NATIONAL MOVEMENT-1919-1939:

Policy of Carrot and Stick

• Here Carrot represented by the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms
• And Stick represented by the Rowlatt Act
  

Montagu-Chelmsford Reform and Government of India Act, 1919:

• In 1918, Edwin Montagu, the Secretary of State, and Lord Chelmsford, the Viceroy, produced their
  scheme of constitutional reforms.
• These reforms, popularly known as Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms,
  led to the enactment of Government of India Act of 1919 Silent features of the act are as follows:
  
• The Council of Secretary of State was to compromise 8-to-12 people, three of them Indian
  
• Dyrachy System was introduced as the provincial level.
• Under this system, Subjects of Administration were divided into two groups; 1. Reserved subjects and 2. Transferred subjects.
• Reserved subjects were under the direct control of Governors, while transferred
  subjects were under ministers responsible to the legislature.
  
• The Central Legislature was to consist of two houses: the Council of State or Up per House
  and the Legislative Assembly or Lowered House. Both the Houses had equal legislative
  powers.
• Sikhs, Anglo-Indians, Christians and Europeans were also given the right to separate
  electorates.
• Provincial legislatures were to be unicameral.
• The legislature had virtually no control over the Governor Journal and is Executive Council
• The right to vote was severly restricted
• Part of the expenses of the office of the Secretary of State was to be met by the British
  government.

  ---

Government of India Act of 1919

• On August 20, 1917, the British Government declared, for the first time, that its objective
  was the gradual introduction of responsible government in India7.
• The Government of India Act of 1919 was thus enacted, which came into force in 1921.
• This Act is also known as Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (Montagu was the Secretary of State for India and Lord Chelmsford was the Viceroy of India).
  

Features of the Act
1. It relaxed the central control over the provinces by demarcating and separating the central and
provincial subjects. The structure of government continued to be centralised and unitary.
2. It further divided the provincial subjects into two parts—transferred and reserved. The
transferred subjects were to be administered by the governor with the aid of ministers
responsible to the legislative Council. This dual scheme of governance was known as
`dyarchy’—a term derived from the Greek word di-arche which means double rule.
However, this experiment was largely unsuccessful.
3. It introduced, for the first time, bicameralism and direct elections in the country. Thus, the
Indian Legislative Council was replaced by a bicameral legislature consisting of an Upper House
(Council of State) and a Lower House (Legislative Assembly). The majority of members of both
the Houses were chosen by direct election.
4. It required that the three of the six members of the Viceroy’s executive Council (other than
the commander-in-chief) were to be Indian.
5. It extended the principle of communal representation by providing separate electorates for
Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans.
6. It granted franchise to a limited number of people on the basis of property, tax or
education.
7. It created a new office of the High Commissioner for India in London and transferred to him
some of the functions hitherto performed by the Secretary of State for India.
8. It provided for the establishment of a public service commission. Hence,
a Central Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 for recruiting
civil servants8.
9. It separated, for the first time, provincial budgets from the Central budget and authorised
the provincial legislatures to enact their budgets. 10. It provided for the appointment of a
statutory commission to inquire into and report on its working after ten years of its coming into
force

The Rowlatt Act

• Passed by the Imperial Legislative Council in 1919.
• The Indian members did not support the Act, but it was passed; nevertheless.
• The Act gave enormous powers to the government to repress political activities.
• It allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.
  
• On 6th April, 1919; Gandhiji launched a nationwide satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt
  Act. The call of strike on 6th April got huge response.
• People came out in support in various cities, shops were shut down and workers in railway workshops went on strike.
• The British administration decided to clamp down on the nationalists. Several local leaders
  were arrested.
• Mahatma Gandhi was barred from entering Delhi.
  

  ---

  
  Indians in South Africa consisted of three categories—
  the indentured Inalan labour, mainly from had migrated to South Africa after 1890 to work on
  sugar plantations;

• the merchants—mostly Meman Muslims who had followed the labourers; and
  the ex-indentured labourers who had settled down witeir children in South Africa after the
  expiry of their contracts.

Phase of Passive Resistance or Satyagraha (1906-1914)

• Satyagraha against Registration Certificates, Campaign against Restrictions on Indian
  Migration, Setting up of Tolstoy Farm, Campaign against Poll Tax and Invalidation of Indian
  Marriages

Champaran Satyagraha: 1st Civil Disobedience
 Gandhiji’s first great experiment in Satyagraha came in 1917, in Champaran, in Bihar.
 European planters had involved the cultivators of Champaran in agreements that forced
them to cultivate indigo on 3/20th of their holdings (known as the tinkathia system).
 Gandhiji had won his first battle of civil disobedience in India.

Ahmedabad Mill Strike : 1st Hunger Strike
 The next scene of Gandhiji’s activity was in 1918 at Ahmedabad where an agitation had
been going on between the labourers and the owners of a cotton textile mill for an increase of
pay.
 The workers to go on strike and to demand 35% increase in wages.
 Gandhiji himself went on a “fast unto death” to strengthen the workers resolved to continue
the strike.
 The strike was withdrawn and retrieval later awarded the 35% increase that the workers had
demanded.
 Ambalal Sarabhai’s sister, Anasuya Behn, was one of the main lieutenants of Gandhiji in
this struggle in which her brother and Gandhiji’s friend was one of the main advisories.

Kheda Satyagraha:1st Non-Cooperation

• In 1918, Gandhiji learned that the peasants of Kheda district in Gujarat were in extreme distress
  due to the failure of crops, and that their appeals for the remission of land revenue were being
  ignored by the government.
• As the crops were less than one fourth of the normal yield, the peasants were entitled under the
  revenue code to a total remission of the land revenue.
• Gandhiji organised Satyagraha and asked the cultivators not to pay land revenue till their
  demand for remission was met.
• The struggle was withdrawn, when the government issued instructions that revenue should be
  recovered only from those peasants who could afford to pay.
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was one of the many young persons who became Gandhiji’s
  follower during the Kheda peasant struggle.

JALLIANWALA BAGH MASSACRE (APRIL 13,1919)
Baisakhi day
To protest against the arrest of their leaders, Saifuddin
Kitchlew and Satyaal.
 General Dyer order
 The incident was followed by uncivilised brutalities on the inhabitants of Amritsar.
 Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood in protest.
 Gandhi by atmosphere of violence and withdrew the movement on April 18, 1919.

Khilafat Movement
 During the World War I Turkey fought against Britain as an ally of Germany. So, after Turkey’s
defeat, the abolition of Khilafat was proposed. The proposal wounded the feelings of Indian
Muslims. They organized a protest movement under the leadership of Khilafat leaders.
 The Khilafat movement: A deputation was given by the Khilafatists to the Viceroy whose reply
was disappointing. Another deputation met Lloyd George in London experienced the same
disappointment.
 Launching the movement: The ‘Khilafat Day’ was observed on 17 October 1919. Soon,the
movement on an all-India scale was launched on an imposing scale. The Central Khilafat
Committee organized an all-India general strike on 1 August 1920. The movement gathered
momentum as many Pirs and Mullahs supported it.
 Gandhiji returned to the Viceroy the award of Kaisar-e-Hind which had been awarded by the
British government for his war service. At the special session of the Congress held in Calcutta
(now Kolkata) in September 1920, a resolution in favor of non-cooperation was passed.
 The end of the movement: In September 1921, the Ali brothers was arrested. Gandhiji
suspended the non-cooperation movement after the Chauri Chaura incident. He was arrested
in 1922. A few months after his arrest, the Caliph or the Sultan of Turkey was deposed of his
power due to a revolution led by Mustafa Kemal Pasha.
 Later on, Turkey moved towards becoming a secular state and the Khilafat issue lost its
importance.

Importance of Khilafat Movement
Opportunityfor the Muslim leadership: Somefeel thatthe movementprovidedanopportunity
for the Muslim leaders to take interest in the national affairs. They began to believe that the
nation was equally concerned with problems affecting the Muslims.
Impact on urban Muslims: The Khilafat movement brought the urban Muslims into national
movement. There was nothing wrong, in principle, that a national movement should support
a cause which affected a section of the community.
Element of anti-imperialism: There was an element of anti-imperialism in both the national
and Khilafat movements. These movements could have been used as common platform to
fight against imperialism.

Non-cooperation Movement

• Non-cooperation movement was started by Mahatma Gandhi in 1920 to drive the British out
  of the country.
• Non-cooperation movement was nothing but a declaration of peaceful; and non-violent war
  against the atrocities of the British government which had gone back on its words.
• The Non-cooperation Movement meant active refusal to abide by the laws and regulations
  passed by the government.
• An appeal was made to all the Indians to surrender their titles and to boycott the law courts,
  the educational institutions and the election of the legislatures.
• It was thought in the beginning that this would be enough to emphasis upon the government
  the need for greater reforms and more amenities in the administration of the country.
  However, it was planned that, in case, it did not succeed in bringing down the Government; the
  payment of taxes would be refused.
• The Congress also declared that it would not be satisfied with anything less than Swarajya. Thus, for the first time the Congress had taken a revolutionary step. An organization which was wedded to constitutional means had now adopted a revolutionary policy and was even ready to work for a self rule disconnecting all relations from the government of England in case it was not granted by them willingly.

Gandhiji launched the non-cooperation movement with three clear objectives in view.
1. Remedy of the Punjab wrong and demand punishment for Gen. R. Dyer.
2. To bring about an amicable solution of Khilafat question.
3. Fulfillment of the demand of Swaraj.
The Indian National congress outlined a seven-item programme of non-cooperation.
1. Surrender of titles and honorary offices.
2. Refusal to attend government official and non-official functions.
3. Boycott of government and government-aided schools and colleges.
4. Boycott of British courts.
5. Refusal of all classes to offer themselves for service in Mesopotamia.
6. Boycott of elections to provincial and central assembly.
7. Boycott of British goods.
The constructive programme consisted of:
1. To set up national education institutions.
2. Promotion of Swadeshi industry, particularly weaving and hand-spinning industry.
3. Abolition of untouchability that was prevalent in the Hindu society.
4. Hindu-Muslim unity.
5. To raise a fund of a crore of rupees after the name of Tilak.
6. Panchayats were to be established for setting disputes.
7. To observe strict non-violence.
Gandhiji assured the nation that if the programme was fully implemented, Swaraj would be achieved
within the year.

Hunter Commission
The Hunter Commission was formed in 1882 under the leadership of Sir William Hunter during the
period of Lord Ripon. The following were mentioned in the report of that commission in 1884:
 Schools and colleges will be subsidized by the Governments.
 All Government restrictions will be lifted from schools and colleges.
 The responsibility of primary education will be entrusted with municipality and the district
boards.
 Special attention will be given to higher education.
 In 1902, Lord Curzon formed the Raleigh Commission under the leadership of Sir Thomas
Raleigh. This was also known as ‘Indian University Commission’. Sir Gurudas Banerjee and
Sued Hussain Bilgrami, the two Indians were the members of this commission.
 The University Act was passed in 1904 A.D. A commission was formed in 1917 A.D. under
the guidance of Sir Michael Sadler. This is also known as the ‘Calcutta University
Commission’.

Lucknow Pact

• Lucknow Pact refers to an agreement reached between the Indian National Congress and
  the Muslim League at the joint session of both the parties, held in Lucknow, in the year 1916.
  Muhammad Ali Jinnah, then a member of the Congress as well as the League, made both
  the parties reach an agreement to pressure the British government to adopt a more liberal
  approach to India and give Indians more authority to run their country, besides safeguarding
  basic Muslim demands.
• After the unpopular partition of Bengal, Jinnah approached the League to make it more popular among the Muslim masses. Jinnah himself was the mastermind and architect of this pact. Due to the reconciliation brought about by Jinnah between the Congress and the League, the Nightingale of India, Sarojini Naidu, gave him the title of “the Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity”.The Lucknow Pact also established cordial relations between the two prominent groups of the Indian National Congress – the “hot faction” garam dal led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and the moderates or the “soft faction”, the naram dal led by Gopal Krishna Gokhale.

Chauri Chaura incident

• The Chauri Chaura incident occurred at Chauri Chaura in the Gorakhpur district of the United
  Province, British India on 4 February 1922, when a large group of protesters participating in
  the Non-cooperation movement turned violent, leading to police opening fire.
  In retaliation the demonstrators attacked and set fire to a police station, killing all of its
  occupants.
• The incident led to the deaths of three civilians and 22 or 23 policemen.
  
• The Indian National Congress halted the Non-cooperation Movement on the national level as
  a direct result of this incident.
  Important session of Congress
  

All India Trade Union Congress
Founded-1920
Lala Lajpat Rai-1st Prez
Dewan Chaman Lal-1st General Sect.
Tilak also moving Spirits
1923-1st May Day was celebrated in Madras

Hindustan Republican Association

• Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) was a revolutionary organisation, also
  known as Hindustan Socialist Republican Army established in 1928 at Feroz Shah Kotla New
  Delhi by Chandrasekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and others.
  
• Previously it was known as Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) whose written
  constitution and published manifesto titled The Revolutionary was produced as a witness in
  the Kakori conspiracy case of 1925.
  
• Likewise the Hindustan Republican Association, HSRA. was also a revolutionary organisation
  which worked more dangerously from 1928 to 1931 in the Indian subcontinent to uproot the
  British Raj from the country through armed struggle.
• The HRA was founded in October 1924 in Kanpur by Ramprasad Bismil,
  Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee and Sachin Sanyal, with an aim to organise
  an armed revolution to overthrow the colonial government and establish
  in its place a Federal Republic of United States of India whose basic
  principle would be adult franchise.
• The most important “action” of the HRA was the Kakori robbery.
• HRA’s main organ Revolutionary had proposed nationalisation of railways and other means of transport and of heavy industries such as ship building and steel. Started On :1924 at United Provience,Punjab,Decan Provience(Maharastra),Bengal
• Ended On:1931
• Yugantar, Anushilan groups and later Chittagong Revolf Group under Surya Sen—in Bengal
• Novels and books such as Bandi Jiwan by Sachin Sanyal and Maher Dabi by Sharatchandra Chatterjee (a Government ban only enhanced its popularity).
• Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt were asked to throw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly on April 8, 1929 against the passage of the Public Safety Bill and Trade Disputes Bill aimed at curtailing civil liberties of citizens in general and workers in particular.

Chittagong group

• Among the new “Revolt Groups”, the most active and famous was the Chittagong group
  under Surya Sen.
• Chittagong Armoury Raid (April 1930) Surya Sen had participated in the Non-Cooperation
  Movement and had become a teacher in the national school in Chittagong.
• Surya Sen decided to organise an armed rebellion along with his associates—Anant Singh,
  Gariesh Ghosh and Lokenath Baul to show that it was possible to challenge the armed
  might of the mighty British Empire.
• Bhagat Singh helped establish the Punjab Naujawan Bharat Sabha (1926) as an open wing of revolutionaries to carry out political work among the youth, peasants and workers, and it was to open branches in villages.
• Bhagat and Sukhdev also organised the Lahore Students’ Union for open, legal work among students.

Women Revolutionaries

• Prominent women revolutionaries in Bengal during this phase included Pritilata Waddedar,
  who died conducting a raid; Kalpana Dutt who was arrested and tried along with Surya Sen
  and given a life sentence; Santi Ghosh and Suniti Chandheri, school girls of Comilla, who
  shot dead the district magistrate. (December 1931); and Bina Das who fired point blank at the
  Governor while receiving her degree at the convocation (February 1932).