Paper 2.9 The Rise of Gandhi 2016

Transcription

1 Paper 2.9 The Rise of Gandhi Paper 2.9 The Rise of Gandhi 2016 THE LEADERSHIP OF MAHATMA GANDHI 1. INTERNAL TENSIONS had increased after the partition of Bengal in 1905 along communal lines. It led to nationwide protests and strikes but the partition was revoked only in 1911 after the communal divide had been established. English education and influence of the West had profoundly changed the thinking and tradition by the end of 19 th century. Uneven, small groups of educated men made public life differ from province to province. Fear resulted in communal alignments and associations Sikh Sabha, Muslim Anjuman, Hindu Arya Samaj all aimed at defining the identity of their community and to safeguard its local position in a changing situation. This intensively communal reaction became overtly political with the Reform Act of The common element between these diverse striving by religious groups castes and linguistics was that all were in reaction to a changing environment caused by the Western influence. These groups were reservoir of latent political activity. Bihar farmers in Champaran were forced to grow indigo by the British. The water rates were increased in 1906 in Punjab to which the farmers there reacted. As the social reforms movement in the 19 th century had included every shade of activity, it had been diffused and disorganized. Therefore, it was possible to find 10x10learning.com Page 1

2 a precedent for every reform initiated by Mahatma Gandhi. The situation of Congress was no better. By 1916 Pherozshah Metha and Gokhale had passed away and their views were no longer influential. B. G. Tilak was, therefore, allowed to rejoin the Congress Party. 3. The national situation in was not a dramatic one but one of continuous adoption. There was no re-generation of society as had been envisaged by the 19 th century reformers. Lack of progress had disillusioned the Moderates. An inter-play of internal tensions and external pressures had begun to create the new social outlooks. English education was the most powerful agent of change, as it not only gave the Indians a place in administration but made the educated Indian aware of developments abroad. The main channels of political activity available at the time were the Congress Party, the Muslim League, and the Home Rule League. The fear of being left out led to communal alignments and associations. The Sikh Sabha, the Muslim Anjuman, the Hindu Arya Samaj. These associations however, were spread unevenly throughout the country. It resulted in different styles of political activities in different regions. 4. The First World War was a watershed in Gandhi s career in Indian politics. He felt compelled to step in to public action yet had no plan for a career of power. His aim was to forward the idea of Swaraj wherever possible, and to right the obvious wrongs wherever they came to light. He had no political ends in 10x10learning.com Page 2

3 view and cared little for political power as understood by his contemporaries. This made him unpredictable to the British Government. The Government had adopted the policy of balancing repression and conciliation during the War. This became the pattern for the Government in dealing with Indian unrest for the next fifteen years. 5. This policy forced M.K. Gandhi to take a stand in the all India political arena. Yet he groped his way as he lacked experience and the sense of direction. Policies adopted by the British due to pressures of the War helped to widen the span of participation in institutional politics. 6. The various governmental controls on goods and trade had forced up prices of essential commodities, and people outside the political stream had begun to feel the adverse impact. 7. The masses were therefore, more willing to participate in the new forms of public activity to protest against government policies. War had become an agent of change due to its economic dislocation and adverse impact. 8. This brought change in the attitude of the people. India was seen as a major source for troops by the British. Therefore, in face of growing discontent a conscious change in the policies were brought about as a gesture to win India s collaboration. This altered the centre of gravity of power in society as it became a force that could initiate political change. 9. Policies of government during the War had created certain issues on a wider scale The new political situation was 10x10learning.com Page 3

4 maturing during the War Nationalism was gathering force, and leaders were expecting major political concessions after the War. The economic situation in the country had worsened due to rise in prices. 10. As the Government was following a policy of repression, all sections were suffering from depression and increasing unemployment. In these circumstances the Rowlatt Act in 1917 came as a blow to the expectations and aspirations of the Moderate Nationalists. Instead of democratic progress the civil liberties of Indians were being restricted even further. 11. The agitation against the Rowlatt Act forced Mahatma Gandhi to emerge from his restricted world of local grievances and come to the fore of national politics. He fitted in to no single political group because of his ideology and method of work. He therefore joined the ranks of the politicians to forward a few of his well defined causes namely Swaraj and Justice. 12. The Rowlatt Act was for emergency powers to deal with in any area officially declared as subversive. It included power of trial of seditious crimes in camera, of arresting and imprisoning in non-penal custody, and power to demand security from suspects. 13. The Act was passed only because of the official majority, but it exposed the poverty of the Congress strategy of constitutional politics. This had so far been based on the assumption that the government and India could best serve their own interest by 10x10learning.com Page 4

5 coming to a mutually acceptable agreement about the division of power. The passing of the Rowlatt Act had exposed the helpless position of the Congress as compared to the repressive British government. 14. The Rowlatt Act united all politicians against this arbitrary Act of the Government. It forced Gandhi to try out his Satyagraha on a national scale. Satyagraha was a novel political method as the constitutional politics of the Moderates had failed, while the militant nationalism had been suppressed through deportation of leaders. 15. The method was novel only in its scale and the scope of its intentions. It avoided violence, and yet liberated them from depending on petitions and negotiations. The method adopted was to disobey laws dealing with prohibited literature and registration of newspapers. The banned book Hind Swaraj was revived and Gandhi himself began an unregistered sheet as newspaper called Satyagrahi 16. Gandhi at the time had three power bases: (a) an unwilling consent of the already existing political elite (b) an unstable Muslim base (c) the newly mobilized groups and areas earlier thought to lie outside political activity. 17. The movement was called off by Mahatma Gandhi after the tragedy of Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar on 13 th April The movement had failed to get the Rowlatt Act repealed but showed the strength and weaknesses of Gandhi s politics. 18. THE EMERGENCE OF GANDHI 10x10learning.com Page 5

6 19. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi had developed Satyagraha as a political technique to fight injustice through non-violent means in South Africa. 20. On traveling to know India he was appalled at the ignorance, illiteracy, and backwardness of rural Indians. He therefore added the dimensions of social uplifting and mass education to his earlier concept of Satyagraha. 21. After the success at Champaran, Gandhi s Satyagraha at Ahmedabad and Kheda spotlighted his technique before the nation. The atrocities in Punjab and the British Government s defence of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre made Gandhi lose all his faith in the British sense of justice. 22. The Khilafat issue added another aspect to national discontent. Therefore, the former goal of self government with in the British Empire was replaced in 1920 by new goal of attainment of Swaraj. He also adopted the strategy of progressively nonviolent non-cooperation until Swaraj was established. In 1921, Gandhi made the sole executive authority, vested with full powers to launch a movement. 23. M. K. Gandhi had laid the spiritual and political foundations of his leadership in South Africa. The South African experience had accustomed him to working with people outside the ranks of western educated class and organizing them. It has also given him an interest in the problems outside the scope of their activities. 10x10learning.com Page 6

7 24. In the process he also developed attitudes towards them. But the techniques he had evolved were limited by the people he had to organize : Muslims, low caste Hindus and women. 25. Satyagraha involved direct action when petitions and appeals had failed. Its strength was its simplicity and adaptability. It could take different forms depending on the issues at stake. These ranged from burning of registration certificates to mass march across provincial borders in order to court arrest for breaking immigration laws. In India Satyagraha became a political technique of superb flexibility ideally suited to illiterate masses who were unaccustomed to institutional politics, a simple technique of direct action appropriate for a wide variety of occasions. 26. In August 1920, B.G Tilak passed away and Congress in a special session in 1920 passed a resolution in support of the Satyagrah and chose Mahatma Gandhi with full powers to lead the non-cooperation movement. 27. In 1921 the membership of the Congress was thrown open to all above the age of 21 years. This changed the very character of the Congress as it became an organization of the masses and provided it with members from all regions and languages. This linguistic basis enabled it to function as a continuous organization throughout the country. 28. In 1918 women had already responded to the call of the Mahatma. By 1921 women had taken to the spinning of khadi in 10x10learning.com Page 7

8 large numbers as this could be done in their spare time at home or within the village. 29. Mahatma Gandhi s announcement to begin the mass movement from 1 st February 1922, including non-payment of taxes initiated the implementation of the policy of Non- Cooperation and Satyagrah, instead of being dependent on government s response to their petitions that rarely came. 30. Some of the older leaders, still believers of the Moderates method of constitutional agitation, left the Congress as they were opposed to hartal and breaking of the law. 31. It included Annie Besant, B. C. Pal, G. S. Khaparde, and M. A Jinnah. On 5 th February 1922 the violent incident in Chauri Chaura happened. On 12 th February 1922 the Bardoli Resolution was passed to stop the non-cooperation movement, because of the violence in Chauri Chaura because non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good. 32. He also needed to send the message across to the masses that violence on even a small scale was not a part of his noncooperation movement. On 10 th March 1922 Mahatma Gandhi was arrested for spreading disaffection. Gandhi s arrest was the official signal of him emergence as a national leader of the freedom movement. 33. By India had been politically awakened yet the precise nature of the Swaraj was not clear to many. Gandhi was clear about the non-violent means through which it was to be achieved. He presented Non-cooperation as the anti thesis of 10x10learning.com Page 8

9 collaboration with the British who had ruined the economy of the country. 34. He aimed at mobilizing a three dimensional power base for his movement (a) newly mobilized groups and the areas that were outside political activity earlier. (b) an unstable alliance with the muslims (c) an unwilling consent of sections of existing political elite. The desire to retain local political supremacy was the key consideration for all political groups, as they decided to join the non-cooperation movement of Gandhi. All groups wished to move ahead politically and not to lag behind in any new move. 10x10learning.com Page 9