History Quiz: The Gandhian Era – till Independence | 27 May, 2021

The 1924 Belgaum session of the Indian National Congress – the only Congress session presided over by Mahatma Gandhi.

Source: Spectrum Modern India.

The Communist Party of India (CPI) was formed in 1920 in Tashkent (now, the capital of Uzbekistan) by M.N. Roy, Abani Mukherji and others after the second Congress of Commintern. M.N. Roy was also the first to be elected to the leadership of Commintern.

In 1924, many communists—S.A. Dange, Muzaffar Ahmed, Shaukat Usmani, Nalini Gupta—were jailed in the Kanpur Bolshevik Conspiracy Case.

Source: Spectrum Modern India.

As in earlier periods, the varied contradictions of the Indian society found expression in caste associations and movements. These movements could be divisive, conservative and at times potentially radical, and included:

• Justice Party (Madras)
• Self-respect movement (1925) under “Periyar”—E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker (Madras)

• Satyashodhak activists in Satara (Maharashtra)
• Bhaskar Rao Jadhav (Maharashtra)
• Mahars under Ambedkar (Maharashtra)
• Radical Ezhavas under K. Aiyappan and C. Kesavan in Kerala
• Yadavs in Bihar for improvement in social status

• Unionist Party under Fazl-i-Hussain (Punjab).

Source: Spectrum Modern India.

The HSRA leadership now decided to let the people know about its changed objectives and the need for a revolution by the masses.

• Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt were asked to throw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly on April 8, 1929 to protest against the passage of the Public Safety Bill and Trade Disputes Bill aimed at curtailing civil liberties of citizens in general and workers in particular.
• The bombs had been deliberately made harmless and were aimed at making ‘the deaf hear’.

• The objective was to get arrested and to use the trial court as a forum for propaganda so that people would become familiar with their movement and ideology.

Source: Spectrum Modern India.

The Nehru Report confined itself to British India, as it envisaged the future link-up of British India with the princely states on a federal basis. For the dominion it recommended:

• Dominion status on lines of self-governing dominions as the form of government desired by Indians (much to the chagrin of younger, militant section—Nehru being prominent among them).
• Rejection of separate electorates which had been the basis of constitutional reforms so far;

• Instead, a demand for joint electorates with reservation of seats for Muslims at the Centre and in provinces where they were in minority (and not in those where Muslims were in majority, such as Punjab and Bengal) in proportion to the Muslim population there with right to contest additional seats.
• Linguistic provinces.
• Nineteen fundamental rights including equal rights for women, right to form unions, and universal adult suffrage.

Source: Spectrum Modern India.

Not only were the Muslim League, the Hindu Mahasabha and the Sikh communalists unhappy about the Nehru Report, but the younger section of the Congress led by Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash Bose was also angered.

• The younger section regarded the idea of dominion status in the report as a step backward, and the developments at the All-Parties Conference strengthened their criticism of the dominion status idea.
• Nehru and Subhash Bose rejected the Congress’ modified goal and jointly set up the Independence for India League.

Source: Spectrum Modern India.

Jawaharlal Nehru, who had done more than anyone else to popularize the concept of purna swaraj, was nominated the president for the Lahore session of the Congress (December 1929) mainly due to Gandhi’s backing (15 out of 18 Provincial Congress Committees had opposed Nehru).

Source: Spectrum Modern India.

To carry forward the mandate given by the Lahore Congress, Gandhi presented eleven demands to the government and gave an ultimatum of January 31, 1930 to accept or reject these demands. The demands were as follows.

• Reduce expenditure on Army and civil services by 50 per cent.

• Introduce total prohibition.
• Carry out reforms in Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
• Change Arms Act allowing popular control of issue of firearms licenses.
• Release political prisoners.
• Accept Postal Reservation Bill.

Source: Spectrum Modern India.

In Malabar area, K. Kelappan, a Nair Congress leader famed for the Vaikom Satyagraha, organised salt marches.

P. Krishna Pillai, the future founder of the Kerala Communist movement, heroically defended the national flag in the face of police lathi-charge on Calicut beach in November 1930.

Source: Spectrum Modern India.

The Communal Award was announced by the British Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald, on August 16, 1932.

• The Communal Award, based on the findings of the Indian Franchise Committee (also called the Lothian Committee), established separate electorates and reserved seats for minorities, including the depressed classes which were granted seventy-eight reserved seats.
• Thus, this award accorded separate electorates for Muslims, Europeans, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, depressed classes, and even to the Marathas for some seats in Bombay.

Source: Spectrum Modern India page no, 434.