The Advent of Mass Politics,

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2 CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS 1917 April 20 August 170etober 10 Deeember February Mareh April July September 1-3 November 1919 Mareh 6 April 13 April 18 April M. K. Gandhi started his first local Satyagraha in Champaran, Bihar. The first formal announeement of British poliey towards India was made in the House ofcommons by Edwin Montagu, the Seeretary of State for India. The Indian Communist Party, consisting of exiled Indians, was formed in Tashkent, USSR. The Indian Government appointed a committee under Sir Sydney Rowlatt (the Rowlatt Committee) to devise special ways and means of dealing with seditious and terrorist crimes. Gandhi began his Ahmedabad Satyagraha. Gandhi began his Kheda Satyagraha. The Rowlatt Committee submitted its report to the Government of India recommending special arbitrary measures to deal with sedition and terrorism. E. Montagu and Lord Chelmsford published their joint constitutional report. At its special session held in Bombay, Congress criticised the Montagu-Chelmsford Report as disappointing and unsatisfactory. The moderate seetion of Congress, whieh was willing to aeeept the Montagu-Chelmsford Report, parted from Congress and met in Bombay to form the All-India Moderate Party, whieh in 1920 renamed itself as the National Liberal Federation of India. The Rowlatt Aet was passed. Gandhi started his first all-india civil disobedienee movement in protest against the Rowlatt Aet. Jallianwala Bagh (Amritsar) massaere. Gandhi suspended the civil disobedienee movement.

3 Chronology oj Events 2' September '7 October 23 '920 January, August September November 1921 February August An AIl-India Khilafat Conference was held at Lucknow to demonstrate the intensity of Muslim feelings for the Sultan of Turkey and his empire. Gandhi fixed this day as the Khilafat Day when Hindus were to join the Muslims in fasting and going on hartal (strike) in protest against the British policy towards the Sultan and the empire of Turkey. The Government of India Act (incorporating the Montagu-Chelmsford Report) was passed. The Act introduced in sm all measure a responsible government in the provinces. Certain provincial subjects (education, agriculture, public health, local government) were transferred to the control of Indian ministers responsible to the elected legislature. Subjects like law and order were, however, reserved to the control of the Governor and his official executive. No such reform was introduced into the central government except for the creation of a bicameral legislature - an Assembly and a Council of State - the majority of whose members were now to be elected. At its Amritsar session held in the last week of Congress accepted the act. The House oflords rejected the censure motion on General Dyer, the perpetrator of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Gandhi launched the non-cooperation movement against the British Raj. Congress, at its special session held at Calcutta, endorsed Gandhi's non-cooperation plan with a narrow majority. The first election was held under the Act of 1919 for the provincial and centrallegislature. Congress boycotted the election. The annual session of Congress held at Naghpur. Congress endorsed Gandhi's non-cooperation with an overwhelming majority. A new constitution for Congress, drafted by Gandhi, was adopted at this session. The Central Legislature was inaugurated. Violence crept into the non-cooperation movement; Moplah Muslims of Malabar rebelied, and

4 Chronology oj Events 43 November February 6 February 10 March 1923 November 1924 March September 1925 June October November killed and converted many Hindus. The visit ofprince ofwales to India was boycotted by both the Khilafat Party and Congress. Policemen murdered at Chauri Chaura by mob. Gandhi suspended the non-cooperation movement. Gandhi was arrested. On the question of Council entry, a split in Congress took place at its annual session held at Gaya. A section in Congress led by C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru stood for contesting the triennual e!ection, due in November 1923, and entering into the legislature but with a view to wrecking the working ofthe constitution by constantly opposing the government from inside the councils. The other group in Congress, led by Gandhi-ites (Valbhbhai Pate!, C. R. Rajagopalachari and Rajendra Prasad), was opposed to Congress' entering the councils. Das-Nehru group was defeated at this session and it immediate!y formed a Congress Swaraj Party of its own. The differences between the two groups of Congress being patched up in the previous month, the Swaraj Party contested the e!ection, with a good measure of success, to the central and provincial legislature. The Khilafat cause began to lose ground when Kamal Pasha abolished the Caliphate. A major Hindu-Muslim riot occurred at Kohat and the communal tension increased. C. R. Das died, Motilal Nehru resumed the leadership of the Swaraj Party. Swaraj Party broke into two factions - the Maratha faction, led by M. R. Jayakar and N. C. Ke!kar, stood for a responsive co-operation with the government. At their conference held in Kanpur the leftists formally inaugurated the Communist Party 01' India and gave it a constitution.

5 March - April March 8 November 1928 May August March Chronology 01 Events The decline of the Swaraj Party began when the Swarajists walked out of the centrallegislature in March. Muslim leaders met at Delhi and offered to forsake aseparate electorate on certain conditions. An ail-british statutory commission under the chairmanship ofsir John Simon was appointed to review the working of the 1919 Act and to recommend further constitutional reforms for India. The Simon Commission was boycotted by all major Indian parties. At its Madras session Congress adopted as its objective the attainment of complete independence, and in protest against the non-inclusion of any Indian in the Simon Commission, it undertook to dran, in association with all other parties, a constitution for India. Congress appointed a committee under Motilal Nehru to dran a constitution for India The Nehru Committee completed its report, which laid down a joint electorate for all communities, with reservation of seats for Muslims in the Muslim minority provinces, but no such reservation in the Muslim majority provinces. The report also recommended that Sind should become aseparate province. The Nehru Report envisaged a unitary form of government for India by vesting the residuary power in the central rather than in the provincial governments. Representatives of eighty-seven parties met at Calcutta in an AIl-Parties Convention and approved the Nehru Report. The Muslim politics was then divided into fact ions and one of the factions of the Muslim League, headed by M. A. Jinnah, attended the Convention but its demands as put forth by Jinnah were rejected by the Convention. Congress issued an ultimatum to the British Government that if Dominion status was not gran ted to India by the end of 1929 Congress would opt for complete independence. M. A. Jinnah formulated his 'fourteen points'.

6 Chronology oj Events October January 12 March 6 April May June 12 November January 26 January 17 February 5 March 28 March September Lord Irwin made his 'Dominion Status' statement, announcing at the same time the intention of the British Government to hold a Round Table Conference of the representatives of both British India and Indian states to devise a federal constitution for India. Having received no assurance from the British Government that the proposed Round Table Conference would actually yield a full Dominion Status for India, Congress at its Lahore session opted for complete independence and went on the war path. Congress celebrated this day as an Independence Day. Gandhi began his 241 miles ofmarch on foot from his Sabarmati ashram in Ahmedabad to the seashore of Dandi. Gandhi, having reached Dandi, started the civil disobedience by ceremonially breaking the Salt Law by picking up a lump ofnatural salt from the seil. Gandhi was arrested. Congress was outlawed; Simon Commission Report was published. First Round Table Conference met in London without Congress representation. The first Round Table Conference was adjourned. Congress leaders were released. Lord Irwin began his pe!lce talks with Gandhi. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed and Congress, now agreeing to join the second Round Table Conference, officially suspended the civil disobedience movement. Congress at its annual session held in Karachi approved the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. Also at this session Congress passed the resolution on fundamental rights which was drafted by Jawaharlal Nehru. M. K. Gandhi attended the second Round Table Conference as the sole representative of Congress. The second Round Table Conference was adjourned; Gandhi left for India disappointed at its results.

7 Chronology ~ Events January 16 August 20 September 25 September 17 November 1933 March 1934 May August Gandhi was arrested and the second civil disobedience movement began. The British Government released the communal award conceding separate electorate to the depressed cjasses, among others. Gandhi began his fast unto death in protest against the communal award. The Poona Pact was concjuded between Dr Ambedkar, the leader of the untouchables (depressed cjasses), and the Congress leaders. The communal award was thus modified by the Poona Pact, Dr Ambedkar forgoing aseparate electorate for the untouchables in return for more seats reserved for them in the provincial legislatures. The third and the last Round Table Conference was held in London. A White Paper was issued formulating proposals for the next round of constitutional reforms in India. Congress officially suspended the civil disobedience movement. The Congress Socialist Party was founded. The Government of India Act received Royal Assent. The Act envisaged a dyarchic federal centre with power over both British India and the Indian States. There was to be a Council of State consisting of 172 British Indian representatives, most ofwhom would be elected, and 104 members from the Indian states, nominated by the Princes; and a Federal Assembly of 250 British Indian members and 125 states members. The Indian ministers were to be responsible to the legislature but they were to hold power only over interna I affairs - they could not interfere with the army, defence and external affairs. The Federal Centre was to come into force only when half of the Princes, reckoned by population, had acceded to it. As it happened the Princes did not accede and Congress and the Muslim League both persisted in their opposition to the federal provisions of the Act, though for different reasons. The federal

8 Chronology oj Events 47 provisions ofthe Act were therefore never implemented. The Act, however, gran ted substantial selfgovernment to provinces. Dyarchy, granted by the Act of 1919, was swept away in favour of provincial ministries responsible to the electors and restricted only by emergency powers of the Governor which in fact were never to be used under Ministry rule. The provincial part of the Act was eventually accepted by the Indian parties and the popular governments came into existence after the general election held in The Act separated Burma from India, Sind from Bombay, and Orissa from Bihar. British India now came to have eleven governor's provinces, four chief commissionerships, and the agency of Baluchistan.

NATIONAL MOVEMENT AND MAHATMA GANDHI

NATIONAL MOVEMENT AND MAHATMA GANDHI M E T H O D S A D O P T E D B Y G A N D H I I N T H E N A T I O N A L M O V E M E N T [ S A T Y A G R A H A & S W A D E S H I ] T H E C A U S E S F O R T H E N O N