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2021 RBS MUNJAN 22. 23. 24

STUDY GUIDE Indian Decolonisation Assembly 2

Table of Contents:

1. Letter from the Executive Board 2. Timeline of Major Events 3. Overview of the situation in 4. Bloc Positions 5. Run-through of major parties 6. Documentation 7. Questions the resolution must address 8. Bibliography

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Letter from the Executive Board

Dear Delegates,

As the executive board members, we extend to you a very warm welcome to the Indian Assembly. As delegates of a highly dynamic and diversified committee, each of you will need to be exhaustive in your approach towards research and preparation. You must present new perspectives and opinions to a committee that deals with a challenging agenda.

We are in the midst of a nationwide state of uncertainty and resolving this conflict between two seemingly polar opposite countries with clashing ideologies requires proactive lobbying and persistent diplomacy. We expect a host of topics to be covered throughout the course of the three days, these include political disputes, famines, economic instability, regional disagreements, and religious debates— bound to ensure a rigorous debate. Ever since the rise of the in 1612, India has slipped into a dire state plagued by crises. Delegates, it is now completely up to you to decide the fate of a country with over 300 million people.

Even though the committee is online this year, we guarantee that the debating experience will be as exciting and well rounded as it has been every year at RBS MUN. We are looking forward to seeing passionate delegates and hope you all bring your A-game!

If you have any questions or doubts regarding the committee or want to come ahead and introduce yourself, reach out to us as we look forward to hearing from you. You can contact us at [email protected].

Freeze date for the committee is 20th November, 1933.

Regards, Executive Board Indian Decolonization Assembly, 1933

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Timeline of Major Events

1783: The caused the death of 11 million people in the . Multiple El Nino events followed after 1780, causing droughts that severely affected parts of .

1789: The Doji Bara famine took the lives of 11 million Indians. According to meteorological observations, the El Nino caused the South Asian monsoon to stop for four consecutive years since 1789. This caused a prolonged drought and extreme crop failure, accompanied by outbreaks of cholera and smallpox. The Doji Bara famine lasted till 1785.

1820: The first cholera pandemic of India struck and then rapidly raged across the country by the mid-1820s. Estimated deaths exceeded 15 million.

1853: Although the Indian Post Office was established in 1837, Asia’s first adhesive stamp, the Scinde Dawk, was introduced in 1852 by Sir Bartle Frere, the East India Company’s administrator of the province of . The Indian postal system became a widespread, dependable, and robust network providing connectivity to almost all parts of India, Burma, the , and other areas controlled by the East India Company (EIC).

1853: The first railway was established between Bombay and .

1855: The Santhals had fallen victim to corrupt cash lending practices and on being unable to pay their loans with the extortionate interest rate attached to them, the British snatched their lands and forced them into bonded labour. This sparked the , which was eventually suppressed.

1857: The (also known as The First War of Independence, Indian Insurrection/ , The Great Rebellion, etc) was an uprising against the rule of the British East India Company,which was ultimately unsuccessful. The invasive British-style social reforms and harsh land taxes were the primary causes of this rebellion. The Indian Rebellion posed a great threat to British power in the upper Gangetic plain and before the rebels were defeated in on 20 June 1858. The rebellion started on 10 May 1857 and finally came to an end after 1 year and 6 months on 1 November 1858. It resulted in the end

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of the (after the deposition of Emperor), the transfer of rule from to the British Crown, and the suppression of the revolting rebels after the British victory.

1858: The ‘ Act’ transferred British power from the company to . Great Britain ruled India formally as a colony without the veil of the Company or the Mughal Crown, as became the Empress of India.

1860: The famine broke out. It affected the Ganga- Doab in the North- Western provinces, large parts of and , the and Hissar divisions of , all in British India (then under Crown rule) and the eastern regions of the princely states of . The famine lasted till 1861 and about 2 million people lost their lives.

1861: The ‘Indian Councils Act’ of 1861 re-established the legislative forces of Bombay and Madras Presidencies that had been removed by the ‘Charter Act’ of 1833. While the power to pass laws for British India was vested in the board of administration located in Calcutta, the authoritative committees at Bombay and Madras had the authority to establish laws for “Peace and Good Government” limited to their presidencies.

1862: The high courts of Calcutta, Madras and Bombay were established.

1867: The Prarthana Samaj or Prayer Society, previously known as Atmiya Sabha, was established. This movement was based on earlier movements for religious, cultural and social reforms in Bombay. The members of this movement were all theists and had the aim of making people believe and worship only one god.

1869: The Rajputana famine, also known as famine, affected an area of 770,000 km². Over 1.5 million people died in the princely states of Rajputana, India and the British territory of Ajmer.

1873: The ‘Satyashodhak Samaj’ (Truth-seekers) society was established by on 24 September. The prime motive of this society was to improve the lives of the underprivileged groups by increasing social rights and political awareness. Consisting of

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theists as well, it also focused on the educational opportunities for aforementioned groups, since it was against the social and political superiority of the Brahmans.

1875: The ‘’ (Noble Society) was a monotheistic reform movement that was established on 10 April 1875. It strongly promoted the practices and ethics suggested by the vedas, and was the first organization in India to introduce proselytization.

1876: The Great famine of 1876-1878 caused the death of over 10 million people. The British economic policies were directly linked to the cause of famines in India.

1877: The Delhi (Court of Delhi) organized on 1 January 1877, was an official event to proclaim Queen Victoria as Empress of India by. It marked the complete transfer of powers from the East India Company to the crown. Her majesty officially began the freedom movement here by declaring that she wished for Indians to enjoy as much power as her British subjects.

1881: The ‘Government Savings Bank Act,’ passed by the legislature in 1873, was enacted.

1882: On 1 April 1882, Post Office Savings Banks opened throughout India (except in the ). A limited number of POSBs were established in the , while none were established in Calcutta within the .

1885: The was established on 28 December 1885. It was the first party to establish a modern nationalist movement under the within Asia and Africa.

1891: The Anglo- War was a major clash between the British Empire and the Kingdom of Manipur. The war lasted from 31 March to 27 April 1891 and broke out due to the strained relationship between the two parties on account of the murder of five British officers. The war concluded with a British triumph.

1896: The Bubonic plague struck the city of Bombay. The epidemic killed thousands of people and many people fled the city.

1898: The Bubonic plague affected Calcutta, causing panic and riots in the wake of plague prevention measures.

1902: The ‘’ was an Indian organization in the principal quarter of the

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twentieth century that upheld progressive savagery as the method to end British rule in India. The association emerged from an aggregation of nearby youth gatherings and gyms (). It tested British rule by inciting violent acts of patriotism including bombings, and politically inspired brutality. The Samiti worked together with other progressive associations in India and abroad.

1903: The British expedition to Tibet began in December 1903 and went on until September 1904. The endeavour was viably a temporary encroachment by British Indian powers under the support of the Tibet Frontier Commission.

1905: The partition of Bengal announced by Lord Curzon led to a massive upsurge among the people and a call for swadeshi goods, leading to a boycott of British manufactured goods. Lord Randolph Churchill became Secretary of State for India.

1906: Formation of or Yugantar. It was one of the two revolutionary trends working secretly in Bengal for Indian autonomy. This affiliation also began in the pretense of a rural wellness club. The political party, All-India Muslim League was also established.

1909: The ‘Indian Councils Act 1909’ also known as the ‘Morley-Minto Reforms,’ achieved a restricted expansion in the involvement of Indians within the administration of British India. The changes set up Indian predominance in the provincial, but not central, authoritative bodies. Elections, which were indirect, were declared and approved for all strata of society.

1911: Following the first partition of Bengal, a rise in radical nationalism seen in the form of violent protests, prompted the authorities to reverse the partition. The British Government also moved the capital from Calcutta to Delhi.

1912: The , also known as the Delhi- Conspiracy, was a plan to kill the then Viceroy of India, Lord Hardinge, when he was moving the capital of British India from Calcutta to .

1914: –German Conspiracy (1914-1917) was initiated by Indian nationalists in an attempt to begin a Pan-Indian mutiny against the during . It was formulated between the Indian progressive underground and underground patriots who formed the Ghadar Party, along with Germany.

1915: The occurred. It was an international, political movement established by expatriate Indians to topple British rule in India. It spread to India and Indian diasporic networks around the world.

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1916: An agreement was formulated between the Muslim League and the Indian National Congress, it allow the representation of religious minorities in the provincial legislatures. Moreover, the heads of the Muslim League consented to join the Congress movement requesting Indian independence.

1917: The first movement: The was led by and is considered a very influential step in the Indian independence movement. It was a rancher’s uprising that occurred in the Champaran region of , India, during the British provincial time frame. During this movement, the farmers protested against increased rent burden as a result of decreasing demand for indigo.

1918: The ‘Kheda Satyagraha’ was the second Satyagraha movement Mahatma Gandhi organized to support peasants.

1919: The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also called the massacre, occurred on 13 April. Brigadier-General requested soldiers of the British to fire their rifles onto a crowd of unarmed Indian civilians in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab. The incident resulted in the death of 379 individuals and critically injured more than 1,200 others.

The ‘Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms’ were brought forward by the colonial government in British India to introduce self-governing institutions and provinces were told to follow ‘dyarchy.’

The ‘’ was also introduced in 1919. It was an authoritative board act passed by the Imperial Legislative Council in Delhi, inconclusively broadening the emergency measures of preventive uncertain confinement and imprisonment without preliminary and legal survey sanctioned in the ‘Defense of India Act 1915’ during the First World War.

1920: The non-cooperation movement was dispatched on 5th September 1920 by Mahatma Gandhi. It was defined by the demand for self-administration and absolute autonomy.

The was a pan-Islamist religious-political protest launched by the of British India to restore the caliph of the Ottoman Caliphate an as effective political authority. It was a campaign against the sanctions set on the caliph and the Ottoman Empire after the First World War by the Treaty of Sèvres.

1922: The — a huge gathering of nonconformists, partaking in the Non- cooperation Movement, conflicted with police who opened fire. In reprisal, the demonstrators

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set fire to the police headquarter, murdering every policeman within. Following this incident, the Indian National Congress halted the Non-cooperation Movement.

1924: The revolutionary Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) was established by Chandrasekhar Azad.

1925: The Conspiracy, which was a train robbery organized by the HSRA, took place in this year as a part of the indian independence movement.

1927: ‘Mahad Satyagraha’ took place and was led by B. R. Ambedkar on 20 March 1927 to permit untouchables to use water from a public tank in Mahad, .

The British Conservative government under Stanley Baldwin delegated the ‘’ in November to investigate the working of the Indian constitution set up by the ‘Government of India Act’ of 1919. This action, however, was met with strong criticism since the commission did not include Indians.

1928: The ‘’ took place in . led this movement and its prosperity made him one of its primary leaders.

1929: and bombed the Central Assembly. The Congress party asked to observe the 26th of January as .

1930: The Declaration of the Independence of India or the ‘Purna ’ declaration was promulgated by the Indian National Congress on 26 January 1930. It caused the Congress party and Indian patriots to battle for complete self-rule, free of the British Empire.

Salt Satyagraha— a demonstration of peaceful civil disobedience, led by Mahatma Gandhi. The 25-day walk acted as a protest against the British salt monopoly.

The first round table conference was held in London, UK. The primary aim of this meeting was to introduce an All India Federation.

1931: The ‘Gandhi- Irwin Pact,’ was endorsed by Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Irwin, Viceroy of India. Before this, Lord Irwin had reported, in October 1929, an ambiguous proposal of ‘ status’ for British-occupied India and a Round Table Conference to examine a future constitution. A second round table conference took place.

New Delhi was inaugurated as the capital of India.

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1932: The Poona Pact which was an agreement between Babahsaheb Ambedkar and Gandhi, was signed between the oppressed lower classes and upper- Hindu leaders on reservation for electoral seats.

The third round table conference took place.

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Overview of the situation in India

Economic Situation:

During the British Raj, India’s trade was strictly regulated. Before the colonial period, India exported manufactured goods around the globe. Under colonial rule, however, India became an exporter of solely raw materials such as jute, , indigo, wool, , etc as well as an importer of finished consumer goods like silk, woolen clothes, and light machinery manufactured in the factories of Britain. The opening of the Suez Canal further intensified British control over Indian trade. Foreign trade was allowed with only a handful of countries like , Ceylon and Persia, and even this trade was heavily monitored by the colonialists.

At a certain point in time, under the British Raj, resources were being used mainly to produce items for export, leading to an acute shortage of civil goods such as clothes, food grains,

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kerosene, etc. While India exported surplus products, the revenue generated was being used to make payments for the British, their war expenses and purchase of their own items.

In the , the first cotton mills opened in Bombay, presenting a challenge to the cottage- based home production system and marking the beginning of India’s industrial era. A total value of 47 trillion dollars was taken by the British from India at this time, which was twice the GDP of America.

The first textile mills were also started in the 1850s by Indian capitalists who had been educated in English and had made their money trading with the British. Over some time, the British presented the idea of transferability of land and empowered the money-lenders or the rich workers to claim land. The cycle of transferring land from cultivators continued during times of shortage and famine.

The 1910s to 1930s was marked as the ‘colonial boom.’ British trades were suppressed and not very successful with other countries, however, their presence in India was very powerful with a fully functioning judicial system, telegraphs, railways, and road networks. TISCO, the largest iron and steel producer of India also established its first plan in Jamshedpur in 1908, marking the beginning of a powerful steel and iron revolution.

‘The great depression (of 1929)’ had a major impact on the Indian economy. The British colonial administration did very little to curb its effect and allowed a host of repercussions to arise, from debt burden on villagers to an all-time low employment rate.

GDP(PPP) in 1990 International Dollars

Year GDP(Millions of 1990 GDP per capita (1990 Average %GDP growth Dollars) Dollars) 1850 125,681 533 - 1870 134,882 533 0.354 1890 164,341 584 0/962 1900 170,466 599 0.428 1910 210,439 697 2.129 1920 194,051 635 -0/807 1930 244,097 726 2,321

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Between the years 1850 and 1932, employment opportunities significantly increased in Indian factories. Thanks to Indian factories, between 1900 and 1947, the GDP increased at the pace of 4-5% every year, rates comparable to those of the two other growing economies of the time, Japan and . Cotton materials were the main commodity of the nineteenth century.

In 1910 India was home to 30% of cotton spindles and 55% of the axles that were within the tropical region. The formation of the three extraordinary port cities of Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras accelerated India’s industrial boom, as it helped Indian traders and producers incorporate themselves into the worldwide economy. This couldn’t have been achieved without the innovative technology that European settlers introduced. Foreign managers, engineers, and accomplices in Indian firms worked under Indian supervisors and contributed greatly to the success of Indian industries. During this time, the problem with the British Raj was not its disregard of the industries—if anything, industries prospered—but, the lack of public investments, especially in rural infrastructures and irrigation. This led to reduction in domestic markets and stagnation in domestic subsistence farming.

Additionally, the lack of public investments during the British Raj caused terrible developmental barriers in different sectors such as health care and education. In a notable 2012 paper, US- based economic historian Latika has noted that the “Government expenditures on human capital in British India were among the lowest in the world from 1860 to 1912”. Government expenditure per capita had a mean value of under 0.01 pounds in British India, which was below average government spending in the Indian Princely States (0.02), underdeveloped nations such as Brazil and Mexico (0.05), and in other British dependent settlements (0.18).

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Agriculture:

While heavily funding infrastructure including canals and irrigation sems, railways, roads, and ports, the British Raj had also developed the largest irrigation system by 1900. The Canal, for instance, stretched from to Cawnpore, supplying miles of distribution sub-canals. A mere jungle in 1840, even had 4,000,000 acres under cultivation by 1900, especially in tea plantations.

The commercialization of by the British also had minimal positive impacts on Indian citizens. While farmers privileged enough to cultivate and maintain sufficient crops made a significant profit by selling them to the British, the less fortunate were unable to prosper in the market. This resulted in great disparity as these 2 distinct groups of farmers formed: the middlemen serving the British and poor peasants.

The Indian agricultural sector, which was a major contributor to the country’s economy, stagnated under British rule. There was a lack of reforms to ensure an increase in productivity. However, instead of attempting to improve the state of this sector, the British continued to extract profits without sustainably supporting the industry, worsening its condition.

One of the major causes of the agricultural sector’s deplorable state was the various land settlement systems adopted under the colonial government. The highlight of the problem was the Zamindari system practiced in the then Bengal presidency. Under this policy, the majority of profits went to the instead of the cultivators, which would ultimately fill the pockets of their colonial bosses. Despite the economic condition and the plight of the cultivators, the Zamindars were only concerned with collecting rent. They did nothing to improve the state of agriculture similar to their colonial masters. The revenue settlement policy fueled the ruthless nature adopted by the Zamindars as well. Under this settlement policy, rent had to be paid before a fixed date. Citizens would have their rights taken away if they failed to do so.

Three main types of land tenures were adopted under British Rule. They were as follows:

1. The Permanent Zamindari Settlements: The Zamindari system, also known as Jagirdari, Malguzari, Biswedari, etc, was established under British rule in 1793. Under this system, the state’s land revenue demand was settled while in other Zamindari tracts, the land revenue was revised only after 10 to 40 years.

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2. The Ryotwari System: Under this system, every ‘registered’ holder of land was held responsible for direct payment of land revenue to the state and was recognised as the proprietor of the land. The holders had the right to sublet their land holdings or even transfer, mortgage, or sell it, escaping eviction as long as they paid the state its demand for land revenue.

3. The Mahalwari System: Under this system, the unit for revenue settlement was the village or the estate itself. The village land belonged to a body of ‘co-sharers’ in the community who were jointly held responsible for the payment of land revenue, though some individual responsibility also had to be taken.

Humanitarian Situation:

The British government took full control over India after the Indian Mutiny of 1857, dissolving the trading company. Imperial rule wreaked havoc on India’s local handloom industry to support its industrialization. With raw materials being shipped from India to the U.K, India became one of its most significant cotton exporters. Furthermore, the completed items were sent back to Indian business sectors and different parts of the world, leaving the Indian handloom industry withering and taking away jobs from neighborhood weavers.

Numerous Indians were troubled by the fast social and cultural changes enforced by the British. They worried that Hindu and Muslim India would be Christianized.

The British took the approach of “”, pitting Hindu and Muslim Indians against each other. In 1905, the colonial government partitioned Bengal into Hindu and Muslim segments; this division provoked strong protests and rebellions. Britain also encouraged the formation of the Muslim League of India in 1907.

Famine had been a repetitive element in the Indian region during British rule. About 60 million deaths occurred throughout the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries due to a shortage of food. Famine in British India was extreme enough to substantially affect the long-term population growth of the nation in the nineteenth and mid-twentieth century.

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Demographics:

Total Fertility Rate in India from 1880 to 1930:

Years 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 Total 5.95 5.92 5.89 5.86 5.82 5.79 4.38 5.76 5.76 5.75 5.75 Fertility Rate in India

Years 1902 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 Total 5.75 5.761 5.77 5.78 5.79 5.8 5.81 5.82 5.83 5.85 5.86 Fertility Rate in India

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Life Expectancy in India from 1881 to 1931:

Years 1881 1891 1901 1905 1911 1915 1921 1925 1931 Life 25.4 24.3 23.5 24.0 23.2 24.0 24.9 27.6 29.3 Expectancy in India

The population of India under the British Raj according to censuses:

Census Year Population Growth (%) 1871 238,830,958 - 1881 253,896,330 6.3 1891 28,722,431 13.1 1901 293,550,310 2.2 1911 315,156,396 7.4 1921 318,942,480 1.2 1931 352,827,778 10.6

Political Situation:

In 1965, the East India Company started asserting dominance in India and expanded their territory until they had captured the entire subcontinent. After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the British Raj was created when the British Government nationalized the Company. The Company lost all its regulatory forces and its Indian belongings, including its military. All of these were taken over by the Crown according to the arrangements of the Government of India Act, 1858.

Another British government division, the India Council, was made to deal with the administration of India, and its head, the Secretary of State for India, was entrusted with the planning of Indian policies. The Governor-General of India gained a new title (Viceroy of India) and implemented the strategies devised by the Indian Council. The government of the Raj, headed by the viceroy, consisted of British authorities and delegated individuals from the viceroy’s council. After the Indian Councils Act was passed in 1861, this executive council acted as a bureau and as a feature of an imperial legislative council. Each of British India’s eleven provinces had a lead representative and governor who was assisted by similar provincial legislative councils composed of appointed officials. There were also a few Indian

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council members who were part of the local elite, appointed solely for consultative purposes.

In 1885, a group of Indian patriots established the Indian National Congress, and gradually, Indians started to play an expanding role in legislative issues and politics, both in the Empire and India. During the 1890s, both , one of the creators of the Indian National Congress and Sir Macherjee M. Bhownaggree, who upheld the public authority of the Raj, sat in the Westminster Parliament as MPs for London electorates.

The Indian Council’s Acts of 1892 and 1909, permitted few Indians - 39 in 1892 and 135 in 1909 - to be chosen for the provincial legislative council, and the upper house. The 1909 Act guaranteed that these representatives were to be picked by small groups of Indian voters as delegates of specific social and religious groups, for example, Muslims or landowners. These councils remained as advisory councils. The parliament’s enactment of 1892 and 1909 didn’t sufficiently address the wide-scale disappointment brought by the British rule. However, it was the events after the First World War that caused crises for the Raj.

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Bloc Positions

The Indian States were divided into two different territories during the British Raj. These included the Princely States or, the Native States and British India.

Princely States:

The Princely States, also known as the Native States, were states under local or regional leaders who were in alliance with the British Raj. The predominant usage of the term ‘’ specifically refers to a semi-sovereign realm in the Indian subcontinent during the British Raj. While princely states were not directly governed by the British, but rather by the local rulers, they were subjected to an almost indirect rule. British India could meddle in matters of princely states and issue orders applying to the entirety of India when it felt the need to do so.

The princely states vary greatly in size, status, and wealth: the premier ‘21-gun states’ of Hyderabad, , and were over 200,000 square kilometers in size. Hyderabad had a population of over 16 million, while Jammu and Kashmir’s population was around 4 million. On the other side, the ‘non-salute’ kingdom of Lawa covered an area of 49 square kilometers (19 sq mi), with less than 3,000 inhabitants. Around 200 of the princely states had a region of under 25 square kilometers (10 sq mi).

The British Crown exercised over more than 175 princely states. During their rule, the biggest and most significant princely states worked under the British Crown by the legislature of British India under the Viceroy. The remaining of roughly 500 states were under the jurisdiction of the provincial government’s Agents for British India under a Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or Chief Commissioner. A clear distinction between “dominion” and “suzerainty” was stated by the jurisdiction of the courts of law. The law of British India settled upon the enactment instituted by the British Parliament, and the authoritative powers of those laws vested in the variety of governments of British India, both local and central. The courts of the princely states existed under the authority of the respective leaders of those states.

Some major princely states in direct relation with the Central Government of India are listed below:

• : Baroda State had been controlled by the Gaekwad administration of the

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Confederacy since its establishment date in 1721. With the city of Baroda() as its capital Its relations during the British Raj were overseen by the Baroda Residency. The income of the state in 1901 was Rs. 13,661,000. The leader of Baroda State was given the title of .

• : Hyderabad State, also known as Hyderabad Decan, was a princely state with Hyderabad, situated in the south-focal region of India as its capital. The state was governed from 1724 to 1857 by the Nizam who was at first viceroy of the Mughal empire in the Deccan. Hyderabad progressively turned into the 1st princely state to undergo British paramountcy. In 1901, the state had an income of Rs. 417,00,000, making it the wealthiest princely state in India. The leader of this state was given the title Nizam.

• Jammu and Kashmir: Jammu and Kashmir is a royal state in India that was made after the First Anglo-Sikh War. The East India Company annexed the , Jammu, Ladakh, and Gilgit- Baltistan from the as war reimbursement, which were then sold to the of Jammu, for 75 Lakh .

• Kingdom of : The was a state in Southern India, established in 1399. The state, which was established and administered for the most part by the Hindu Wodeyar family, initially served as a vassal state of the . As a princely state, Mysore was considered one of the more urbanized locales of India. Since the time British Raj was set up, the Kingdom of Mysore has followed an arrangement of Absolute Monarchy.

• : The Gwalior State is a semi-autonomous Maratha State. It was governed by the House of , a Hindu Maratha dynasty, and was qualified for a 21-gun salute when it turned into a Princely State of the British Raj. The Anglo-Maratha Wars brought the Gwalior State under the British Suzerainty, making it a princely state. The state took its name from the old town of Gwalior, which, albeit never the genuine capital, was a significant spot because of its strategic location and the strength of its fort. The state was established in the mid-eighteenth century by Ranoji Sindhia as a component of the Maratha Confederacy.

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British India:

The Provinces of India, also known as the Presidencies, were the administrative divisions of the British governance in the country, known collectively as British India. They had existed since 1612.

The British Raj initially began with the idea of the Presidencies being the centers of government. Each Presidency, under its Governor and Council, was empowered to enact a code of ‘Regulations’ for its government until the establishment of a General Legislative Council in 1834. Any territory or province that was added by a war, a presidency, or through a treaty came under the existing rules of the corresponding presidency. However, in the case of the provinces that were acquired but were not annexed to any of the three Presidencies, official staff could be provided to them as the Governor-General wished. Also, they were not regulated by the existing laws of the Bengal, Madras, or Bombay Presidencies, they were instead labeled “Non-Regulation Provinces.” Until 1833, no rules of regulation were made for these areas.

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The ‘Non Regulation Provinces’ include: • Ajmir Province • Cis- States • Saugor and Nerbudda Territories • North East Frontier • • South-West Frontier • Province • Kumaon Province

Major Regulation Provinces: British India consisted of a total of 8 provinces, administered either by a Governor or a Lieutenant-Governor, towards the beginning of the 20th century. During the partition of Bengal from 1905 to 1912, there was a new Lieutenant-Governor’s province of Eastern Bengal and Assam. However, in 1912, this partition was partially reversed as the province of Assam was re-established and Eastern and Western Bengal reunited. A new Lieutenant-Governor’s province of Bihar and Orissa was created as well. The previously mentioned eight provinces include:

Province Chief Administrative Officer Burma Lieutenant-Governor Bengal Lieutenant-Governor Madras Governor-in-Council Bombay Governor-in-Council United Provinces Lieutenant-Governor and Berar Chief Commissioner Punjab Lieutenant-Governor Assam Chief Commissioner

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Run-through of major parties

Indian National Congress

On 28 December 1885, the Indian National Congress party was founded by A.O Hume, a retired British officer. It was the central and defining influence of the Indian Independence Movement.

Policies of the Indian National Congress from 1885- 1905 In its annual meetings from 1885 to 1905, the Indian National Congress passed several resolutions that stressed on civil rights, administrative, constitutional, and economic policies.

Foreign Policy The Indian National Congress started vocalizing its views on foreign affairs soon after its establishment. The annexation of Upper Burma by the British Indian Government was deemed deplorable by the Congress party in 1885.

Public perception Due to a Hindu majority within the Congress, Muslim community leaders developed a negative view of the party. However, as Congress became supportive of western cultural invasion, the orthodox Hindu community and non-secular leaders also stood against its views.

Since Congress never attempted to deal with social problems or with people’s concerns about the British authorities, citizens of India were rarely informed about it or concerned with it. The perception of the Congress was that of an elitist party rather than of an educated institution that represented the people.

Rise of The first nationalistic sentiments within the Congress arose when members wished to take part in the legislative and governance issues of India. Members saw themselves as loyalists to the crown, yet wanted major roles in controlling India, be it under the British Empire.

Dadabhai Naoroji successfully contested in an election to the British House of Commons and ended up becoming its very first Indian member. He was aided in his campaign by young Indian student activists.

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Congress as a mass movement: In 1915, Mahatma Gandhi returned from South Africa. Eventually, with the assistance of a moderate group led by Gokhale, Gandhi ended up being the president of Congress. Soon after the First World War, the party became associated with Gandhi. To fight for the preservation of the Ottoman Caliphate, they formed an alliance through him with the Khilafat Movement in 1920 and rights for Indians using satyagraha for agitation in 1923, after the deaths of policemen in Chauri Chaura. Several leaders such as , , and resigned in protest to set up the . Hence, the Khilafat movement collapsed and the Indian National Congress was split.

Officially declared in the Lahore Session of 1929, under the presidency of and , the party set complete independence as its goal. This later led to 26 January 1930 being known as “Purna Swaraj Diwas” (unofficial Independence Day).

All India Muslim League

Started as a literary movement at The Muslim University, the All-India Muslim league was formed in many years after the death of a central figure in the formation of the University, , in 1906. There was political unity to some extent between the Hindu and Muslim leaders after World War I, as represented by the Khalifat Movement that ended in 1922, after which relationships cooled sharply. The two groups were forced apart after the rapid growth of communalism. Major riots broke out in numerous cities, 91 taking place between 1923 and 1927 in alone. The proportion of Muslims among delegates to the Congress party fell sharply at the leadership level, dropping from 11% in 1921 to under 4% in 1923.

After being disillusioned with politics following the failure of his attempt to form a Hindu- Muslim alliance, ended up spending most of the 1920s in Britain. Due to this, the leadership of the League was transferred to Sir . In 1930, he first

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put forward the demand for a separate Muslim state in India. This led to the “Two-Nation Theory’’ or the belief that and Muslims were two different nations who couldn’t reside in one country, gaining popularity amongst the Muslims. The Congress, having favoured a united India based on composite national identity, rejected the two-state solution. Congress never agreed with basing politics on religious identity and therefore rejected the idea of communalism. Muhammad Iqbal’s policy of uniting the North-West Frontier Province, Baluchistan, Punjab, and Sindh into a new state with a Muslim majority eventually became part of the League’s political platform.

The League rejected the Committee report (the ), arguing that the representation it gave to Muslims was far too little (only one quarter), established Devanagari as the official writing system, and demanded that India turn into a de facto unitary state with residuary powers resting at the centre. The League demanded at least one-third representation in the legislature for the Muslims and sizable autonomy for their provinces. After his requests for minor amendments to the proposal were denied, Jinnah reported a “parting of the ways”, and the relations between the Congress and the League began to sour.

The Idea of a federation of autonomous states within India: On 29 December 1930, Sir Muhammad Iqbal, delivered his monumental presidential address to the All-India Muslim League annual session, saying: “I would like to see the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind and Baluchistan amalgamated into a single State. Self-government within the British Empire or without the British Empire, the formation of a consolidated North-West Indian Muslim State appears to me to be the final destiny of the Muslims, at least of North-West India.”

Hindu Mahasabha

After the formation of the All India Muslim League and the creation of a separate Muslim electorate under the 1909 Morley-Minto reforms by the British Indian government, the Hindu Mahasabha was formed to ‘protect the rights of the Hindus.’

Preparatory sessions of the All India Hindu Sabha were held at Haridwar, and Delhi on 13 February, 17 February, and 27 February of 1915 respectively. Sarvadeshik (All India) Hindu Sabha was formed in April of the same year at the in Haridwar as an umbrella organization of regional Hindu Sabhas. Even Gandhi and Swami Shraddhanand were present at this conference in support of the formation of All

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India Hindu Sabha which emphasized on Hindu solidarity and the need for social reforms. The Sarvadeshik Hindu Sabha formally changed its name to Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha on the model of the Indian National Congress at its sixth session in April 1921. It amended its constitution to remove the clause about loyalty to the British and added a clause committing the organization to a “united and self-governing” Indian nation.

Hindu Mahasabha wasn’t in support of Gandhi’s Indian freedom movement against the British rule. The Mahasabha, however, did believe the revolting against gave India its freedom from the rule. The Hindu Mahasabha played many important roles in the Indian freedom movement, especially in: Civil disobedience Movement, Alliance with the Muslim League, .

Akali Dal

Akali Dal was an ideological group formed on 14 December 1920. The Akali Dal sees itself as the main delegate of Sikhs. Sarmukh Singh Chubbal was the primary leader of the Akali Dal, however, it got major attention under Master Tara Singh.

Akali Movement

The Akali movement was a mission to acquire and change the gurdwaras in India during the mid-1920s. This prompted the presentation of the Sikh Gurdwara Bill in 1925 which left all the recorded Sikh sanctuaries in India heavily influenced by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. The Akalis, likewise, took an interest in the Indian autonomy development against the British Government by supporting the non-collaboration development against them. The British Government believed the Akali development to be a greater danger than Mahatma Gandhi’s thoughtful defiance development.

In 1921, the Akalis zeroed in on the Nankana Sahib, a gurdwara which was heavily influenced by a mahant called Narain Das who was blamed for permitting corrupt exercises in the sanctuary. One of the pastors at the gurdwara had reportedly assaulted the 13-year-old girl of a Hindu enthusiast from Sindh. As the movement picked up force, agonizing over the Akalis, Narain Das went to the public authority for help. At the point when the public authority reacted, Narain Das made his plans, preemptively strengthening the premises and employing around 80 hired fighters. On the twentieth February 1921, when a group of 100 Sikhs made an unscheduled excursion to Nankana Sahib, the Pashtun gatekeepers of the Mahant started

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shooting, murdering 130 individuals in what was known as the Nankana massacre.

Amidst the ongoing agitation, the SGPC(Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee) urged the British Government to not only release the protestors, but legalize its control of the gurdwaras as well. The influential Sikh leaders finally passed a resolution for launching a passive resistance movement on 1 May 1921. The next day, a Sikh-Hindu conference was organized during the Punjab Congress Provincial Congress at .

Meanwhile, the Government launched a “Gurdwara Bill” to facilitate the settlement of the gurdwara disputes. The Bill allowed the formation of a Board of Commissioners for the management of the gurdwaras. However, the SGPC objected to the Government’s right to appoint the Board members and the bill was postponed.

Justice Party of India

The Justice Party of India was a political group in the Madras Presidency of British India. It was set up on 20 November 1916 in Victoria Memorial Hall in Madras by Dr. C. Natesa Mudaliar. T.M. Nair and P.

During 1916-20, the Justice party battled against the Egmore and Mylapore groups to persuade the British government and public to help share portrayal for non- in the British administration.

The Government of India Act 1919 enforced the Montagu-Chelmsford changes, founding a Diarchy in Madras Presidency. The Justice Party was in power from 1920-26 and 1930-present while being in resistance from 1926-30.

Anushilan Samiti

Anushilan Samiti was an Indian association founded in 1902 that underpinned revolutionary violence as the method for getting rid of the British principle in India. The association emerged as a group of young students or gym goers in the localities of Bengal It had two major independent branches in (current day ) and . Dhaka Anushilan Samiti had its headquarters in Dhaka, and the Jugantar group, in Calcutta.

Since its inception, the Samiti had challenged British rule in India by

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participating in aggressive patriotism, including bombings, murders, and politically-propelled viciousness. Various Congress pioneers from Bengal, particularly Subhash Chandra Bose, had been blamed by the British Government for having joined with the association. During the 1930s, when it was associated with the , the ordnance strike, and different activities against the organization in British-involved India, the Samiti’s harsh and revolutionary ways were revived.

The entry of the Defense of India Act 1915 was an aftermath of the activities presented by the Samiti in Bengal during World War I, alongside the danger of the Ghadarite uprising in Punjab. In the outcome of the war, the Rowlatt panel suggested broadening the Defense of India Act (as the Rowlatt Act) to reduce any conceivable restoration of the Samiti in Bengal and the Ghadarite development in Punjab. After the war, the exercises of the gathering prompted the execution of the Bengal Amendment in the mid-1920s, which restored the forces of imprisonment and confinement from the Defense of India Act.

Jugantar Samiti

Established in April 1905 by leaders like Aurobindo Ghosh, his brother Barin Ghosh, , Raja Subodh Mallik, the Jugantar Samiti was one of the two main revolutionary groups that was operating in Bengal for Indian independence. This association, like the Anushilan Samiti, started as a fitness club. Several members of the group were later arrested, hanged, or deported for life to the in Andaman.

The headquarters of Jugantar was located at 41 Champatola 1st Lane, . The Jugantar Samiti was also a part of the German Plot and the Hindu-German Conspiracy, which was a set of plans by Indian nationalist groups to attempt a rebellion against the British Raj during World War I. It started to collect guns and make bombs as well, along with 21 revolutionaries.

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Hindustan Socialist Republican Association

Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) was a progressive association set up in 1928 by Chandrasekhar Azad. It was initially known as the Hindustan Republican Association(HRA).

With prominent members such as Bhagat Singh, Chandrasekhar Azad, and , the HSRA grew in numbers from 1924 to 1925. While the HSRA was involved in several acts such as the looting of a mailing station in Calcutta and looting money at Chittagong, the Kakori conspiracy was its most influential endeavour. The Kakori conspiracy occurred on 9 August 1925, when HRA members attacked a train around 14 miles (23 km) from Lucknow, robbing cash and murdering a traveler aboard.

In 1928, the British government set up a Commission, headed by Sir John Simon, to investigate such ongoing circumstances.

In December 1929, the HSRA bombarded the train of Viceroy Irwin. Later, the Lahore group of HSRA parted ways and made the Atishi Chakar (The Ring of Fire) party. They carried out numerous bombings across Punjab in June 1930. On 1 September 1930, the Rawalpindi group attempted to burgle the Office of the Controller of Military Accounts. In July 1930, the HSRA raided the Gadodia stores in New Delhi and looted 14,000 rupees. In December 1930, an attempt was made to kill the Governor of Punjab.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

On 27 September 1925, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu Nationalist paramilitary volunteer organization, was founded by K. B. Hedgewar, a doctor, in . Originally formed as a disciplined cadre, the RSS consisted of mainly upper-caste Brahmins who were dedicated to bringing independence and determined to protect Hindu political, cultural and religious ideologies.

After its formation, Hedgewar ensured he did not explicitly denounce the British rule, and was also against Gandhi’s willingness to cooperate with the Muslims.

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Documentation

Treaty: Treaties are used to bring forth agreements between two or more parties to either resolve a conflict or introduce new understandings between them. A treaty can be used as a means of resolving disputes between respective parties and groups or bringing forth exclusive decisions between its various members.

Format

Title of the treaty Treaty subheading (agenda of the treaty) Date signed Parties involved:

Clause 1 : ………………………………………..;

Clause 2 : ………………………………………..;

Clause 3 : ………………………………………..;

Clause n : ………………………………………..;

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Questions the resolution must address

» What steps will the committee take to ensure effective economic policies are established and implemented?

» What is going to be the new form of government in a possibly decolonized India?

» How will the committee ensure that future pandemics and health crises are prevented, or at least dealt with, immediately?

» How will the committee ensure a smooth transition of power between the different authorities if decolonized?

» How will the committee resolve internal conflicts? Will it happen without foreign intervention? If so, how?

» How will the committee ensure that democratic processes such as referendums are carried out safely and transparently?

» How will different regions and districts be demarcated, considering the multiple ethnic groups scattered around the subcontinent?

» What steps will be taken to uplift India’s economy and establish trade relations with other countries?

» What steps will be taken to uplift local industries (eg. looms, textiles, cotton) in order to generate significant income?

» How will the government standardize education and industries to allow all the citizens to benefit from them?

» How will the committee ensure that the presidency and princely states are integrated,or if not, hold equal powers?

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Bibliography:

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Marshall, (1998), pp. 508–29 17. an Stone, Canal Irrigation in British India: Perspectives on Technological Change in a Peasant Economy (2002) pp. 278–80 18. Anil, A. (2020). Skull Famine Of Late 1700s That Indian History Forgets To Mention. Retrieved December 03, 2020, from https://in.news.yahoo.com/skull-famine-1700s- indian-history-131500486.html?guccounter=2 19. Boundless, NA. “Boundless World History.” Lumen, 0AD, https://courses.lumenlearning. com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/british-india/ 20. Baten, Jörg (2016). A History of the Global Economy. From 1500 to the Present. Cambridge University Press. p. 255 21. Antimakhanna, B. (2017, January 14). Handicrafts & Postage Stamps. Retrieved December 03, 2020, from https://antimakhanna.com/2014/01/10/handicrafts-postage-stamps/ 22. Kayriyadh, N. (2016, November 29). November 2016. Retrieved December 03, 2020, from https://khalidriazblog.wordpress.com/2016/11/ 23. Collect India and States Stamps: Rare Empire Stamps for Sale - Elizabeth II (1952- Now): Stamp Era: Elizabeth II (1952-Now). Retrieved December 03, 2020, from https:// www.empirephilatelists.com/british-commonwealth-stamps/india-and-states/queen_ elizabeth_stamps

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