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MODERN INDIA 1885-1947 Sumit Sarkar Modern India 1885–1947 This page is intentionally left blank. Modern India 1885–1947 SUMIT SARKAR Delhi • Chennai Copyright © 2014 Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd. Licensees of Pearson Education in South Asia No part of this eBook may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the publisher’s prior written consent. This eBook may or may not include all assets that were part of the print version. The publisher reserves the right to remove any material in this eBook at any time. ISBN eISBN Head Office: A-8(A), Sector 62, Knowledge Boulevard, 7th Floor, NOIDA 201 309, UP, India Registered Office: 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi 110 017, India To Tanika This page is intentionally left blank. CONTENTS Preface xiii Abbreviations xv CHAPTER 1 Introduction 1 Change and Continuity Old and New Approaches 4 CHAPTER 2 Political and Economic Structure: 1885–1905 11 Imperial Structure and Policies 11 Viceregal Attitudes 12 Foreign Policy 13 Army 14 Financial and Administrative Pressures 15 Local Self-Government and Council Reform 17 Divide and Rule 18 White Racism 19 The Colonial Economy 21 Drain of Wealth 22 Deindustrialization 25 Commercialization of Agriculture 27 Land Relations 29 Agricultural Production 31 Foreign Capital 32 Indian Capitalist Development 33 CHAPTER 3 Social and Political Movements: 1885–1905 37 Towards a ‘History from Below’ 37 Tribal Movements 38 Phadke 41 Moplahs 42 Deccan Riots 43 Pabna 44 No-Revenue Movements 45 Caste Consciousness 47 Communal Consciousness 50 Labour 52 viii CONTENTS Business Groups and Upper Classes 54 Princes and Zamindars 55 ‘Middle-Class’ Consciousness and Politics 56 Social Roots of the Intelligentsia 56 Hindu Reform and Revival 60 Trends in Indian Islam 65 Patriotism in Literature 70 Nationalist Economic Theory 73 Foundations of the Congress 75 The Moderate Congress: Objectives and Methods 76 Phases of Moderate Politics 79 Roots of Extremism 82 CHAPTER 4 Political and Social Movements: 1905–1917 87 The Viceroyalty of Curzon 87 Foreign Policy 87 Administrative Reforms 88 Curzon and Nationalists 90 Partition of Bengal 91 The Swadeshi Movement in Bengal: 1905–1908 96 Trends 97 Boycott and Swadeshi 99 National Education 101 Labour Unrest 101 Samitis 103 Hindu-Muslim Relations 104 The Shift to Terrorism 106 Extremism in other Provinces: 1905–1908 107 Punjab 109 Madras 111 Marashatrja 113 The Congress Split 116 Repression, Conciliation, and Divide and Rule: 1909–1914 118 Morley and Minto 118 Simla Deputation and Muslim League 120 Revolutionary Terrorism 124 War and Indian Politics 126 Revolutionary Activities 126 Unity at Lucknow 128 Home Rule Agitation 129 Movements from Below: 1905–1917 131 Tribal Revolts 131 Peasant Movements 133 CONTENTS ix Communalism 134 Caste Movements 135 Regional Sentiments and Languages 139 CHAPTER 5 Mass Nationalism: Emergence and Problems: 1917–1927 143 War, Reforms and Society 143 The Montford Reforms 143 Impact of the War 146 Mahatma Gandhi 154 The Appeal of Gandhi 154 The Role of Rumour 157 Champaran, Kheda, Ahmedabad 158 Rowlatt Satyagraha 162 1919–1920: Leaders and Masses 168 Gandhi, Khilafat and the Congress 168 Pressures from Below 171 1921–1922: Non-Cooperation and Khilafat 176 The All-India Movement 176 Social Composition 178 Regional Variations 181 Chauri-Chaura 193 1922–1927: Decline and Fragmentation 195 No-Changers and Swarajists 195 Nagpur, Borsad and Vaikom 196 Constructive Work 197 Swarajist Politics 199 Communalism 201 Emergence of New Forces: 1922–1927 204 Political and Economic Tensions 204 Tribal and Peasant Movements 206 Caste Movements 208 Labour 210 Emergence of the Communists 212 Revolutionary Terrorism 215 Subhas and Jawaharlal 217 CHAPTER 6 Nationalist Advance and Economic Depression: 1927–1937 219 An Overview 219 Cross-Currents in Politics 219 Depression and India 222 1928–1929: Simon Boycott and Labour Upsurge 225 x CONTENTS Simon Commission and Nehru Report 225 Youth Movements 229 The H.S.R.A. 230 Labour Upsurge and the Communists 232 Peasant Movements and Bardoli 236 Business Attitudes 240 From Dominion Status to Purna Swaraj 242 1930–1931: Civil Disobedience 244 Towards Salt Satyagraha 244 Chittagong, Peshawar, Sholapur 246 Phases of Civil Disobedience 248 Regional Studies 255 The Round Table Conference 264 Gandhi–Irwin Pact 266 March–December 1931: Uneasy Truce 267 Ambiguities 267 Pressures from Below 270 Official Attitudes 273 1932–1934: Second Civil Disobedience Movement 275 Repression and Resistance 275 Business Realignments 279 Harijan Campaign 281 Return to Council Politics 283 The Left Alternative 284 1935–1937: The Constitution and The Congress 288 The 1935 Act 288 Labour and Kisan Movements 290 Leftism in Literature 293 Lucknow and Faizpur 294 Right Consolidation and Business Pressures 295 CHAPTER 7 Political Movements and War: 1937–1945 299 1937–1939: The Congress-Ministries 299 Elections and Ministry-Making 299 Congress and Bureaucracy 301 The Communal Problem 302 Gandhian Reforms 306 Capitalists and Congress 306 Congress and Labour 309 Congress and Kisans 310 States Peoples Movement 313 The Left in the Congress 316 The Tripuri Crisis 318 1939–1942: War and Indian Politics— The First Phase 321 CONTENTS xi Bureaucratic Counter-Offensive 321 League and Pakistan 323 Trends within the Congress 325 Economic Consequences 328 The New Phase of the War 328 Cripps Mission 329 1942–1945: Quit India, Famine, and the Last Phase of War 332 Roots of Rebellion 332 The All-India Pattern 337 Social Composition 339 Regional Variations 341 Aftermath of Revolt 345 The War and the Indian Economy: Famine and Super-Profits 346 The Advance of the League 349 Azad Hind 350 Communists and People’s War 351 CHAPTER 8 Freedom and Partition: 1945–1947 355 1945–1946: ‘The Edge of A Volcano’ 355 Prelude to Negotiations 355 Simla Conference 357 I.N.A. Trials 358 R.I.N. Mutiny 363 1946 (March–August): The Cabinet Mission 365 Elections 365 Cabinet Mission 367 1946–1947: Communal Holocaust and Peasant Rebellion 370 Calcutta, Noakhali, Bihar, Punjab 370 The Mahatma’s Finest Hour 374 Tebhaga 376 Punnapra-Vayalar 378 Telengana 379 1947: Freedom and Partition 382 The Mountbatten Plan 383 Integration of States 385 The Fifteenth of August 388 Further Readings List 391 Index 419 This page is intentionally left blank. PREFACE Modern India: 1885–1947 was planned some years back as part of a collective attempt to write the history of India in six volumes. Its publication now as an independent work requires a brief justification of its starting point. While 1885 was chosen mainly for convenience, it can be argued that what is recogniz ably ‘modern’ India began not with the Mughal break-up or with Plassey, but during the latter half of the nineteenth century. It was during these decades that colonial political and economic domination attained its finished apparently stable form, while its counterpoints had also started developing alike at the level of autonomous popular movements and of ‘middle class’ or intelli gentsia based all-India nationalism. The period with which I deal relates to the subsequent unfolding of these contradictions down to the achievement of independence. The present work has a twofold aim. It attempts a synthesis of the massive data unearthed in recent years by the flood of monographs on specific problems in political, social and economic history. At the same time it explores, in the light of my own research interests, the possibilities of a ‘history from below’ as distinct from the usual tendency in the historiography of Indian nationalism to concentrate on the activities, ideals, or factional maneuvers of leaders. This book would have been inconceivable without the massive research output in modern Indian history during recent years. The format did not permit the usual acknowledgements through footnotes except in the case of direct quotations, but I have tried to honour my debts by lists of Further Readings which appear at the end of the book, arranged chapterwise. I would like to acknowledge my gratitude to the students of my modern Indian history classes, on whom I have been testing many of the ideas, set out here, for years. Their questions and criticisms have been indispensable in sorting out my formulations. I am grateful to Barun De, Asok Sen, Amiya Bagchi and Gyan Pandey, for going through the manuscript in whole or in part and offering extremely helpful comments and criticism. I remember with particular gratitude and pleasure a nightlong discussion with Ranajit Guha in Brighton in 1977 which modified many of my ideas at a time when I had just started collecting material for this book. The Subaltern Studies series which he was editing unfortunately reached me only after my manuscript went to press. xiv PREFACE My father followed the writing of this book with unfailing interest, and it must always remain a matter of deep sorrow to me that I could not show him the finished work. Tanika as always was the source of undiminished criti- cism and sustenance. Aditya provided a delightful distraction. I would like to thank my publishers, for prodding a lazy author into completing his manuscript and for indispensable typing and editorial assistance. The responsibility for errors remains mine alone. Sumit Sarkar Delhi University October 1982 ABBREVIATIONS I.O.L. India Office Library, London N.A.I. National Archives of India, New Delhi N.M.M.L. Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi W.B.S.A. West Bengal State Archives Home Public FN Government of India Home Public/Home Political Home Political FN} Files (N.A.I.) A.I.C.C. F.N. All India Congress Committee Files (N.M.M.L.) E.P.W. Economic and Political Weekly I.E S.H.R. Indian Economic and Social History Review I.H.R. Indian Historical Review M.A.S. Modern Asian Studies This page is intentionally left blank.