Unit 2.2 Changing Political Relationships (COMPLETE) Flashcards
What three things led Gandhi to change his mind and to develop the idea of swaraj (self rule)?
- The Rowlatt Acts, aimed to continue repressive wartime measures.
- April 1919 Amritsar Massacre and its endorsement by large sections of the British community in India.
- Paris peace conferences.
Why would the Paris peace conference lead to Gandhi’s development of swaraj?
- An outcome was that Turkey had to pay indemnity and lose its territories.
- Confirmed the fears of Indian Muslims that white Europeans and Americans had little concern for Islamic nations.
- Made Gandhi realise that it could increase the idea of separateness amongst Muslims.
What did non-cooperation entail?
- Boycott elections to the new legislative assemblies.
- Withhold taxes.
- Refuse to buy imported goods.
- Remove children from government schools.
What were the successes of Gandhi’s non-cooperation campaign?
- Some campaigns would encourage action. (e.g. refusal to pay taxes)
- Gandhi focused on areas where he knew the campaigns would not fall to mobs.
- Initial successes: students boycotted their exams, taxes were not paid, people stayed away from 1920 elections, around 200 lawyers stopped work.)
- few Indians attended the official ceremonies when a duke visited Calcutta in 1921.
- Gandhi created a sense of excitement that change was imminent.
What were the limitations to Gandhi’s non-cooperation campaign?
- Some campaigns were unrealistic (e.g. Lawyers new unlikely to leave the law courts nor would parents want to remove their children from education.)
- Millions of Indians unable to understand the concept of Satyagraha.
- Violence broke out (e.g. Bombay)
- Muslims declared a jihad, killing British people. Forced conversion to Islam.
- In the Punjab, Hindus forced Muslims to ‘purify’ themselves.
- February 1922, a mob of Congress supporters torched a police station, killing 22. Gandhi forced to withdraw campaign.
- Gandhi was arrested and charged with promoting disaffection. He was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment.
What was the significance of Gandhi’s imprisonment?
- Gandhi became more involved in peasant communities & gained greater understanding of peasants’ needs & aspirations.
- Congress became more ready to understand & exploit local grievances and explore how these could be linked to the broader campaign for swaraj.
- Leadership of Congress passed to C.R. Das & Motilal Nehru, both favoured taking advantage of the Government of India Act 1919 & 1923.
- The Raj returned to its traditional policy of attempting to balance the need to keep control, while also making concessions to India (considerable support was given to local assemblies where a cholera and smallpox inoculation programme was started.)
How much did Congress membership grow by in 1921?
- From a base of 100,000 membership rose to around 2 million by the end of 1921.
Why were there membership withdrawals within Congress?
- The more conservative elements of Congress had objected to seeing Congress’ transformation from a pressure group to one of open defiance to the Raj.
- A large number of Muslims left after what they saw Gandhi’s failure to support them over their concerns about the break-up of the Ottoman empire after WW1.
How did Congress extend their appeal?
Recruiting Members & Geographically
- It extended its appeal into a wider spread of geographical areas throughout the subcontinent.
- began wooing interest groups that had hitherto been neglected.
- Many new supporters came from the richer peasantry and the commercial castes.
- Congress was beginning to recruit support from railway workers, millhands and poor peasants.
How was Congress organised in 1920?
Organisation
- When Gandhi first emerged as a leader in 1920 there were 3 administrative levels: local branches, provincial committees and an All-Indian Congress Committee.
Why was the Structure of Congress revised under Gandhi?
- The structure was revised in 1920 because of Gandhi’s perception that a new sense of direction and purpose was needed.
- Cooperation with the Raj was to end and be replaced by non-violent non-cooperation.
How did Congress extend their appeal?
Organisation
- Membership of The All-Indian Congress Committee increased from 161 seats to 350 and seats were re-allocated on a regional population basis.
- Great emphasis was placed on recruiting women and untapped groups such as trade unions.
- Around 100 additional provincial committees and several hundred more local branches were set up.
What did Gandhi set up upon his release from prison in 1920?
- December 1920.
- Set up a new unit of the All-Indian Congress Committee (Congress Working Committee)
What did the Congress Working Committee do?
- Its job was to formulate policy.
- Mirrored what a cabinet was to government.
- Clearly, Gandhi intended to develop an alternative administrative structure that could take over when the Raj withered away.
What did Gandhi do upon his release from prison in 1924?
- Went ‘back to basics’
- This was entirely congruent with what seemed to be his basic belief that the way forward for India was to dismantle the structure and organisation of Congress.
What was the intention behind the All-Indian Spinners’ Association?
- Had the intention of spreading the words about hand spinning and weaving.
- Also promoted the general cause of self-sufficiency.
What Campaigns did Gandhi and the All-India Spinners’ Association persuade Congress to embark on?
- Mass literacy.
- The improvement of village sanitation.
- Gandhi also began to campaign vigorously on behalf of the ‘untouchables’ to enable them to fully integrate into Indian Society.
What two events changed the constructive development of Congress?
- The ‘Young Hooligans’ bursting into the political scene.
- The British Government setting up the Simon Commission.
Who were the ‘Young Hooligans’?
- Subhas Chandra Bose, Jayprakash Narayan and Jawaharlal Nehru.
- Lobbied the All-Indian Congress Committee and the Congress Working Committee.
- They wanted renewed action and wanted it now.
- Independence and the freedom it would grant all Indian people was their ultimate objective and they were impatient with what they perceived as Congress’ reluctance to confront the Raj.
- They fiercely opposed Dominion Status wanting only complete independence.
What was the 1928 Nehru Report?
- At an All-Parties Congress, a sub-committee produced a report that was really the first draft of a written constitution for India.
- It was the work of two lawyers; Tej Bahadur Sapru (leader of liberal party) and Motilal Nehru (member of Congress).
What did the 1928 Nehru Report recommend?
- Recommended dominion status for India on the same terms as those laid down for White self-governing countries within the British Empire such as Canada and Australia.
- Suggested that the princely states and British India were to be joined in a federation.
- There would be no further devolution of power to the provinces (However, this meant that Hindus would form a permanent majority within central government.)
Why were the Muslims unhappy with the Recommendations laid out within the 1928 Nehru Report?
- Despite vague promises that religious freedoms would be safeguarded and new Muslim states created, most Muslims were deeply unhappy.
- Under the Nehru Report they would lose the protection of their separate electorate status.
- Although it was only a Report, the fragile Hindu-Muslim alliance hung in the balance.
In December 1928, Congress met under Motilal Nehru demanding dominion status. What was the demand made by both Bose and Nehru?
- Britain was to withdraw from India by 31 December 1929.
Why was Bose and Nehru’s unrealistic demand for the British to withdraw from India by the 31st of December 1929 clever?
- Due to the unrealistic nature of the demand when withdrawal didn’t occur Congress would have the excuse to embark on a course of further non-cooperation if they wished.
What was Gandhi’s dilemma regarding Congress meeting in Lahore in December 1929?
- Gandhi was aware that he had the voice that all delegates would listen to.
- Gandhi also knew that Congress was deeply divided over what to do about the future of the Raj.
- Was Gandhi to back the young militants against moderate conservatives and risk potential bloodshed?
- Or was Gandhi to back the moderates and push for Dominion Status at the risk of dividing Congress potentially forever?
- Congress also needed to reassert its authority to be the voice of all India as not doing so would run the risk of allowing the British to settle with individual factions and in doing so play them off against each other.
Who had the Young Hooligans gained the support of?
- Had considerable support in the districts.
- Support from the young.
- Support from trade unionists.
- They were also building up a steady following amongst the younger members of Congress.
What did Gandhi decide at the Lahore Congress in 1929?
- Gandhi decided that he would support the Young Hooligans.
- He steered his policy through the various Congress committees and a militant open session, and ended up with a Working Committee of his own choosing to direct Congress’s actions in the months ahead.
