Mahatma Gandhi was the greatest national leader of India. He
was a great politician, an organizer, and a moral revolutionary. An opposite of
peace and non-violence, Gandhiji message has a universal appeal and is
exercising profound influence on humanity in general. Mohandas Karam Chand
Gandhi was born on 2nd October 1869, at Porbandar in Gujarat. After qualifying
for bar in England, he returned to India and started practice at Rajkot and
later at Bombay. He got a chance to go to South Africa as a legal adviser in a
case on behalf of a Muslim firm. He remained in South Africa from 1893 to 1914,
during which he fought against the racial discrimination of the write
community. The Indians who lived in South Africa were denied the right to vote.
They had to register and pay a poll-tax. They could not reside except in
prescribed locations which were insanitary and congested. Gandhiji soon became
the leader of the struggle against these conditions and was engaged in a heroic
struggle against the racist authorities of South Africa. During this struggle,
Gandhiji evolved the technique of Satyagaraha. The word ‘satya’ means truth and
‘Agraha’ means insistence. It means firm insistence on truth. According to him,
the ideal satyagrahi was to be truthful and perfectly peaceful, but at the same
time he would refuse to submit to what he considered wrong. He would accept
suffering willingly in the course of struggle against the wrong doer. He would
be literally fearless. In Gandhiji eyes, non-violence was not a weapon of the weak
and the cowardly. Only the strong and brave could practice it. Another aspect
of Gandhiji’s outlook was that he would not separate thought and practice,
belief and action. Gandhiji returned from South Africa in 1915. He could not
keep himself aloof from the political unrest that had engulfed the country at
that time. He spent an entire year in travelling all over India, understanding
Indian conditions and the Indian people. In 1916 he founded Sabarmati Ashram at
Ahmadabad where his friends and followers were to learn and practice the idea
of truth and non-violence.
Champaran Satyagraha [1917]
Gandhiji’s first great experiment in Satyagraha came in 1917 in Champaran, a
district in Bihar. The peasantry on the indigo plantation in the district was
excessively oppressed by the European planters. They were compelled to grow
indigo and to sell it at prices fixed by the planters. Gandhiji reached in
Champaran in 1917 and began to conduct a detailed enquiry into the condition of
the peasantry. The district officials ordered him to leave Champaran, but he
defied the order and was willing to face trial and imprisonment. This forced
the government to cancel its earlier order and to appoint a committee of
enquiry on which Gandhiji served as a peasantry was suffering were reduced.
This was the first triumph of Gandhiji new technique of Satyagraha in India.
Ahmadabad mill strike In 1918, Gandhiji’s intervened in a dispute between the
workers and mill owners of Ahmadabad. He advised the workers to go on strike
and to demand a 35% increase in wages. He under took a fast into death to
strengthen the workers revolve to continue the strike. It put pressure on the
mill owners and a settlement was reached between the workers and mill owners.
They agreed to give workers a 35% increase in wages. Kheda Strike Immediately
after Ahmadabad, Gandhiji played himself into a Satyagraha in Kheda in Gujarat.
Here the peasant proprietors called the ‘Patidars’ were subjected to immense
suffering due to an increase in the tax assessment on them by the British Govt.
The increase in the tax came at a time when there had been a failure of crops
due to excessive rainfall. Gandhiji advised the peasants to withhold payment of
revenue till their demand was met. The strike was withdrawn when it was learnt
that the govt had raised instruction to collect revenue from peasants who could
afford to pay.
Rowlatt Act 1919 The Indians were
not satisfied with the reform of 1919. The govt granted concessions which were
much below their expectation. The atmosphere was surcharged with passion and
excitement. On the report of a sedition committee headed by Justice Rowlatt,
two bills were introduced in the central Legislature in 1919. These bills came
to be known as ‘Rowlatt Act’. It authorized the government to imprison anyone
without trial. Thus suspended the right of Habeas corpus. These were no need
for a warrant to arrest or detain any person under the act. The purpose of this
act was to curb the growing nationalist upsurge in the country. Opposition to
the 'Black Act' as it came to be known was widespread. Along with other
nationalists, Gandhiji was also aroused by the Rowlatt Act. In February 1919,
he founded the Satyagraha Sabha, whose members took a pledge to disobey the act
and thus to court arrest and imprisonment. March and April 1919 witnessed a
remarkable political awakening in India. Almost the entire country came to
life. There were strikes, processions and demonstration. The entire country was
electrified. The Indians people were no longer willing to submit to the
degradation of foreign rule.
Significance of Rowlatt Act
Satyagraha [How did this movement represent a new stage in the growth of the
national movement]? The Rowlatt Act Satyagraha launched by Mahatma Gandhi
was an important event in the history of the Indian national movement. The
Satyagraha was a new method of struggle launched against British. It proved
people's capacity to act in place of giving verbal expression to anger. A new
leader who sought to arouse the masses appeared. It brought Mahatma Gandhi into
the forefront of national life. With this agitation, a new and decisive phase
of Indian freedom struggle started. The enthusiasm and Hindu Muslim unity that
developed during this struggle proved the way for Non-cooperation and Khilafat
movement.
The government was determined to
suppress the mass agitation followed by the Rowlatt Act. It repeatedly lathi
charged and fired up on unarmed demonstrators at Bombay, Ahmadabad, Calcutta,
Delhi and other cities. Gandhiji gave a call for a mighty hartal on 6th April
1919. The people responded with unprecedented enthusiasm. The govt, decided to
meet the popular protest with repression, particularly in the Punjab. The
prominent leaders of the congress Dr.Salfuddin kitchlew and Dr.Satyapal were arrested.
This sparked off a strike in the city. On 13th April 191, a public meeting took
place at Jallianwala Bagh to protest against the arrest of their leaders.
Jallianwala Bagh was a large open space which was enclosed on three sides by
building and had only one exit. General Dyer the military commander of Amritsar
came into complete submission. He surrounded the Bagh with his army until
closed the exit with his troops and then ordered his men to shoot into the
unarmed people with machine farm. They fired till their ammunition was
exhausted. Thousand were killed and wounded. This incident is known as
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre after the Massacre men law was proclaimed throughout
the Punjab. When this news came out, a wave of hatred spread throughout the country.
The great poet Rabindranath Tagore renounced his honorable title of knighthood
in protest against this cruelty.
i) The British: Archibald the
principal of M.A.O College. ii) The Muslim leader: Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.
, C . Rajagopal Achari gave up their
practice. Gandhiji gave up the title of Kaiser. The Tilak Swarajya fund was
started to finance the non-co-operation movement woman showed great enthusiasm
and freely offered their jewellery. Boycott of foreign with became a mass
movement huge bonfires of foreign cloth were organized all over the country. In
November 1921 huge demonstrations greeted the Prince of Wales, heir to the
British throne, during his tour of India. The British govt. alarmed and adopted
the policy of repression. The activities of the congress and Khilafat
volunteers were declared illegal. Public meetings and processions were banned.
By the end of 1921 all important nationalist leaders, except Gandhiji were
behind bars. Nearly 30,000 nationalist were also put in prison.
During the 1st world war, turkey had
joined the axis power. When the war ended, the victorious Allied powers took a
stern altitude towards Turkey and decided to remove the sultan. It was in
violation of the earlier pledge given by British Prime Minister Lloyd George.
The Muslims felt that the position of the sultan who was also regarded by many
as the religious head of the Muslims should not be undermined .As a result a
Sir Khilafat Committee was formed under the leadership of Ali brothers-Mohammad
Ali and Shaukat Ali, Abdul Kalam Azad, Hakim Azmal Khan and Hasrat Mohammad
were the other prominent member. The objectives of the Khilafat movement were
to stop the disruption of the Turkish Empire, to prevent the imposition of
severe peace term on Turkey and to preserve Khilafat. The all India Khilafat
conference held at Delhi in Nov 1919 decided to withdraw all cooperation from
the govt. if there demands were not met. The program consisted of boycott of
legislative council, foreign goods, govt. schools and colleges etc. in April
1920, Shaukat Ali warned the British govt. “we would start a joint Hindu-Muslim
movement of non-cooperation “. Gandhiji looked up on the Khilafat agitation as
an opportunity of uniting Hindu & Muslim as would not arise in a hundred
years. He extended full support of the congress to the Khilafat movement. Early
in 1920, he declared the Khilafat question overshadowed that of the
constitutional overshadowed that of the constitutional reform and the Punjab
wrongs and announced that we would lead a movement of non-cooperation if the
Indian Muslim. In fact, very soon Gandhi became one of the leaders of the
Khilafat movement. Meanwhile, the govt. had refused to withdraw the Rowlatt
Act, make mends for the atrocities in the Punjab or satisfy the nationalist
urge for self-govt. In June 1920, an all party conference met an Allahabad and
approved a programme of boycott of schools, colleges and law courts. The
Khilafat committee launched a non-Co-operation movement on 31st August 1920.
Hartals and protest meetings were held in different places. Unprecedented
scenes of Hindu –Muslim unity was witnessed in different parts of the country.
The Ali brothers were arrested and failed in Sep 1921. However, the Khilafat movement
soon lost its vigor when Mustafa Kamal Pasha dethroned the Turkish Sultan and
declared Turkey a secular republic. The Khilafat movement had made important
contributions to the Non-Co operation Movement. It had brought urban Muslims
into the nationalist movement and had been, thus, responsible in past for the
feeling of nationalist enthusiasm that prevailed in the Country in those days.
Under the leadership of Mahatma
Gandhi, the Indian National Congress declared in 1920 to start the Non- co-
operation movement in India. It was treaty a revolutionary step It was for the
first time that the congress decided to follow a policy of direct action .There
are many factors which prepared the background of the Non-Co-operation
Movement. The congress supported the British government in the 1st war hoping
greater political right. The British government announced the Montague
Chelmsford Reforms in 1919 which could not ̕face various economic problems
after the First World War. There was acute unemployment and poverty in the
country. The people blamed the British government for their suffering and they
became aggressive to oppose the British rule. Instead of solving the problems
of Indians, the govt. tried to suppress the anti–British feeling of the Indian.
In 1919 the government passed a 'notorious Act´ called the ̔Rowlatt Act̕ to
snatch the individual liberty of the Indian people. A protest meeting was held
at Jallianwala Bagh where hundred of people were killed in firing and inhuman
atrocities were committed by the government in Punjab. It shattered the faith
of the Indians especially of Mahatma Gandhi in the British government. In 1919,
a significant development appeared in the Muslims politics in India. The
British government harsh policy towards Turkey and its Sultan made the Muslims
angry and anti-British. In order to bring the Muslim Community into the main
stream of the national movement, Gandhiji decided to support the Khilafat
movement. A special session of the congress was held at Calcutta in September
1920. It adopted a resolution accepting Non-Co-operation Movement as the only
course left open for the people of India. This resolution wasendorsed by the
Congress in its annual session held at Nagpur in December 1920. The
Non-Co-operation Movement sought to achieve these objectives.(i) restoring the
old status of the Sultan of Turkey , (ii) Punishing those guilty of atrocities
in Punjab and (iii) Attaining Swaraj for India. The Non-Co-operation movement
involved the following programmes: i) Surrender of titles and honoring
offices. ii) Refusal to attend government offices and official function. iii)
Boycott of election of provincial and Central Assemblies. iv) Boycott of
government aided schools and colleges and low courts. v) Boycott of foreign
goods. People were urged to develop the sprit of discipline and self
sacrifice they were asked to take hand spinning, hand weaving and use of
Swadeshi goods. The Congress now changed its character. It became the organizer
and leader of the masses in its national struggle for freedom from foreign
rule. There was a general feeling of exhilaration. Hindus and Muslims were
marching together shoulder to shoulder. Thousands of students left schools and
colleges. It was at this time that the Jama Millia Islsmia, Bihar Vidyapith,
Kashi Vidyapith and Gujarat Vidyapith came into existence. Hundreds of lowers
including C.R Das, Motilal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad , Sardar Patel , C .
Rajagopal Achari gave up their practice. Gandhiji gave up the title of Kaiser.
The Tilak Swarajya fund was started to finance the non-co-operation movement
woman showed great enthusiasm and freely offered their jewellery. Boycott of
foreign with became a mass movement huge bonfires of foreign cloth were
organized all over the country. In November 1921 huge demonstrations greeted
the Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne, during his tour of India. The
British govt. alarmed and adopted the policy of repression. The activities of
the congress and Khilafat volunteers were declared illegal. Public meetings and
processions were banned. By the end of 1921 all important nationalist leaders,
except Gandhiji were behind bars. Nearly 30,000 nationalist were also put in
prison.
The annual session of the congress
held at Ahmadabad in Dec 1921 passed a resolution offering the determination of
the congress to continue the programme of non-violent non-co-operation with
great or vigor .The resolution called upon the people to organize individual or
mass civil disobedience along non-violent lines. On 1 February 1922, Gandhiji
announced that he would start mass civil disobedience including non-payment of
taxes, unless within seven days the political prisoners were released and the
press freed from govt control on 5 February 1922, a congress processions of
3000 peasants at Chauri Chaura, a village in Gorakpur district in U.P was fixed
upon by the police station causing the death of 22 policemen. Gandhiji was
greatly shocked at this incident and suspended the movement. The Congress
working committee met at Bardoli in Gujarat on 12 February and passed a
resolution stopping all activities which would lead to breaking of law. Significance:
- The non-co-operation movement of 1920 failed to achieve its immediate
goal of establishing Swaraj in India. Net the movement had great impact in the
history of the freedom movement. It was the first mass movement of its kind
that touched the people of even the remote village. When thousands of people
walked together shoulder to shoulder and resisted the British forces the
national movement naturally became quite wider into Scope. It was no longer
limited to only a few educated urban people. It increased the self-confidence
of the people. They were now inspired with the moral to challenge the
imperialistic rule of the British. The movement surpassed all caste and creed
distinction in the society .It led to the hindu-muslim unity as was not
witnessed before. The congress became a revolutionary organisation. It
undermined the prestige and power of the British. The Indians realized that if they
work together, the road to freedom was not far away. As a result of this
movement, many national schools and colleges were founded in different part of
the country. Khadi became symbol of national movement. Besides, steps were
taken in the direction of prohibition and removal of untouchability. Thus,
on-co-operation movement was a great step towards achieving the freedom of the
country.
A major development is Indian
politics occurred during 1922-28. Immediately the withdrawal of the
non-co-operation movement led to the demonstration in the national ranks.
Moreover serious differences arose among the leader who had to decide how to
prevent the movement from lapsing into passivity. one section led by C.R.Das
Motilal Nehru and Ajmal Khan wanted boycott of the legislative council to be
ended and the nationalist to be allowed to enter them to expose weakness of
these assemblies, transform them into areas of political struggle and thus use
them into arouse public enthusiasm. The group of Congressmen came to be known
as ‘Pro-changers’. But Sardar Vallabhai Patel,Rajendra Prasad and other known
as ‘no-changers’opposed council entry under this circumstances,pro-changers
like –C.R.Das and Motilal Nehru formed the congress Khilafat Swarajya party in
December 1922,with was as President and Motilal Nehru as one of the secretaries
the new party was to function as a group within the congress. It accepted the
congress programme accept in one respect. It would take part in council
election. Instead of non-co-operation outside the legislature their policy was
to wreck the legislature from within by following a policy of uniform
continuous and constant obstruction. Even though the Swarajists led little time
for preparation they did very well in the election of November 1923. They won
42 seats out of the 101 elected seats in the central legislative Assembly. They
agitated through powerful speeches on question of self govt. Civil liberties
and industrial development. In March 1925 they succeeded in electing Vallabhai
Patel on the speaker of the central legislative Assembly they exposed the
hollowness of the reform Act 1919. The Swarajists suffered a blow in the death
of C.R.Das in 1925. But the Swarajists lacked any policy to co-ordinate their
military inside the legislature with the mass struggle outside. They failed to
resist the parks and privileges of power and office. They failed to support the
peasants cause in Bengal and lost support among Muslim members. However their
tactics of obstruction embarrassed the govt. on the number of issues. They
missed as opportunity to attack the anti-people policies of the govt.
Though the Swarajists leaders failed
in their objectives, they impressed upon the govt of the need of early revision
of the constitution of 1919.the Indian demand for political advance gradually
grow more and more insistent. As a result in 1927 the British govt appointed
the Indian statutory Commission to go into the question of further
constitutional reform. General election was due to England in 1929 and there
was a strong possibility of labour party coming into power the conservative
party did not like to leave the appointment of the commission to such a
successor govt. The commission was headed by Sir John Simon, which consisted of
7 members. It was an all white commission and non Indians were associated with
it. This aroused strong prevent from the Indians. The British action was seen
as a violation of the principle of self determination and a deliberate insult
of the self-respect of the Indians. In Madras Session in 1927 presided over by
Dr.Ansari decided to boycott the commission “at every stage and in every form”.
The Muslim League and the Hindu Sabha decided to support the congress on
decision. The Simon commission landed in Bombay on 3 February 1928. And all
India hartals were observed on that day. Protest demonstrations were held every
where. Wherever the commission went it was greeted with hartals and black flag
demonstration under the slogan Simon go back. The govt used brutal suppression
and police attacks Lala Lajpat Rai was seriously injured in one of the
incidents from which he could not recover. The Commission firmly perused its
programme and submitted a report in 1930. The recommendations of the commission
were: i) There should be a federal govt at the centre consisting of British
India and princely states. ii) Diarchy should be abandoned and the provinces
deserved to be given full autonomy. iii) The provinces legislative council
should be enlarged. iv) The communal representation was to continue. v) The
presence of British troops and British troops and British officers in India
would be needed for many years. vi) The high court would be under the
administrative control of the Indian govt.
IMPACT:-The
Simon commission had a great impact on the Indians political life. In granted
the climate for a political life. It granted the climate for a political
revolution by creating fighting spirit among the Indian people. The Nehru
Report and the demand for poorna Swaraj were the off shook of the political
excitement created by protest against the commission. The civil disobedient
movement began as a protest against the commission.
Lord Birkenhead, the secretary of
state for India led justified the exclusion of Indian from the Simon
commission. He challenged the Indian leaders to frame a constitution that would
be acceptable to all parties in India. Accordingly an all party’s conference
was held in Bombay in May 1928 under the president ship of Motilal Nehru.
Representatives of all parties agreed to entrust the responsibility of drafting
the constitution to a sub-committee appointed for the purpose under the
leadership of Motilal Nehru other prominent members of the sub-committee were
Subhas Chandra Bose, Tej Bahadur Sapru & Ali Imam. Towards the end of
the year 1928 the committee prepared a draft constitution which came to be
known as the Nehru Report. It contained the following recommendations. i) Attainment
of 'Dominion Status’ at an every date. ii) India to be a federation builds on
basis of linguistic provinces & the provincial autonomy. iii) Executive to
be full responsible to the legislature. iv) Safeguard the interests of the
religious minorities and also give them full protection. v) It proposed joint
electorate with reservation of seats for minorities in the legislature. The
All party conference held at Calcutta in December 1928 considered the
Nehru-Report. The communal parties like Muslim league. Hindu Maha Sabha and
Sikh league rejected the Report. However the Indian National
The Indian National Congress
reflected its new mood. Gandhiji came back to active politics and attended the
Calcutta Session of the Congress in December 1928. The congress asked the govt
to accept the Nehru Report. The viceroy was not in a position to give any
definite assurance. At its Lahore Session presided over by Jawaharlal Nehru in
December 1929, the congress passed revolution declaring ‘Poorna Swaraj’
complete Independence to be the congress objective. On 31 December 1929 was
hoisted the newly adopted tri-colour flag of freedom. 26 January 1930 was fixed
as the first Independence Day which was to be celebrated every year. The
congress session also announced the launching of a civil disobedience movement.
The detained programme of the movement was to be drawn up by Gandhiji with hope
and exhilaration and the determination to be forced.
The Lahore Congress was followed by
a two months while the country and the government waited for Gandhiji to decide
on the precise method of non-violent struggle for Poorna Swaraj. Gandhiji once
again tried for compromise with the government and put the government and put
forward 11 points demand include reduction in land tax, prohibition etc. He
stated that if Lord Irwin accepted it, then there would be no need for
agitation. The government response was negative, so Gandhiji decided to start
the movement. The civil disobedience movement was organized to disobey laws
made by the British. The programme of the civil disobedience movement was as follows: 1. Salt law should be violated everywhere. 2. Students
should leave school and colleges. 3. Governments’ servants should resign from
services. 4. Foreign goods should be burnt. 5. No taxes to be paid to the
government. 6. Women should start dharna before shops having liquors etc. Gandhiji started the civil disobedience movement on 12th
march 1930 with his famous Dandi march. Together with 78 chosen followers,
Gandhiji walked from Sabarmati ashram to Dandi, a village on the Gujarat sea
coast. On 6th April Gandhi reached Dandi, picked up a handful of salt and broke
the salt law as a symbol of Indians refusal to live under British made law.
Gandhiji’s march created unprecedented enthusiasm among the people and soon the
movement spread all over the country. Violation of salt laws was soon followed
by defiance violation of forest laws in Maharashtra, Karnataka and the Central
provinces. Everywhere in the country people joined hartals, demonstration and
the campaign to boycott foreign goods. Lakhs of Indians offered Satyagraha. In
many parts of the country, the peasants refused to pay the land revenue, and
rent. Viceroy called First Round Table Conference in London, but congress
boycotted it. A notable feature of the movement was the wide participation of women.
Thousands of them left seclusion of their homes and offered Satyagraha. They
took part in picketing shops selling foreign liquor. They marched shoulder to
foreign cloth or liquor. They marched shoulder to shoulder with the man in
procession. The movement reached the extreme North Western corner of India and
stirred the brave pathans under the leadership of Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan,
popularly known as Frontier Gandhi. The pathans organized the society of Khudai
Khidmatgars [Servants of God] known as Red shirts. They started a fierce
anti-government movement in various ways including non-payment of taxes. In
Peshawar Garhwali soldiers refused to open fire on non-violent mass
demonstrators. Nagaland produced a brave heroine Rai Gaidilieu who raised the
banner of rebellion against foreign rule. Being alarmed at the intensity of the
movement, the British government restored repressive measures. The government
put thousands of satyagrahas under arrest including Gandhiji. The congress was
declared illegal. The nationalist press was gagged through strict censorship by
news. Thousands of persons had their heads and bones broken in lathi charges.
The police often beat up men just for wearing Khadi or Gandhi caps. The absence
of the congress representing in the first Round Table Conference convinced the
British government, the need to persuade the congress to attend the conference.
Efforts in that direction were made by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and Sir
M.R.Jayakar. Finally, Lord Irwin and Gandhiji negotiated a settlement in March
1931 which came to be known as Gandhi-Irwin Pact. According to this Pact,
Gandhiji suspended the civil disobedience movement and agreed to take part in
the Second Round Table Conference. The government conceded to peaceful
picketing and making of salt. However, the Second Round Table Conference ended
in failure and Gandhiji returned to India. After its temporary suppression the
Civil Disobedience Movement was resumed. The government now leaded by Viceroy
Lord Willington decided to crush the congress. On the January 1932, Gandhiji
and other leaders of the congress were declared illegal. The police indulged in
naked terror and committed innumerable atrocities on the freedom fighters. In
May 1933 the congress officially suspended the Movements because of the
atrocities committed by the high caste Hindus on Harijans. Finally, the
movement was withdrawn in May 1934.
There is no denying the fact that
the civil disobedience movement could not show immediately results. The impact
of the movements can be summed up as follows. The people might have become
silent for the time being but there were tide of patriotic fervors in the
country. It proved beyond doubt the organizing capacity of the congress. The
movement was more intensive in magnitude than the Non-Cooperation Movement.
Another significance of the movement was that the Indian peasantry raised voice
not against the foreign rule, but protested against land revenue system. It
exposed the true nature of the British rule in India.
The First Round Table Conference was
held in London in 1930. Not much was done at the conference on account of the
absence of the congress representatives. The government knew that any
settlement regarding Indians people would be incomplete, if the congress
refused to co-operate. So the British were eager to compromise. Sir Tej Bahadur
Sapru and Jayakar became the mediators between the congress and the British. An
understanding was reached between Gandhiji and Lord Irwin in 1931 which came to
be known as Gandhi-Irwin Pact. Its provisions were:-
The government agreed:- 1. To
release all the political prisoners except those guilty of violence. 2. To
withdraw ordinance issued in connection with Civil Disobedience Movement. 3. To
give back to the congress their confiscated properties. 4. To permit peaceful
picketing of liquors and foreign cloth’s shop. 5. To permit such people as
lived near sea-shore to manufacture salt. Gandhiji agreed:- 1. To suspend the
civil disobedience movement. 2. To take part in the deliberation of Second Round
Table Conference.
There is a great controversy over
the significance of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. The congress committees itself was
divided on the result of the talk. Many people have it as a viceroy because the
viceroy had to negotiate a settlement with the congress. Others particularly
the younger, left wing sectors were opposed to the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, for the
government had not accepted even one of the major national demands. The
consequences of the pact were as follows:
1. The viceroy had forced to treat the Indian nation leaders on an
equal footing. 2. It greatly increased the prestige of the congress as the
viceroy and Gandhiji’s put their signatures on a Treaty OF Peace. 3. The
British accepted congress as an authority to speak for political India. 4. When
the rural congress workers were released from jail and went to their village,
they were given reception. This demonstrated
the awakening of political conscious among masses to a degree undreamt of
before. It also gave evidence of the high morale inspiration and courage.
Round Table Conference
Forced failed to extinguish the
spirit of revolt against law and the government. In order to side over the
situation, the British government called a Round Table Conference in London
1930 to find an acceptable solution to the Indians problems. The congress
boycotted the first round table conference and launched the civil disobedience
movement. Other parties were represented by several eminent people like Tej
Bahadur Sapru, Jinnah and Agha Khan. The chief item on the agenda was to discuss
the Simon commission Report. But no vital decision could be taken because the
congress did not participate in it. On 19th January 1931 the British prime
minister Ramsey Mac Donald held out hopes of making a substantial transfer of
power to India. The viceroy lord Irwin was anxious for a settlement. He took
noble step of holding direct talks with Gandhiji and signed a pact known as
Gandhi-Irwin pact. As per the pact Gandhi went to London to part in second
round table conference in 1931. All sections of Indian society were represented
at the conference. Gandhiji pressed for the congress demand for immediate and
the responsible government for India. The other groups were more concerned with
safeguarding their own rights and narrow interest. No decision would be taken
regarding the joint or separate electorate. The third round table conference
was held in 1932. The congress boycotted it. Then the conference became a
conference of the loyalists only. The government went ahead with its plan. On
the basis of its recommendation the British passed the government of India Act
in 1935.
