2 Changing Political Relationship, 1920-30

Question 1

What were Gandhi’s aims and beliefs?

Answer 1

1) the concept of Satyagraha

2) Adopting a peasant lifestyle

Question 2

What was the concept Gandhi used to describe as non-violent resistance to injustice or evil?

Answer 2

Satyagraha

Question 3

What term did Gandhi hate and give examples?

Answer 3

“passive resistance’ (resisting authority by doing nothing )

examples are: sit down protests, removing children from school

Question 4

What sort of things did Gandhi do to win the hearts and the minds of the nation?

Answer 4

1)He increasingly adapted a peasant lifestyle:
1-He discarded Western clothes and only wore the Indian ‘Dhoti’.
2-He was a vegetarian
3-He walked everywhere
4-He had a daily spinning routine

Question 5

What were the 3 things that changed Gandhi’s mind into becoming anti-British?

Answer 5

1) The Rowlatt Acts-which aimed at continuing indefinitely wartime restrictions
2) The Amritsar Massacre-(April 1919) and its tacit endorsement by large sections of the British community in India.
3) One of the outcomes of the Paris Peace conferences that ended WW1 was that Turkey had to pay a huge indemnity and lose its territories. This confirmed the worst fears of Indian Muslims - that the British had little concern for Islamic nations. A s a result this made Gandhi realise that this could increases the idea of separateness among Muslims.

Question 6

How did Gandhi emerge as leader of Congress?

Answer 6

• There was no other all-Indian political party leader or group who could challenge him.
• Members from different communities supported Gandhi.

Question 7

How did Gandhi impose the non-cooperation campaign 1920-22?

Answer 7

1) Congress’s 25th annual meeting in December 1920 had Gandhi dominating support from the delegates as he bind together both Hindus and Muslims.
2) He persuaded the delegates to vote for his policy of non-cooperation with the Raj.
3) Gandhi had also written to the Viceroy explaining why he has now persuaded congress to support non-cooperation in their pursuit of independence.

Question 8

What did the non-cooperation entail?

Answer 8

Congress urged all Indian to:

1) Boycott elections to the new legislative assemblies
2) Hand back all titles and decorations awarded by the Raj.
3) Remove their children from government schools
4) Refuse invitations to social events run by the Raj
5) Boycott law courts
6) Withhold taxes
7) Refuse to buy imported goods
8) Leave all government posts

Question 9

What areas did Gandhi target when imposing Non-cooperation?

Answer 9

Gandhi had targeted those areas of government where the Indian non-cooperation was unlikely to bring them into conflict with the police like before ‘Satyagraha’.

Question 10

What were the successes of the non-cooperation(1920-22)?

Answer 10

1) Students boycotted their examinations, taxes were not paid, a large number from the 1920’s elections.
2) Around 200 lawyers stopped work and during the visit of the Duke of Connaught to Calcutta in 1921, shops were closed throughout the city.
- few attended official ceremonies
3) Muslims were involved for the first time.

Question 11

What were the consequences of the non-cooperation (1920-22)?

Answer 11

1) Unfortunately millions of Indians were unable to understand the concept of Satyagraha and so they followed their own agendas.
- communal violence broke down
2) In Chauri Chaura 22 policemen were torched to death in a police station.
3) Hartal designed to coincide with the visit of the Prince of Wales turned into 4 days of looting/rioting.
- 53 were dead
4) Muslims declare Jihad and killed wealthy Hindu and Muslim Landlords forcing peasants to convert to Islam.
- Hindus on the Gangetic Plain forced muslims to become Hindus.
5) The incident forced Gandhi to end Satyagraha and withdraw to his ashram.

Question 12

When did the non-cooperation campaign come to an end and how did it end?

Answer 12

February 1922- whereby Gandhi was arrested and charged due to his ‘satyagraha’. And was released from prison in January 1924, having served only 2 years.

Question 13

What was the significance of Gandhi’s imprisonment?

Answer 13

During Gandhi’s imprisonment (1922-24) many events occured:

1) Congress became more involved in peasant communities and gained a greater understanding of peasants’ needs and aspirations.
2) Congress became more ready to understand and exploit local grievances and explore how those could be linked to the broader campaign for ‘Swaraj’.
3) Leadership of Congress: C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru. Both favoured taking advantage of the Government of India Act 1919.
- In 1923, members of Congress were allowed to stand for elections and their presence on the local councils lent those bodies an air of respectability as well as boosting the popularity of the congress party itself. Many middle class indians alienated by Gandhi’s non-cooperation campaign, returned to the fold.
4) The Raj returned to its traditional policy of attempting to balance the need to keep control while, at the same time making concessions to India. Considerable support was given to the local assemblies, where for example there was a cholera outbreak.

Question 14

How successfully did congress consolidate its position during 1922-30?

Answer 14

1)Congress refined and developed its structure and increased its membership and appeal by reaching out to groups and areas unknown.
2)Gandhi’s’ release from prison and his ‘back to basics; policy did much to increase support for congress in rural areas
3(Congress members has started to use ‘ Satyagraha’

Question 15

How did Congress extend their appeal?

Answer 15

1) membership

2) organisation

Question 16

During the period of non-cooperation, membership grew of the Congress by how many?

Answer 16

From a base of 100,000 to 2 million by the end of 1921.

Question 17

How did membership in Congress change ?

Answer 17

1) Congress transformed into being a pressure group into being a pressure group into one that demonstrated open defence of the Raj.
2) Many Muslims left because of the failure of Gandhi’s support over the breaking of the Ottoman Empire. But membership still grew.

Question 18

What are the 2 ways Congress achieved support and increased membership?

Answer 18

1) Extended appeal into a wider spread of geographical areas throughout the subcontinent
2) It began wooing interest into groups that has hitherto been neglected. They began to recruit people such as : railway workers, poorer peasants.

Question 19

When Gandhi emerged as leader of congress in 1920, the party organisation consisted of 3 administrative levels. What are they?

Answer 19

1) Local Branches
2) Provincial Committees
3) All Indian Congress Committee (ALCC)

Question 20

How did organisation of the Congress change?

Answer 20

1) The structure (1920) was reformed because of Gandhi’s perception that a new sense of direction and purpose was needed.
2) Cooperation with the Raj was to end and was to be replaced by non-violent non-cooperation.
3) Membership of the All-Indian Congress Committee was increased from 1616-350 and seats were re-allocated on regional population basis.
4) Greater emphasis was placed on recruiting women. Around 100 additional provincial committee and several hundred more local branches were set up .

Question 21

After Gandhi was released from prison he set up a new unit within the AICC (All indian congress committee). What was it called?

Answer 21

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) and its job was to formulate policy. It was mirroring what a cabinet was to government.

Question 22

On his release from prison 1924, Gandhi went back to basics. How?

Answer 22

1) He set up the All Indian Spinners Association (with the intention of spreading the word about hand spinning promoting self-sufficiency)
2) He persuaded a willing congress to embark on campaigns of mass literacy and the improvement of village sanitation.
3) Gandhi himself began to campaign vigorously on behalf of the untouchables in order to enable them to enter fully into Indian Society.

Question 23

Many members of Congress would have been happy to let the process if constructive development continue almost indefinitely. But 2 changes of events occured?

Answer 23

1) 3 energetic charismatic young men burst upon the political scene.
2) The British government set up and sent out the Simon Commission.

Question 24

Who were the ‘Young Hooligans’?

Answer 24

Subhas Chandra Bose, Jayaprakash Narayan and Jawaharlal Nehru.-
They wanted renewed action and they wanted it immediately, their ultimate objective was Independence and freedom.

Question 25

Why did Gandhi label them as the ‘Young Hooligans’?

Answer 25

As they were attracted to socialism, a doctrine they found resonated with their own anti-imperialist sentiments. Gandhi, deeply conservative regarded socialism as dangerously radical.

Question 26

How did the Nehru Report come about?

Answer 26

At an All-parties conference which was held in 1928, a subcommittee produced a report that was really the first draft of a written constitution for India.

Question 27

Which 2 eminent lawyers created the Nehru Report?

Answer 27

1) Tej Bahadur Sapru (Leader of Liberal Party)

2) Motilal Nehru (Member of Congress)

Question 28

What did the Nehru Report state?

Answer 28

1) Dominion status for India (like Canada, Australia, etc.) within the British Commonwealth. (This point was a bone of contention with the younger set of leaders including Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose who favoured complete independence.)
2) Nineteen fundamental rights including the right to vote for men and women above 21 years of age, unless disqualified.
3) Equal rights for men and women as citizens.
4) No state religion.
5) No separate electorates for any community. It did provide for reservation of minority seats. It provided for reservation for seats for Muslims at the centre and in provinces where they were in a minority and not in Bengal and Punjab. Similarly, it provided for reservation for non-Muslims in the NWFP.
6) A federal form of government with residual powers with the centre. There would be a bicameral legislature at the centre. The ministry would be responsible to the legislature.
7) Governor-General to be the constitutional head of India. He would be appointed by the British monarch.
8) A proposal for the creation of a Supreme Court.
9) The provinces would be created along linguistic lines.
10) The language of the country would be Indian, written either in Devanagari (Sanskrit/Hindi), Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi or Gujarati in character. Usage of English to be permitted.

Question 29

How did Congress react to the Nehru Report?

Answer 29

1) Congress organised a boycott of the Simon Commission
2) December 1928 - When Congress met in Calcutta under the leadership of Motilal Nehru, delegates backed two motions
3) They demanded instant dominion status (recommended by the Nehru Report) even though Jawaharlal Nehru expressed grave misgivings

Question 30

The Lahore Congress 1929 and Purna Swaraj: Gandhi’s Dilemma?

Answer 30

Gandhi aware when congress met in Lahore dec 1929, his standing was such that his was the voice all delegates would listen to; his views to the way forward would carry the day. despite motions passed in Calcutta meeting of congress, Gandhi knew congress deeply divided over what to do about the Raj. threats one thing, putting into action another. aware that to embark on another mass civil disobedience would alienate moderate members of congress and could end in bloodshed and bitterness. on the other hand, the young hooligans had considerable support in the districts, particularly among young and trade unionists, and building up steady following among younger members of congress. should he back young militants (backing direct action for complete independence) or moderate conservatives (for dominion status)

Question 31

The Lahore Congress 1929 and Purna Swaraj: Congress decides?

Answer 31

When congress met in Lahore, a policy decision could no longer be shelved. Gandhi made up mind: support young hooligans. he steered his policy through various congress committees and a militant open session, and ended with a working committee of his own choosing to direct congress’s actions in the months ahead. henceforward, purna swaraj (total independence) would be india’s new political demand. congress left it to working committee to decide how and when the non-violent confrontation was to begin, and the working committee left the decision to Gandhi.

Question 32

Explain the opposition of the salt tax?

Answer 32

government tax on salt brought little revenue and cost average indian very little but emotive issue. salt one commodity everyone needed for cooking yet in india its production was controlled by the Raj, who exacted tax on the sale. march 1930 Gandhi march from his house 240 miles to the coast with 78 carefully chosen supporters including untouchables. a prayer meeting held day before attracted 10,000 a gathering held by Gandhi on the day of the march attracted 75,000. original 78 followed by thousands some stayed whole distance. everyday the 78 participants were spin cotton, pray and keep diary and have a non-aggressive peaceful manner. following Gandhi press who faithfully reported message of non-violence. while march great publicity also challenged the raj. the challenge came when Gandhi reached the sea and picked up salt from the shore. he issued public statement saying he broke law by picking up tax-free salt and urged Indians to do same. thousands across india followed his advice breaking law by using tax-free salt. hundreds of peasants arrested and imprisoned, mass arrests of local and national congress leaders, including Nehru Jr. but arrest of Gandhi in may that sent shockwaves and triggered strikes and protests. government continued programme of repression: June entire congress working committee arrested.

Question 33

What was the Civil Disobedience?

Answer 33

campaign entered second phase after Gandhi’s arrest. unlike non-violent campaign in 1920-22 it was not master-minded and directed centrally. congress authorised provincial committees to organise own satyagrahas. congress did recommend an order of priority. in organising the civil disobedience campaign this way, congress cleverly papered over cracks of potential divisions among its members as to just how disobedient civil disobedience should be. by allowing provincial committees such a large degree of autonomy, congress hoped demonstrate really was a universal umbrella organisation, sensitive to local needs. most importantly, campaign much more difficult for Raj to stop as no central organisation to take out

Question 34

Was the Civil obedience campaign (1930) a success?

Answer 34

by middle of year, all provinces in india been affected, parts of Bombay in hands of the mob and no-go areas for police. in parts of Bengal a salt satyagraha followed by attacks on police and magistrates, intimidation of officials and refusal to pay local taxes. in united provinces a peasant anti-land tax campaign particularly successful. replicated on national scale, the level of disturbance impressive. civil disobedience became vehicle whereby whole range of people became politically aware. women became politically mobilised. Nov 1930, nearly 360 women in jail. early 1931 the raj more or less restored law and order. local satyagrahas, though initially successful, could not be sustained once local grievances were settled. civil disobedience simply ran out of steam. by end of 1930, the raj and congress reached stalemate.

Question 35

How far did the muslim league become a political force, 1920-30?

Answer 35

As indian people became more politicised at beginning of 20th century, differences between muslims and hindus thrown into sharper relief and too often no areas of mutual toleration found. there were muslim members of the hindu-dominated congress and the Lucknow Pact of 1916 demonstrated a mutual understanding of the need to address Muslim fears. these fears dominated by concern that they should have a guaranteed voice in any new constitutional arrangement that would inevitably be dominated by the Hindu majority. the idea of separateness began to take hold

Question 36

What was the Khilafat Movement?

Answer 36

Many indian muslims large regarded the sultan of turkey as their Caliph, their most important spiritual leader. turkeys decision to fight with Germany against the british and the british empire challenged their loyalties to the extreme. 1919 peace settlements did nothing to ease tension as the treaty of Sevres greatly reduced the size of turkey and forces within turkey removed the sultan from power. the khilafat movement, set up to support the Caliph, spread through india. muslim leaders joined with Gandhi in mobilising the masses for the 1920 and 21 civil disobedience and non-cooperation campaigns in response to the Amritsar massacre and Rowlatt acts. at the time, Gandhi endorsed the khilafat movement

Question 37

What was Jinnah’s attitude towards the Khilafat movement?

Answer 37

By supporting the khilafat, Gandhi gained the support of a large number of muslim spiritual and political leaders for his non-cooperation. Jinnah left out in cold. he opposed Gandhi’s support for the khilafat movement seeing it as just an opportunist move by Gandhi. jinnah spoke out against non-cooperation. the extent of the violence that accompanied the civil disobedience would seem to give some credence to Jinnah’s desire for an alternative approach

Question 38

By 1923,the Khilafat movement had all collapsed. How had this happened?

Answer 38

Turkey rejected the caliphate and became a secular state. the religious, mass-appeal aspects of the movement alienated western-orientated politicians like Jinnah, who resigned from congress. many muslims became uncomfortable with Gandhi’s leadership

Question 39

What was the re-emergence of Muslim Value?

Answer 39

The alliance of the muslim league khilafat committees and congress collapsed once the non-violent campaigns ended. hindu congress members began regret generous electoral arrangements in the lucknow pact and muslims began to drift away from congress. 1921, 10.9% of congress delegates were muslim; by 1923 3.6%. congress no longer seemed by many muslims as an appropriate body to push for the sort of independence that would guarantee their political place in an independent india. anjumans (associations) developed religious focus to concentrate on economic plight of various muslim groups who constrained by power and influence of hindu commercial communities.

Question 40

What was the concept of separateness?

Answer 40

Hindus and Muslims clearly represented two very different religious communities, with different belief systems and practices. this in itself created the concept of separateness but only in 21st century that the somewhat uneasy coexistence that existed hundreds of years began to break down. partly due to strict neutrality adopted by the Raj. encouraged both muslims and hindus to believe that they had equal rights to carry out their own religious practices, no matter what offence they gave

Question 41

How did the Raj emphasise separateness?

Answer 41

throughout he proposals the raj put forward to enable Indians to participate in government at all levels, there was a common thread of protecting rights of minorities by making provision for separate electorates. this can be seen in Montagu Declaration 1917 and government of india act 1919. in doing this, whilst ensuring that muslims had a voice in local and national affairs, the raj ensured the concept of separateness was further emphasised and enshrined in the political solutions they had to offer.

Question 42

Explain the breakdown of the relations with Congress (1927)

Answer 42

Against this background of separateness and of growing muslim consciousness that jinnah continued to work to try to bring congress and the muslim league together to work out an agreed position for India’s future. at the muslim leagues meeting in Delhi 1927 jinnah persuaded members to make a bold offer to congress in the hope of bringing the league and congress back together again. the league offered to end its support to separate electorates in exchange for a guaranteed one-third of the seats in the central legislative assembly and the separation of Sindh from Bombay in order to create a muslim dominated province. congress rejected the offer out-of-hand, believing it to be muslim awareness of the weakness of their position. 1929 jinnah tried again with a compromise plan of 14 points. this offer was again rejected by congress. it was at this point the concept of a separate muslim state began to develop

Question 43

What were Jinnah’s aims and beliefs?

Answer 43

He disapproved of Gandhi’s powerful mix of religion and politics. not orthodox muslim: rarely went to mosque, wore European clothes and drank alcohol. his second wife a non-muslim. led muslim league cus of effectiveness as a lawyer and leader not because dedicated orthodox muslim. until end of 1920s jinnah can be seen as committed congress nationalist, a moderate who disapproved of mass campaigns of non-cooperation. he was distrustful of the masses preferring to deal with educated Indians and preferably round a conference table. he was determined to preserve election quota for muslims. the rejection of what jinnah saw as a compromise with his 14 points drove him out of politics, but the indian muslims persuaded him to return after the 1937 elections. increasingly he supported separatist demands. partition and the formation of the state of Pakistan gradually became a reality.

Question 44

How effective was the british response to the changing political landscape in india, 1920-30?

Answer 44

British policy in the 1920s consisted in balancing the need to keep control at the centre while at the same time making concessions to indian aspirations. the lines to be followed were laid down by the Montague-Chelmsford reforms. this meant that Britain retained responsibility for foreign policy and India’s defence, and India’s elected provincial and national assemblies took on responsibility for some financial and all social and welfare matters

Question 45

The simon commission: what was the political situation at westminster?

Answer 45

The government of india act 1919, which embodied the montagu-chelmsford reforms, was due for review in 1929. but 1929 was the year scheduled for a general election. the conservative government was worried that if the review was held after the general election and the labour party won the election then policies on india would veer to the left. labour party politicians had strong links with congress and conservative party politicians were afraid that any review undertaken under a labour government would give congress more or less what they wanted. Birkenhead, the secretary of state for india, brought the review forward so that it happened before the general election and under a conservative government

Question 46

What was the Simon Commission in India?

Answer 46

In 1927 the government sent a parliamentary delegation, headed by sir Simon, out to india to find out how the government of india act was working and to make recommendations for any necessary review. the labour MP Attlee, who later led the labour party to victory in the 1945 general election, was a member of the seven man delegation. there were no indian members. the ‘message’ was loud and clear. the future of india was to be decided by british politicians based in Westminster. Indians would take no part in deciding their own future. this was not lost on the Indians themselves. unsurprisingly, the commission was received badly. when the delegates arrived in Bombay, they were greeted by jeering crowds carrying banners and shouting ‘go home simon’. everywhere the commission went they were met with mass demonstrations, which the police could hardly control.

Question 47

How was Indian opinion divided during the Simon Commision discussions?

Answer 47

A wide range of indian political opinion was clearly opposed to the simon commission. members of congress and a large section of the muslim league decided to boycott the commission and refused to give evidence to its commissioners. on the other hand, muslims from the provinces where they were in a majority decided to help the commissions enquiries, as did a number of Anglo-indians, Sikhs and untouchables. all of these minority groups hoped for a better future than which they were anticipating under a hindu-dominated congress. however, the simon report, when it finally emerged in draft form, did little more than reassert the status quo. it was abandoned before publication.

Question 48

In May 1929 which government was elected in Britain and what was their response to the Nehru Report?

Answer 48

A labour government elected-
their response to the Nehru report and to the demands of the December 1928 congress conference was very different than the response that the previous conservative government might have made. the new prime minister and the secretary of state for india were sympathetic to the demands of congress.

Question 49

Irwin, a viceroy determined to bring about reconciliation, travelled back to England with two suggestions to put forward to labour government. What were they?

Answer 49

1) a conference to discuss future reforms

2) a declaration that the Raj’s goal for india was dominion status.

Question 50

What was the Irwin Declaration? (Oct 1929)

Answer 50

Some degree of optimism Irwin issued what became known as the Irwin declaration. this reiterated the Montagu Declaration 1917 and added that the attainment of dominion status would be a natural development of this. furthermore, indian representatives were invited to London to a round table conference where details of a new indian constitution would be hammered out. the congress working committee officially welcomed the announcement and called upon the british government to demonstrate its good faith by declaring amnesty for any indian political prisoners. this step too far for Irwin who refused. indian frustration at what they perceived as british stubbornness led to more terrorist attacks.

Question 51

What was Gandhi’s dilemma when deciding attend the London Conference 1931

Answer 51

Gandhi knew that to attend the London conference would be political suicide. not only on foreign soil but also forced to follow a british agenda. what worse, the british weren’t just expecting representatives of congress to attend. all representatives of indian opinion were expected to be there: Sikhs and untouchables as well as the princes. the chances of congress getting what they want would, Gandhi believed, be severely compromised. on the other hand, not to go to London would probably result in a settlement being made to which congress could not possibly agree

Question 52

How did the Gandhi-Irwin Pact 1931 come along?

Answer 52

The violence that accompanied civil disobedience following salt satyagrahas left both raj and congress exhausted. The only way out would seem some sort of truce that would save face of congress and the raj to enable them to move forward. the end of 1930 saw Gandhi in prison. Irwin was afraid that congress would find a way out of by stalemate by resorting to violence. wanted situation where release Gandhi and he participate in round table yet couldn’t be seen to negotiate openly with someone authorities regarded as a terrorist.

Question 53

What did the Gandhi-Irwin Pact,1931 agree on?

Answer 53

Meeting between Gandhi and Irwin in 1931 agreed that 1) civil disobedience campaign was suspended

2) Gandhi agreed to attend a second London conference
3) 19,000 congress supporters released from jail
4) confiscated property returned to owners.