The Contribution of Congress Socialists to the National Movement in Orissa

International Journal of Applied Research 2017; 3(4): 225-231 ISSN Print: 2394-7500 ISSN Online: 2394-5869 The contribution of congress socialists to the national Impact Factor: 5.2 IJAR 2017; 3(4): 225-231 movement in Orissa www.allresearchjournal.com Received: 03-02-2017 Accepted: 04-03-2017 Dr. Suryakant Nath Dr. Suryakant Nath Abstract Associate Professor of History, The Indian National Congress was the Organisation which spearheaded the anti-colonial struggle National Defence Academy, against the British in India. There were many strands popular protest which operated inside the broad Pune, Maharashtra, India framework of the Congress-led movement against the British. Among these, the Socialists played a very crucial role as they radically transformed the ideology of the national movement by taking it closer to the masses and increasingly reflecting their aspirations in the policies and programmes of the Indian National Congress. At the international level, the great economic depression of 1929, failure of the western capitalist economies to cope with its adverse consequences and the unusual recovery and exceptional economic gains made by the Soviet Union made the socialist ideology immensely popular in India and many young men who had been sceptical with the Gandhian methods gradually leaned towards socialist ideas. This radicalism in nationalist politics brought massive popular response, participatory politics and a steady erosion of the colonial power structure. The present paper tries to trace the roots of this socialist movement in Orissa in the thirties and tries to capture the broad spectrum of the movement till India attains independence. Keywords: Samyavadi, Krushak Sangha, Karmi Sangha, Zamindari, Marwari, Harjan, Chaasi-Mulia, Inquilaab, Shramik, Prajamandal, Bethi, Bhetti, Magan, Rasad Introduction The Congress Socialists played a significant role in the history of anti-colonial struggle in India. Their emergence at the international, national and regional level marked a radical transformation of the ideology in nationalist politics. Radicalisation of the nationalist movement had started in the 1920s after Mahatma Gandhi had taken over the reins of the [1] Indian National Congress but it became perceptible only in the 1930s. It was due to many national and international factors. At the international level, the great economic depression of 1929, failure of the western capitalist economies to cope with its adverse consequences and the unusual recovery and exceptional economic gains made by the Soviet Union made the socialist ideology immensely popular in India and many young men who had been sceptical with the Gandhian methods gradually leaned towards socialist ideas. This radicalism in nationalist politics brought massive popular response, participatory politics and a steady erosion of the colonial power structure. At the regional level, mobilisation for the Civil Disobedience movement or the Salt Satyagraha, the creation of Orissa as a separate province in 1936 and the formation of the Congress Ministry in 1937 provided a definite push to the issues which had been at the forefront of nationalistic struggle for many years now. The popular protest against the problems of the peasantry in British Orissa and repressive and exploitative regimes in Princely states came to be highlighted in the ensuing struggle alongside the nationalist struggle for liberation from foreign rule. It may sound a little unusual but Congress Socialists in Orissa formed the Utkal Congress Samyavadi Karmi Sangha (or Utkal Congress Socialist Workers League) almost a year before the Congress Socialists party was formed at the national level in 1934 [2]. However, before we go onto the contribution of the socialists to the Indian national movement at the Correspondence regional level, specific issues related to the emergence of socialism and their functioning Dr Suryakant Nath within the Congress needs to be analysed. First of all it needs to be kept in mind that the left Associate Professor of History, trend represented by the Congress Socialists and Communists was structured very much National Defence Academy, within the Congress organisation and it wielded quite a dominating influence. And secondly, Pune, Maharashtra, India all the measures adopted by the Congress during the whole of 1930s bore a stamp of socialist ~ 225 ~ International Journal of Applied Research orientation. In all these popular movements initiated by the methods he said, “We decided to go from village to village Indian National Congress, the socialists undoubtedly played holding meetings, getting peasant’s signatures on a printed a very crucial role. appeal to the government asking for remission. As this was Emergence of Socialist line of thought in Orissa Congress an appeal to the Government they might not create any can be traced back to February 1933 when Utkal Samyavadi obstacle. The zamindars might not oppose our move as they Karmi Sangha (Utkal Congress Socialist Workers League) would also be benefitted by a corresponding rebate in was set up at Cuttack by some Congress members. The revenue. Secondly we could easily enter the villages and members of this group were nationalists like Naba Krusna organise the peasants by setting up Krushak sanghas. In the Chaudhury, Malati Chaudhury, Gouranga Chandra Das, zamindari areas, the peasants had no rights over trees in Sudhir Chandra Ghosh, Nrupen Sen, Manmohan their own fields or over the fish in the ponds near their Chaudhury, S N Dwibedi, Rabi Ghosh, Prananath house. So, the zamindars and moneylenders found it easy to Patanayak, Mohan Das, Bhagabati Charan Panigrahi, extract illegal cesses from the peasants. So in such Dibakar Patnayak. Gatikrusna Swain and Lokanath Ray circumstances it was unrealistic to conceive of organising joined later [3]. A weekly organ named ‘Saarathi’ was the peasantry on the basis of class struggle. Hence the launched on behalf of this Karmi Sangha with Naba Krusna strategy had to be designed in such a manner that the Chaudhury as the editor. It wanted to expand the nationalist peasants became fearless [9] and cooperation of the non- base and was vehement in its criticism of feudal and socialists could be sought while the whole programme had capitalist exploitation [4]. In 1935 CSP launched another to be under the Congress banner. monthly journal ‘Adhunika’ which was edited by Bhagabati Acharya Narendra Dev [10] also stressed the need to CharanPanigrahi (who later became the leader of the coordinate and unite forces with Congress. He said, “The breakaway communist faction) and CSP also started a struggle of the workers should be linked with the struggle of cultural organisation called ‘Nabayuga SahityaSansad’. the Congress and through it with the struggle of peasants Adhunika carried a fair amount of discussion on Marxist and the lower middle class. It is only when they will all ideology and leaned heavily towards Soviet Union and had a unite into one big effort that the battle will be won. All the distinct communist orientation [5]. forces that are working for the political independence of the The objectives/goals of the Utkal Samyavadi Karmi Sangha country have to be co-ordinated with each other and this is were outlined in the preamble of its constitution. It read, possible only when all come to possess the same ideals”. “Whereas in the interest of the struggle of the masses in During this period there was consistent ideological India for political and economic freedom, it has become campaign against oppression, exploitation and arbitrary rule urgently necessary to organise in each of the Congress by holding public meetings and Kisan processions to expand provinces a well-knit and disciplined party of those workers the nationalist base among the oppressed masses. The CSP who are determined to fight till the bitter end for the realised that the lower classes needed to be self conscious. economic and political emancipation of the masses along Acharya Narendra Dev said,“.....upper classes who wield definite scientific lines of socialism based on past economic power in the country and have existing social experiences and deep and realistic study of moral and conditions in their favour need not be class conscious, material condition of the people and their psychology and because it is only in this way, they can really feel that they whereas the wide democratic platform of the Congress and are defending not their class interest but the interests of the the place it has come to occupy in the popular mind due to whole society. The social basis being very narrow they great Civil Disobedience Movement of 1930-34 makes really feel stronger by entertaining the belief that they are affiliation of any such party to the Congress possible and acting in the interests of the society as a whole” [11] The poor desirable” [6] The Utkala Samyavadi Karmi Sangha was later peasantry in the countryside on the other hand had to be affiliated to the All India Congress Socialist Party and made aware of their basic rights and to do away with the worked as its provincial unit from September 1934. culture of fear which engulfed their whole being. The peasant question in India formed part of a wider Narratives in S N Dwibedi’s books and books on Naba question of the struggle against British imperialism [7]. Krusna Chaudhury abound with examples of this culture of Acharya Narendra Dev, the President of the All India fear which was very much a part of the peasant’s being in Congress Socialist Conference at Patna on 17 may 1934 in the rural surroundings. Dwibedi narrates an incident as to course of his address said, “The peasants are notorious all what extent people were scared of the agents of the over the world for the incapacity to organise themselves and Zamindar and anything related to any stamped paper. to develop common understanding. Left to themselves, they Literacy must have been around 5% at that time and there can lodge their protest by spontaneous peasant risings when was hardly any newspaper available in the countryside.

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