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Home , Badruddin Tyabji, Tej Bahadur Sapru, William Wedderburn

THE INDIAN NATIONALIST MOVEMENT, 1885-1947 SELECT DOCUMENTS Also by B. N. Pandey

A Book of The Rise of Modern India The Introduction of English Law into India The Break-up of British India Nehru Leadership in South Asia The Evolution of India and , 1858- 1947: Select Documents (edited jointly with C. H. Philips and H. L. Singh) The Indian Nationalist Movement, 1885- 1947

SELECT DOCUMENTS

Edited by B. N. PANDEY Selection and editorial matter © B. N. Pandey 1979 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1979 978-0-333-02416-4 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission

First published /979 by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD and Basingstoke Assoeiated eompanies in Delhi Dublin Hong Kong Johannesburg Lagos Melbourne New rork Singapore Tokyo

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

The Indian nationalist movement, 1885-1947 I. Nationalism - India - History - Sources I. Pandey, Bishwa Nath 322 .4'2'0954 DS447

ISBN 978-0-333-23707-6 ISBN 978-1-349-86215-3 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-86215-3

The paperback edition ofthis book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent, in any form ofbinding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition induding this condition being imposed on the suhsequent purchaser

This book is sold subjeet to the standard eonditions of the Net Book Agreement Contents

List oJ Documents Vll

Preface XVll

Acknowledgements XXI

Abbreviations XXlll

A The PreLude: The Moderate Phase, 1885- 1916 Chronology of Events 3 (a) The 5 (b) The Muslim Question 14 (c) The Terrorist Alternative 23 (d) British Responses 30

B The Advent oJ Mass Politics, 1917- 1935 39 Chronology of Events 4 1 (a) The Indian National Congress 48 (b) Muslim Politics 77 (c) Other Political Parties 85 (i) Hindu Mahasabha 85 (ii) The National Liberal Federation of India 89 (iii) The Communist Party of India 95 (iv) The Congress Socialist Party 98 (d) British Policy 105

C Towards Partition, 19,36-1947 115 Chronology of Events 1 17 lI] The Polarisation oJ Political Forces, 19,36-1945 123 (a) Congress in Power and Opposition 123 (b) The Growth of the Muslim League 149 (c) The Minor Parties 159 (i) The Congress Socialists and Communists 159 (ii) The Hindu Mahasabha and the Liberals 166 (d) The on the defensive 173 [II] The Last Phase, 1946-1947 184 (a) The Cabinet Mission 184 VI Contents (b) The Interim Government 199 (e) The Partition ofIndia 209 D Tke Indian States, /9/8-/947 Chronology rif Events (a) British Poliey (b) Congress Poliey (e) The Integration of the Indian States

APPENDIX A Biographical Notes 249

APPENDIX B Congress Presidents, Vieeroys and Secretaries of State for India, 1885-1947 264 List of Documents

(A) The Prelude The Moderate Phase, 1885-1916

Chronology qf Events (a) The Indian National Congress, 1885-1916

I. W. C. Bonnerjee on the foundation of Congress in December 1885 5 2. A. O. Hume on the aims and objects ofCongress, 30 April 1888 6 3· G. K. Gokhale to Sir on the anti- partition movement in Bengal, 24 May 1907 7 4· G. S. Khaparde's account of the Surat split in Congress, December 1907 9 5· G. K. Gokhale to Sir William Wedderburn on the political situation, 24 September 1909 10 6. G. K. Gokhale to Sir William Wedderburn on the Morley- Minto Reforms, 3 December 1909 I I 7· G. K. Gokhale to Bhupendranath Basu on the re-entry ofthe extremists into Congress, 25 December 1914 13

(b) The Muslim Q,uestion, 1885-1916

I. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan on Congress, 28 December 1887 14 2. to Ameer Ali, 13 January 1888 15 3. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan to Badruddin Tyabji, 24January 1888 15 4. Muslim Address to Lord Minto, I October 1906 16 5. Lord Minto to Sir Arthur Godley on the value of the Muslim Address, I 7 October 1906 16 6. The Formation of the AII-India Muslim League: Inaugural Address by Viqar-ul-Mulk, 30 December, 1906 17 7. to on the rising tension between Hindus and Muslims, I April 1909 18 8. Motilal Nehru toJawaharlal Nehru on the birth ofthe Hindu Sabha, 6 January 191 I 18 9· The Aims ofthe Muslim League, 31 December 1912 19 10. The Congress-League Scheme of Reform, 1916 20 Vlll List of Documents (c) The Terrorist Alternative, 1885-1916

I. Terrorism in Bombay, 1897-1914 23 2. The Nasik Conspiracy, 1909 24 3. Dunlop Smith's Diary, 5 May 1908 25 4. Lord Morley to Lord Minto on the Deportees, 27 January 1910 26 5. In Search of Arms through Asia, 1914-15 27 6. Terrorism in Bengal and Punjab, 1914-15 28

d) British Responses, 1885-1916

I. Lord Lansdowne on the system ofIndian representation in the Councils, 16 March 1893 30 2. New Policy foreshadowed : John Morley to Lord Minto, 15 June 1906 31 3. Lord Morley on the Reform Proposals of 1908, 17 December 1908 31 4. Lord Morley on the separate eieetarate for the Muslims, 23 February 1909 33 5. Lord Morley to Lord Minto on Parliamentary strategy; 12 March 1909 33 6. Keir Hardie to B. G. Tilak on Labour thinking on the Indian problem, 3 I March 191 I 34 7. Government of India to the Secretary of State on further reforms, 25 August 191 I 35 8. The Reunion of Bengal, 19II 36 9. India and the War, 19 14. 37

B The Advent of Mass Politics, 1917-I 935

Chronology of Events (a) The Indian National Congress, 1917-1935

I. The Champaran : M. K. Gandhi's statement before the court, 18 April 1917 48 2. Jawaharlal Nehru on the Horne Rule Movement and the internment ofMrs , 21 June 19 17 49 3. M. K. Gandhi explains Satyagraha, 2 September 1917 49 4. The Ahmedabad Satyagraha : M. K. Gandhi to Ambalal Sarabhai, 21 December 1917 50 5. The Kheda Satyagraha : M. K. Gandhi's speech, IO April 1918 51 6. The Rowlatt Satyagraha : M. K. Gandhi's instructions to the Satyagrahis, 7 April 19 I 9 5 I List of Documents lX 7. M. K. Gandhi to the Viceroy on the Non-cooperation Movement, I August 1920 52 8. M. K. Gandhi on the Non-cooperation strategy, 9 January 1921 54 9. M. K. Gandhi to Jawaharlal Nehru on the suspension of the Non-cooperation Movement, 19 Febrary 1922 55 10. Constitution of the Indian National Congress as amended by the Cocanada Congress (1923), 1924 56 11. M. R. Jayakar to M. K. Gandhi on the split in the Party, 26 November 1925 59 12. Motilai Nehru to Jawaharlal Nehru on Indian politics, 14 April 1927 60 13. Jawaharlal Nehru to M. K. Gandhi on the Independence Resolution ofthe Madras Congress (1927), 11 January 1928 61 14. Motilal Nehru to M. K. Gandhi on the Calcutta Convention (December (928), 14 August 1929 63 15. Pledge taken on Independence Day, 26 January 1930 64 16. Purshotamdas Thakurdas to Motilal Nehru on the response of the commercial community, 22 September 1930 65 17· The Gandhi-Irwin Pact, 5 March 193 1 65 18. Resolution of Congress on fundamental rights, 6-8 August 193 1 67 19. Congress Directives to M. K. Gandhi at the Second Round Table Conference, September 1931 68 20. Devadas Gandhi to Jawaharlal Nehru on the Round Table Conference, 2 October 193 1 7 I 2 I. Separate Electorate for the untouchables: (a) M. K. Gandhi to Ramsway MacDonald, 18 August 1932 73 (b) Ramsay MacDonald to M. K. Gandhi, 8 September 1932 74 (c) The , September 1932 74 22. to Dr M. A. Ansari on Office-acceptance, 26 December 1934 75 23. to Rajendra Prasad on the Congress Presidency, 22 November 1935 76

(b) Muslim Politus, 1917-1935

I. M. K. Gandhi on the Khilafat Question, 7 March 1920 77 2. The Delhi proposals ofthe Muslim Leaders, 20 March 1927 79 3. Viceroy to the Secretary of State on the Delhi Proposals, 26 March 1927 80 4. M. A. Jinnah's speech at the Calcutta Convention, 28 December 1928 81 x List 01 Documents 5. M. A. Jinnah's Fourteen Points, March 1929 82 6. Sir on redistribution of territory, 29 December 1930 83 7· Resolution of the Muslim League, November 1933 84

(c) Other Political Parties, 1917-1935 (i) Hindu Mahasabha 1. Motilal Nehru to M. S. Aney on the , 18 August 1928 85 2. Lajpat Rai's speech at the Agra Provincial Hindu Conference, 27 October 1928 86 3. M. R. Jayakar to M. K. Gandhi, 23 August 1929 87 (ii) The National Liberal Federation of India 1. Resolution ofthe All-India Conference ofthe Moderate Party, December, 1919 89 2. C. Y. Chintamani on the role of the Liberal Party, 29 December 1920 89 3. Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru on the boycott ofthe Simon Commis- sion, 27 December 1927 90 4. Lord Lothian to M. R. Jayakar on Liberal co-operation, 2 March 1933 91 5. Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru to M. K. Gandhi on the Third Round Table Conference, 3 October 1933 92 6. M. R.Jayakar to Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru on M. A.Jinnah, 4 April 1934 94 (iii) The Communist Party of India 1. M. N. Roy toJ. P. Bagerhatta on the communist strategy, 22 October 1924 95 2. Constitution of the Communist Party ofIndia, December 1925 96 3. Lord Irwin on Communism, 28 January 1929 97 4. J awaharlal Nehru to Walter Citrine on the Meerut conspiracy case, 22 June 1929 97 (iv) The Congress Socialist Party 1. V. Chattopadhyaya toJ. L. Nehru on the leftists in Congress, 6 Oct~crl~ ~ 2. Foundation, Constitution and Programme of the Congress Socialist Party, 1934 99 3· Circular of the General Secretary O. P. N arayan), 1935 102 4. Sampurnanand's Thesis, February 1935 102

(d) British Policy, 1917-1935

1. The Secretary of State's announcement of British Policy, 20 August 1917 105 List 0] Documents Xl 2. Edwin Montagu to Lord Chelmsford on the problem of drafting a Constituti'on for India, 21 September 1917 106 3. Principles of the Montagu-Che!msford Report, 1918 107 4. Lord Che!msford to the King-Emperor on the Rowlatt Act, 21 May 1919 108 5. Lord Reading to Prime Minister Lloyd George on Gandhi, 4 M~I~2 I~ 6. Lord Irwin's statement on Dominion Status, 31 October 1929 110 7. Lord Irwin to Purshotamdas Thakurdas on the Civil Disobed- ience Movement, 29 September 1930 III 8. Prime Minister MacDonald on the proposed constitutional reforms, 19 January 1931 III 9. Sir Samue! Hoare on the Indian Constitutional Reform, 1 January 1935 113

C Towards Partition, 1936-1947

Chronology 0] Events I. The Polarisation 0] Political Forces, 19J6-1945 (a) Congress in Power and Opposition, 19J6-1945 I. J. B. Kripalani to Rajendra Prasad on the Congress' Par­ liamentary Board consensus on office-acceptance, 15 F ebruary 1936 123 2. M. K. Gandhi to Agatha Harrison on Nehru's Congress Presidency, 30 April 1936 124 3. Jawaharlal Nehru to Rajendra Prasad on the exclusion ofthe Muslim League from the V.P. Congress government, 21 July 1937 124 4. Rajendra Prasad to Vallabhbhai Pate! on the behaviour of Congressmen in non-Congress provinces, II October 1938 127 5. C. Rajagopalachari to B. G. Kher on the Muslim League's accusations, 20 November 1938 128 6. The Congress crisis of 1939: (a) S. C. Bose to M. K. Gandhi, 29 March 1939 129 (b) M. K. Gandhi to S. C. Bose, 2 April 1939 130 (c) Jawaharlal Nehru to S. C. Bose, 3 April 1939 131 7. Sir Harry Haig to Lord Linlithgow on the weakening of Congress solidarity, 12 June 1939 133 8. Jawaharlal Nehru to Rajendra Prasad on the Congress Muslims, 7 July 1939 133 9· Rajendra Prasad to Lord Linlithgow, 3 November 1939 135 10. Rajendra Prasad to Jawaharlal Nehru on the implication of Jinnah's demand for 'equality', 12 November 1939 137 Xll List 01 Documents

I I. Lord Linlithgow to Sir Harry Haig on Congress' resignation from Ministries, I December 1939 138 12. Jawaharlal Nehru to M. A.Jinnah, 9 December 1939 139 13. Jawaharlal Nehru to Colonel Louis Johnson on the Cripps Mission, 8 April 1942 140 14. Madame Chiang Kai-shek toJawaharlal Nehru, 2 May 1942 142 15. The 'Quit India' Demand, Resolution ofthe AICC, 8 August 19~ I~ 16. J. P. Narayan on the causes ofthe failure ofthe 'Quit India' movement, 1943 143 17. Rajagopalachari's Formula: (a) C. Rajagopalachari to M. A. Jinnah, 8 April 1944 144 (b) C. Rajagopalachari to Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, 23 December 1944 145 18. Congress instructions to its participants at the Simla Con- ference, 25 June 1945 146 19. Congress' representation to Lord Wavell against the trial ofthe INA prisoners, 15 October 1945 147

(b) The Growth qf the Muslim League, 19]6-1945

I. Sir Muhammad Iqbal to M. A.Jinnah on a separate Muslim State, 28 May 1937 149 2. M. A.Jinnah on Congress, December 1938 150 3. Sir Harry Haig to Lord Linlithgow on the Muslim League's strategy, 21 November 1939 151 4. Lord Linlithgow to Sir Harry Haig on the Muslim League's position, I December 1939 152 5. M. A.Jinnah's appeal for the observance ofDeliverance Day, 2 December 1939 153 6. M. A. Jinnah to Jawaharlal Nehru on the Muslim League's stand, 13 December 1939 153 7. The Demand for Pakistan: (a) The Lahore Resolution of the Muslim League, 24 March 1940 154 (b) M. A. Jinnah's speech, March 1940 155 8. Lord Wavell to L. S. Amery on the failure of the Gandhi- Jinnah talks, 3 October 1944 156 9. Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru to M. R. Jayakar on the failure of the Simla Conference, 20 July 1945 157 10. Sir Bertrand Glancy to Lord Wavell onJinnah's rising stock in the Punjab, 16 August 1945 158 List of Documents Xlll (c) The Minor Parties, 1936-1945 (i) The Congress Socialists and Communists I. The Right-wing leaders tender their resignation toJawaharlal Nehru, 29 J une 1936 159 2. M. N. Roy to Humayun Kabir on Congress, 15 September 1938 160 3. Strength of Rightists and Leftists in Congress, 1940 161 4. J. P. Narayan on the failure ofsocialist unity, 1941 163 5. Sir Maurice Hallet to Lord Linlithgow on the Indian com- munists, 16 June 1942 164 6. The War Policy of the Communist Party ofIndia, 1942 164 7. The Communists quit Congress, 5 October 1945 165 8. Jawaharlal Nehru on the anti-national role ofthe Communist Party, 23 October 1945 165 (ii) The Hindu Mahasahha and lhe Liberals: I. B. S. Moonje to M. M. Malaviya against Nehru's socialism, 29 November 1936 166 2. Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru to M. R.Jayakar, 21 November 1940 167 3. M. R. Jayakar to C. Rajagopalachari, 21 January 1942 167 4. C. Rajagopalachari to M. R. Jayakar, 23 January 1942 16g 5. Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru to Sir C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar on the fading role of the Liberals, 17 August 1942 170 6. Hindu Mahasabha's policy towards Congress,January 1945 171 7. Jawaharlal Nehru to Rajendra Prasad against electoral al- liance with the Hindu Mahasabha, 9 October 1945 172

(d) The British Raj on lhe defensive, 1936-1945

I. Sir Harry Haig to Lord Linlithgow on Congress and the Muslim League, 4 December 1939 173 2. C. R. Attlee's Memorandum on the Indian situation, 2 February 1942 175 3. The Cripps Mission: (a) The Offer, 30 March 1942 178 (b) Sir Stafford Cripps to Winston Churchill, 10 April 1942 179 (c) President Roosevelt's message to Winston Churchill, 12 April 1942 180 (d) Winston Churchill to President Roosevelt, 12 April 181 1942 4. The Wavell Plan: (a) Statement byL.S.Ameryin theHouseofCommons, 14 ~~I~ 1& (b) Lord Wavell to L. S. Amery on the failure ofthe Simla Conference, 15 July 1945 183 XIV List oj Documents (11) The Last Phase, /946-/947 (a) The Cabinet Mission

I. Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah's thoughts on Pakistan, 9 January 1946 184 2. Lord Pethiek-Lawrenee to Lord Wavell on the Parliamentary Delegation's impressions of the Indian situation, I S February 1946 18S 3. The Cabinet Mission Plan for the , 16 May 1946 186 4. Congress' objeetions to the Cabinet Mission Plan : Congress President to Lord Pethiek-Lawrenee, 20 May 1946 191 S. The Muslim League's aeeeptanee of the Plan, 6 June 1946 192 6. Vallabhbhai Pate! to B. G. Kher on the eompulsory grouping of the provinees, 14 J une 1946 192 7. The Cabinet Mission Plan for the Interim Government, 16 June 1946 193 8. The Muslim League's aeeeptanee ofthe Interim Government Plan, 2S June 1946 194 9· The Congress deeision, 2S June 1946 19S 10. Lord Wavell on Congress' aeeeptanee of the long-term plan, 2sJune 1946 19S I I. The Cabinet Mission's statement, 26 June 1946 196 12. Jawaharlal Nehru's statement on the grouping ofprovinees in the Cabinet Mission Plan, 10 July 1946 197 13. The Muslim League's eall for a direet action, 29 July 1946 197 14. Lord Wavell's comments, 29 July 1946 198 (b) The Interim Government

I. The personnel of the first Interim Government, 24 August 1946 199 2. Lord Wavell's clarifieation, 24 August 1946 199 3· Viee-President Nehru's broadeast, 7 September 1946 200 4· Lord Wavell's attempts to bring the Muslim League into the Interim Government, I I September 1946 201 S. M. A.Jinnah to Lord Wavell on the Muslim League's deeision to join the Government, 13 Oetober 1946 201 6. Reeonstitution of the Interim Government, 2S Oetober 1946 202 7. Jawaharlal Nehru to Vallabhbhai Pate! on the Bihar riots, S November 1946 203 8. Jawaharlal Nehru to Mrs V. L. Pandit on India's foreign poliey, 14 November 1946 204 9· The Muslim League's deeision to boyeott the Constituent Assembly, 21 November 1946 20S List oJ Documents xv

10. Jawaharlal Nehru's Objectives Resolution in the Constituent Assembly, 13 December 1946 206 11. The Muslim League's demand for the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, 31 January 1947 207 12. Vallabhbhai Patel to Lord Wavell, 14 February 1947 207

(c) The Partitition of India

I. Prime Minister Attlee's announcement 10 the House of Commons, 20 February 1947 209 2. Congress demand for the partition ofPunjab, 6-8 March 1947 210 3· Partition Plans, April-May 1947: (a) Alan Campbell-Johnson's account of the first plan, 14 April 1947 211 (b) Lord Ismay's account, 2-19 May 1947 211 (c) Jawaharlal Nehru to Lord Mountbatten, 1 May 1947 212 (d) V. P. Menon to Vallabhbhai Patel, 10 May 1947 21 4 (e) The Final Plan, 3 June 1947 21 5 (f) Jawaharlal Nehru's speech, 3 June 1947 218 4· Independence: (a) Clement Attlee's speech, 10 July 1947 218 (b) Jawaharlal Nehru's speech, 14 August 1947 21 9 (c) Rajendra Prasad's speech, 15 August 1947 21 9

D The Indian States, 1918-1947

Chronology of Events (a) British Policy /9/8-1946

I. The Montagu-Chelmsford Report on the future of the States, 1918 226 2. Lord Reading to the Nizam on British paramountcy, 27 March 1926 227 3 The Indian States Committee on the relationship between the Paramount Power and the States, 14 February 1929 227 4. Kailash Narain Haksar to Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, 25 May 1931 228 5. Kailash N arain Haksar to Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, 18 F ebruary 1933 229 6. The Cabinet Mission on the future ofthe States, 12 May 1946 229

(b) Congress Policy, /928-/946

I. The Nehru Report on the Indian States, 10 August 1928 230 2. N. C. Kelkar (President, All India States Peoples Conference) to M. K. Gandhi, 22 June 1934 231 XVI 3. M. K. Gandhi to N. C. Kelkar, June 1934 232 4. Working Committee Resolution on the Indian States, 1 August 1935 233 5. Jawaharlal Nehru to N. S. Hardiker, 3 September 1936 234 6. Rajendra Prasad to Jawaharlal Nehru, 24 December 1937 235 7. The Congress Socialist Party on the M ysore Crisis, 8 J une, 1938 237 8. Jawaharlal Nehru's speech on the future ofthe Indian States, 31 December 1945 238

(c) The Integration of the Indian States , 1947

I. Vallabhbhai Patel to Harekrishna Mahtab on the Nizam of Hyderabad, 28 May 1947 240 2. Jawaharlal Nehru to Lord Mountbatten, 9 June 1947 241 3. Jawaharlal Nehru to Lord Ismay, 19June 1947 243 4· Vallabhbhai Patel's statement, 5 July 1947 244 5. Lord Mountbatten's address to the Chamber of Princes, 25 ~~IW7 2~ 6. Lord Moutbatten's address to the Constituent Assembly of India, 15 August 1947 246 Preface

Since the last major documentary study of the modern history of the Indian sub-continent (The Evolution 01India and Pakistan, 1858-1947: Seleet Documents) was published in 1962 a wide range of new materials has become accessible to scholars. Only in the last decade have the private papers of Indian leaders and the records of Indian political parties found their way into the archives of India. Also, government archives, under the thirty years rule, have only this year opened the official records to 1947, the terminal point of the Indian nationalist movement. This documentary study, therefore, indudes a variety of new docu­ ments, especially relating to the Congress movement. Special attention is given to the Indian side of the story, bringing into relief the aspirations, confticts and frustrations of the nationalists. British policy too is illustrated with new documents, although this area of the study remains largely based on official and semi-official papers, some of which will be familiar to scholars. This volume, as its tide suggests, is confined to the all-India level both of the nationalist movement and of British policy. Perhaps no apology is needed for this limitation, for although provincial and local factors played important roles in shaping the nationalist movement, the all-India· movement, none the less, became during the period of this survey an intelligible, self-sustaining body and acquired amomenturn of its own. Similarly, the policy-makers on the British side, in Whitehall and Delhi, came to develop their own system of action, occasionally consulting the provincial government on particular issues. The volume is arranged in four parts; the first three parts portray the three distinct phases of the nationalist movement, and the fourth deals exdusively with India ofthe Princely States. The first part (1885- 1916) starts with the foundation of an all-India forum in which the incipient national consciousness could be ventilated, and runs to the end of what was on the whole the moderate phase. The politics of Congress during this period were controlled by its cautious fathers who looked to the British to give to the English-educated middle dass, which the Congress leaders represented, a junior partnership in the running of the affairs of their country. The talk of election and merit as the basis of Indian repre­ sentation in the imperial machinery alarmed some Muslim notables, however. The Muslim community was a minority and lagged far behind the Hindus in terms of wealth and modern education. The Muslims too xviii Priface relied on the British, but for the preservation oftheir communal identity, which they feared would be lost in the new order based on democratic principles. Thence arose the Muslim question. Throughout the penod constitutionalism was the dominant note but militant nationalism, often escalating into terrorism, drew into its torrential stream many young nationalists who had ceased to believe in the value of the British connection. Militant nationalism disturbed the complacency of the policy-makers and alternative ways and means ofhow best to preserve the empire were discussed. The outcome of the deliberations was the Act of 1909 which tended to balance the security of the imperial order on the traditional divisions in Indian society. During its second phase (1917 - 35) the Indian nationalist movement developed new characteristics. From its mass-orientation it acquired a multidimensional character and from Gandhi it acquired a unique quality. The period witnessed the rise and growth ofwhat may be called the politics of suffering. Gandhi led Congress into the battlefield to win more than just India's freedom. He strove to induce in the British a disbelief in the reality of their mission civilisatrice in India. However, the impact of the nationalist movement on the British Raj was reduced by dissensions within Congress, and between Congress and other political parties. The Raj lost its complacency, never to regain it, but it did not come to the point of surrender. British thinking and responses were varied but remained concentrated on the question ofhow much power could be safely transferred into Indian hands while maintaining the supremacy of the British empire in India. The controversial Government of India Act, 1935, embodied, among others though, the British assertion that they should remain the sole judges of India's fitness for full independence. The third part is chronologically divided into two sections; the first tracing the polarisation ofpolitical forces between 1936 and 1945, and the second examining the effect of their interplay on the course of events, between 1946 and 1947, leading to the ultimate partition of the sub­ continent. Many pertinent questions have been asked ofthis period, and it has been conjectured that the course ofIndian history might have taken a different turn if certain decisions or actions had been avoided. Of all the parties involved Congress has been most blamed for the eventual outcome, mainly by its sympathisers. It was during this period that Congress first grudgingly accepted power, and in October 1939 thankfully relinquished it. While in office Congress refused to share one third of the power with the Muslim League, thereby forcing the latter, or so the critics insist, to take an extreme position. It was Congress again which in 1942 declared its last batde against the Raj; an action which the critics affirm was unnecessary, iIl-timed and, above all, conducive to the strengthening of the Pakistan movement. Gandhi is individually blamed for reviving Jinnah's stock in 1944 when it was fast sinking. Finally, Congress's half-hearted acceptance of the Cabinet Mission Plan is considered as a grand folly. If only the Priface XIX Congress had accepted the whole plan in good faith, the critics contend, India would have been most certainly saved from partition. Most of these remarks are based on hindsight. If only Congress had known that certain ofits decisions would inevitably lead to the partition of the country, it would most certainly have avoided taking them. But Congress had no such foreknowledge of the far-reaching consequences of its decisions: in fact most of its disputed decisions were made mainly to suppress the Pakistan movement, and to avoid the very consequence which it is alleged they produced. It may seem modest and unenterprising but none the less it is perhaps the most appropriate task of the historian to ascertain why, in what mood, and with what intentions were certain decisions made at particular times. The documents in this part, as in the preceding parts, do throw some new light on the circumstances in which momentous decisions were made, especially by Congress, the principal vehicle of the nationalist movement in India.

May 1977 B. N. PANDEY London Acknowledgements

I gratefully acknowledge the co-operation of the custodians, publishers, editors and authors ofthe following sources from which extracts have been taken and included in this volume: The Private Papers of M. S. Aney, H. K. Mahtab, B. G. Kher, J. P. Narayan, Jawaharlal and Motilal Nehru, M. N. Roy, T. B. Sapru, Purshotamdas Thakurdas, and the Papers of the All-India Congress Committee, all housed at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi. The Private Papers ofG. K. Gokhale, M. R.Jayakar, G. S. Khaparde, Badruddin Tyabji, and the Horne Political Files, housed at the National Archives of India, New Delhi. The Private Papers of M. K. Gandhi at the Gandhi Memorial Museum, New Delhi. The Private Papers of Rajendra Prasad consulted while in the custody of the la te V. N. Varma, New Delhi. The Private Papers of Mrs V. L. Pandit, which are in Mrs Pandit's possession at Dehra Dun, U.P., India. The Private Papers of Lord Chelmsford, Sir Harry Haig and Lord Reading, housed at the India Office Library, London. The Private Papers of Lord Minto, housed at the National Library of Scotland, . The Colleeted Works ofMahatma Gandhi, Vols 13 - 19, Publications Division, Government of India (1960-). Doeuments ofthe History ofthe Communist Party of India, Vol. I, 1917-1922, ed. G. Adhikari, People's Publishing House, India, 1971 The Evolution 01India and Pakistan, /858-/947: Seleet Doeuments, ed. C. H. Philips and others, Oxford University Press, London, 1962. Foundations of Pakistan: All India Muslim League Documents, Vois. 1 and 2, ed. S. S. Pirzada, Karachi, 1970. Lord Hardinge, My Indian rears, John Murray, London, 1948. Historie Documents of the Muslim Freedom Movement, ed. Jamil-ud-Din Ahmad, Lahore, 1970. M. N. Roy's Memoirs, Allied Publishers, India, 1964. Lord Morley, Reeolleetions, Vol. 2, Macmillan, London, 1917. Sardar Patel's Correspondence, 1945-50, Vol. 4, ed. Durga Das, Navajivan Press, Ahmedabad, India, 1972. Servant of India, ed. M. Gilb~rt, Longmans, London, 1966. XXll Acknowledgements Speeches and Documents on the Indian Constitution, 1921 - 47, Vols. 1 and 2, ed. M. Gwyer and A. Appadorai, Oxford University Press, London, 1957. Towards Struggle, ed. Y. Meherally, Padma Publications, Bombay, 1946. The Transfer 01 Power, Vols 1 -6, ed.-in-chief, N. Mansergh, H.M. Stationery Office, London, 1970-. S. D. Waley, Edwin Montagu, Asia Publishing House, Bombay, 1964. Wavell: The Vicerqy's Journal, ed. Penderel Moon, Oxford University Press, London, 1973.

I acknowledge with gratitude the particular help I received during the course of research for this work from Sri B. R. Nanda and Dr D. N. Panigrahi, both of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, and Dr Richard Bingle of the India Office Library. I am grateful to the School ofOriental and African Studies for giving me study leave to round up the research for this work in India.

B. N. PANDEY Abbreviations

AICC All-India Congress Committee. CWMG The Collected Works of , Vois. 1-64 (in progress, Publications Division, Government of India). GMM Gandhi Memorial Museum, New Delhi. IOL Indian Office Library, London. NAI National Archives of India, New Delhi. NMML Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi. PCC Provincial Congress Committee. Seleet Documents The Evolution of India and Pakistan 1858- 194J: Seleet Doeuments edited by C. H. Philips with Professor H. L. Singh and Dr B. N. Pandey (O.U.P., London, (962). Transfer of Power The Transfer of Power 1942-7, Vois. 1-6 (in progress), editor-in-chief Nicholas Mansergh (Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London).