766, 767, 769, 784, 822, 839, 840, 841, 850,
934, 938, 939, 940, 960, 965
Varadachariar, 8. 544
Vaze 471
Vedantic Idealism 22
Veera Raghavachariar, M. 13
Vernacular Press Act 10, 14
Viceroy's Statement of 25th January, 1931 720
Victoria, Queen (Passing of, 1901) 52, 85
Vijia Raghavachariar, C. 179, 310, 346, 347, 778
Vincent, Sir., W. 354, 358, 375
Viswanadham, T. 534
Visweswarayya, Sir M. 388
Vittalbhai, J., Patel 260, 295, 296, 297, 298, 410, 426,
434, 474, 487, 493, 508, 513, 524, 599, 709, 942,
Vittalbhai, J., Patel, Statement on Public Safety Bill 574,
588, 589
Vivekananda, Swami 117
Volunteers 51
Volunteers, organisation 608
Wacha, D. E. 27, 69, 75, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 183,
202, 245, 260, 536
Wadala Salt Works 674 to 676
Wadia 127
War-Conference (1918), Bombay 169
Water-cess raised from Rs. 4 to 5 in Madras (1894) 61
Webb, Montagu 429
Wedderburn, Sir William 10, 58, 73, 97, 108, 132,'
207, 252
Wedgwood, Col. 133, 346, 348, 350, 478, 513, 536
Welby Commission (1894) 52, 140, 146
•Westland Sir., James 145
White, D. S. 135, 142
White Paper 39
Widow-Marriage Act 19
William Morris, Sir, 257, 258, 259
Willingdon, Lord 165, 206, 265, 787, 791, 817 to 819,
855, 875, 876
Civ THE HISTOBY 09 THE CONGEESS
Wilson Hunter, Sir W. 333
Wilson, President 267
Wite<m, Rowland, K. 5, 8
Wilson, Commiekmer of Police 698
Wilson, Sir, Leslie 413, 549, 599
Winterton, Earl 613
Winslow, Father 905
Wizaya Phongy 58ft, 604
Women and Depressed Classes Resolutions on 84
Yeravada Pact 928 to 931
Yatindranath Das 586, 589
Young India 292, 356, 402, 407
Yule 71, 84, 132, 167
Yugantar 116
Zafar Ali Khan, Maulana 586
Zulu Revolt 403
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