GROWTH OF COMMUNALISM
Characteristic Features of Indian Communalism
Communalism is basically an ideology which evolved through three broad stages in India—

Communal Nationalism: the notion that since a group or a section of people belong to a
particular religious community, their secular interests are the same, i.e., even those matters
which have got nothing to do with religion affect all or them equally.

Liberal Communalism: the notion that since two religious
communities have different religious interests, they have different interests in the secular
sphere also (i.e., in economic, political and cultural spheres).

Extreme Communalism: the notion that not only different
religious communities have different interests, but these interests are also incompatible i.e.,
two communities cannot co-exist because the interests of one community come into conflict
with those of the other.

Whhabi Movement in India – Bengal
The centre of the Wahhabi movement in Bengal was Narkelbaria, a village bordering on the
thanas of Basirhat and Kalinga in the district of Barasat.
Wahabi Movement under Syed Mir Nisar Ali
Syed Mir Nisar Ali, popularly known as Titu Mir, was the leader of the Wahabi Movement in
India. He was born on 26th January, 1782 in the village of Chandpur, close to Narkelbaria.
During his pilgrimage to Mecca he came into contact with the Wahhabis and made the
acquaintance of Sayyid Ahmed Khan of Rai Bareilly. Upon his return from Mecca, Titu Mir
collected a large body of followers who were mostly Muslim peasants and weavers. Around
Narkelbaria his main task was that of a religious reformer.
The Wahhabi movement was a political struggle and a fight for prestige.

Shuddhi Movement
 Shuddhi Movement was started by Arya Samaj in earlier part of 20th century to bring back the
people who transformed their religion to Islam and Christianity from Hinduism. The literal
meaning of Shuddhi is purification but Arya Samajis didn’t aim at literal meaning rather they
meant reconversion by the term.
There was vast difference in the scriptural authorities of these religions as Islam and
Christianity claimed divine authority for their Koran and Bible respectively while Vedas
ofHinduism didn’t put up such claims. Founder of Arya Samaj, Dayananda then strived to
give the Vedas the similar degree of supernatural authority.
This process of reconverting Hindus from Islam and Christianity was accompanied by a
Sanghathan movement.

Tilak’s Ganapati and Shivaji festivals and anti-cow slaughter campaigns created
much suspicion.
Aurobindo’s vision, of an Aryanised world, Swadeshi Movement with elements like
dips in the Ganga and revolutionary terrorism with oath- taking before goddesses
were hardly likely to enthuse Muslims into these campaigns in a big way.

Hindu Mahasabha
It was a Hindu nationalist organization that was originally founded in 1915 to counter the
Muslim League and the INC.
In 1910, the leading Hindus of the Allahabad decided to organize an All India Hindu
Conference.
It was first established in Amritsar in the Punjab before 1914, and became active during the
1920s under the leadership of Pandit Mohan Malaviya (1861-1946) and Lala Lajpat Rai (1865-
1928).
The Hindu Mahasabha established in Punjab campaigned for social reform and for the
reconversion of Hindus from Islam. The Hindu Mahasabha established its headquarter at
Haridwar and used to organize the Akhil Bhartiya Hindu conference at Haridwar on the
occasion of important Hindu fairs.
Hindu Mahasabha was organized with the aim to s remove the social abuses in the Hindu
society. The removal of child marriage, casteism, untouchability etc was the principal
concerns of the Hindu Mahasabha.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)

Founded in 1925 by Dr. K. B. Hedgewar from Nagpur, with an aim to unite Hindus. He was
the one who took the RSS to a considerable network across India.
M. S. Golwarkar was then nominated as a successor to Mr Hedgewar in 1940, who held the
charge for 33 years. The nationalistic ideology of the RSS made it popular throughout India.
Main objective of the RSS is to safeguard the holy and moral traditions of India. According to
them Hinduism is not just the religion but a way of living. As per critics, political party BJP is
strongly influenced by RSS.
Reviving Hindu tradition is the major goal of the RSS. Moreover the core ideology of the RSS
is based on Hindutva, a kind of Hindu Nationalism and supports the philosophy Ekam Sat
Viprah Bahudha Vadanti Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (Truth is One, Sages Call it by Many
Names. The Whole Universe is one Family). Initially only upper caste Brahmins were part of
the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh but with time the RSS has had many Dalit andmembers
from middle caste. Many of these are now holding key positions in the Sangh.

Shimla Deputation
On 20th July 1906 John Morley the Secretary of State for Indian affairs, speaking on the Indian budget
in the British parliament, announced that the Government wanted to increase the number of seats
for the legislative councils and also their powers.
The Simla deputation was unique, because for the first time Muslims were anxious to take their share
in the political activities as a separate identity. Another purpose of the delegation was to get a silent
permission form the Government to make a political platform for the representation of Muslims, and
also was to take the Government into confidence. The demand of separate electorates, which were
presented through the deputation, was the foundation of all future constitutional amendments for
India. The inevitable consequence of deputation was the partition of Indian and the emergence of
Pakistan.

Communal Award:
 On 17 August 1932 came that infamous “Communal Award” of Ramsay MacDonald, the
British Prime Minister.
By it Muslims, Sikhs and the Hindu scheduled castes were to vote separately.
Actually this step was taken to destroy the national unity. Gandhiji strongly opposed it.
 He went on to fast till death in the prison. Ultimately, caste Hindus and the scheduled caste
Hindus were united by the “Pact of Poona” in 1932 under the leadership of Dr. Ambedkar.
Meanwhile it was clear to both Gandhiji and the other leaders that the Civil Disobedience
Movement was losing its force. So in 19354 Gandhiji called off the movement.

Simon Commission
Background: Indian nationalists had declared the constitutional reforms of 1919 as
inadequate. They had been demanding for an early reconsideration of the constitutional
question.
Formation of Simon Commission: So, the British government appointed the Simon
Commission in 1927for enquiry into the working of the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (MontFord Reforms).
No Indian Member: The commission headed by Sir John Simon, had no Indian member. It
was a shock to India.

Boycott of Simon Commission
The response in India was immediate and unanimous.
Congress decision to boycott Simon Commission: At the Madras session in 1927, the
Congress decided to boycott the Commission. The ground was that it had been appointed
without any Indian. Indians were not thought fit to be included in the Commission.
Call for boycott supported by other parties: Resentment and suspicion were not confined to
the Congress circles alone. The call for boycott of the Commission was supported by the
Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League. Muhammad Ali Jinnah said, ‘Jalianwalabag was a
physical butcher. The Simon Commission is the butchery of our soul’.
 Boycott turned into popular movement: The action began as soon as Simon and other
members of the Commission landed at Bombay on 3 February 1928. That day, complete strike
was observed in all the major cities and towns. People participated in processing and black flag
demonstration. The popular slogan ‘Go back Simon’ was raised everywhere.
Police action: The police dealt with the protesters severely. Lathi-charges were frequent. In
Lahore, Lal Lajpat Rai was hit on the chest and ultimately died a few days after the incident.
Jawaharlal Nehru and Govind Ballabh Panth were not spared. In Lucknow, they were beaten by
the police.

Nehru Report

 The Britishers claimed that the Indians were not included in the Simon Commission on account
of discord among the various groups in India. The Secretary of State, Lord Birkenhead
challenged the Indian leaders to draft a constitution to which all parties would agree. An all
parties’ conference was held in May, 1928 which appointed a committee to draft a constitutional
scheme.
The committee was headed by Moti Lal Nehru and its report came to be known as the Nehru
Report. Its other members were Subhash Chander Bose, Sir Ali Iman, Sir Tej Bhadur Sapru,
G.R. Pradhan, M.S. Aney, Shuab Qureshi and Sardar Mangal Singh.
The report was placed in the annual session of the Congress held at Lucknow on 10th August,
1928 where it was adopted unanimously. The report favoured dominion status in which India
would be a federation of linguistic provinces.
As regards the communal problem, the report recommended joint electorates with reservation of
seats for minorities. Moreover, it emphasised the necessity of giving much autonomy to the
provinces. Powers to be divided between the centre and provinces was on the basis of federal
structure.
The report, however, failed to be passed as Muhammad Ali Jinnah put forth his fourteen point
demands and the Hindu Mahasabha also had reservations.
The Congress accepted the report only under pressure from Gandhiji. The younger members
led by Subhash Chandra Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru felt that acceptance of dominionstatus
was a step from complete independence demanded at Madras in 1927.
Delhi Proposals
In December 1927, a large number of Muslim leaders had met at Delhi at the Muslim League
session and evolved four proposals for Muslim demands to be incorporated in the draft
constitution.
 These proposals, which were accepted by the Madras session of the Congress (December
1927), came to be known as the ‘Delhi Proposals’. These were:
1. Joint electorates in place of separate electorates with reserved seats for Muslims;
2. One-third representation to Muslims in Central Legislative Assembly;
3. Representation to Muslims in Punjab and Bengal in proportion to their population;
4. Formation of three new Muslim majority provinces— Sindh, Baluchistan and North-West
Frontier Province.

Civil Disobedience Movement
Introduction: The Civil disobedience movement was an important part of Indian freedom movement.
It was led by Mahatma Gandhi against certain laws and commands of the ruling British Government.
Who started the Civil disobedience movement? In India, the Civil disobedience movement was
started by Mahatma Gandhi.
WhyGandhistartedCivildisobediencemovement?InMarch1930,Gandhijiwroteinthenewspaper,
Young India, that he might suspend his civil disobedience or law-breaking movement if the
government accepted his eleven-point demands. But Lord Irwin’s government did not respond. So,
Gandhiji started the Civil Disobedience Movement.
When was Civil disobedience movement started? It was started with Dandi March (also Salt march,
Salt satyagraha) by Mahatma Gandhi on 12th March, 1930. On 12 March, 1930 he along with his 78
followers began a march from the Sabarmati Ashram to “Dandi” on the Gujarat coast. It was a
distance of 200 miles. At Dandi a few day s later they violated the salt laws by making salt from seawater. Thus, began the civil disobedience Movement.

Lahore Session of INC-1929
Following are some of the main points:
1. It was the day when the tricolor was unfurled for the first time by naionalists.
2. A pledge was taken that January 26 will be celebrated as the “Independence Day” every year.
3. The people would unceasingly strive for the establishment of a Sovereign Democratic Republic
of India.
4. It was held under the Presidentship of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru.
(which showed the growing strengths of Leftists in the congress)
5. The signs of the imminent Civil Disobedience Movement were visible in this Congress session
only.
6. A new interpretation of ‘Swaraj’ was accepted, which now meant ‘complete independence’.
7. The Congress decided not to participate in the Round Table Conference.
8. The Nehru Report was declared to be null and void in the Lahore Congress.

Dandi March (Salt Satyagraha)
 The Dandi March aroused great enthusiasm among the people. Everywhere the people
began to break the law by selling banned political pamphlets, by showing defiance of section
144 and by with holding rents.
 Gandhiji called upon the women to begin spinning. In response to his call women took to
spinning they also started picketing at the door of Government offices and foreign-goods
shops.
 This participation of the women was a new thing in the freedom struggle.
 The movement was very tense in Bengal and the north-west. Sarojini Naidu came to the
forefront during this movement.
 In the north-west (Peshawar) the most famous leader was Abdul Gaffar Khan, knick-named
as “Frontier Gandhi”. Started 1st Push to Political Monthly Pukhton.
 Voluntary Brigade Khudai Khidmatgars’, popularly known as the ‘Red-Shirts’, who were
pledged to the freedom struggle and non-violence.

First Round Table Conference (November 1930 – January 1931)
 The Round Table Conference was opened officially by Lord Irwin on November 12, 1930
at London and chaired by the British Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald.
 The three British political parties were represented by sixteen delegates. There were fiftyseven political leaders from British India and sixteen delegates from the princely states. In
total 89 delegates from India attended the Conference.
 However, the Indian National Congress, along with Indian business leaders, kept away from
the conference. Many of them were in jail for their participation in Civil Disobedience
Movement.
 The idea of an All-India Federation was moved to the centre of discussion by Tej Bahadur
Sapru. All the groups attending the conference supported this concept. The princely states
agreed to the proposed federation provided that their internal sovereignty was guaranteed.
The Muslim League also supported the federation as it had always been opposed to a strong
Centre. The British agreed that representative government should be introduced on provincial
level.
 Other important discussions were the responsibility of the executive to the legislature and a
separate electorate for the so-called Untouchables as demanded by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

Second Round Table Conference (September – December 1931)
 The Congress had boycotted the first conference was requested to come to a settlement by
Sapru, M. R. Jayakar and V. S. Srinivasa Sastri.
 A settlement between Mahatma Gandhi and Viceroy Lord Irwin known as the Gandhi–
Irwin Pact was reached and Gandhi was appointed as the sole representative of the
Congress to the second Round Table Conference. By this time, there was a coalition
Government in Britain with a Conservative majority.
The second session opened on September 7, 1931. There were three major differences
between the first and second Round Table Conferences. By the second:
 Congress Representation — The Gandhi-Irwin Pact opened the way for Congress
participation in this conference. Mahatma Gandhi was invited from India and attended as
the sole official Congress representative accompanied by Sarojini Naidu and also
Madan Mohan Malaviya, Ghanshyam Das Birla, Muhammad Iqbal, Sir Mirza Ismail
(Diwan of Mysore), S.K. Dutta and Sir Syed Ali Imam. Gandhi claimed that the Congress
alone represented political India; that the Untouchables were Hindus and should not be
treated as a “minority”; and that there should be no separate electorates or special
safeguards for Muslims or other minorities. These claims were rejected by the other
Indian participants. According to this pact, Gandhi was asked to call off the Civil
Disobedience Movement (CDM) and if he did so the prisoners of the British government
would be freed excepting the criminal prisoners, i.e. those who had killed British officials.
He returned to India, disappointed with the results and empty-handed.
 National Government — two weeks earlier the Labour government in London had fallen.
Ramsay MacDonald now headed a National Government dominated by the Conservative
Party.
 Financial Crisis – During the conference, Britain went off the Gold Standard further
distracting the National Government.

Third Round Table Conference (November – December 1932)
The third and last session assembled on November 17, 1932. Only forty-six delegates
attended since most of the main political figures of India were not present. The Labour
Party from Britain and the Indian National Congress refused to attend.
From September 1931 until March 1933, under the supervision of the Secretary of
State for India, Sir Samuel Hoare, the proposed reforms took the form reflected in
theGovernment of India Act 1935.

Gandhi-Irwin Pact:
The Government had called a round Table conference in 1930 in London. The
congress did not join it. In order to make sure that the congress would participate in the
second conference, Lord Irwin made a pact with Gandhiji in 1931.
 In this “Gandhi-Irwin Pact” the Government agreed to let off all political prisoners and to
cancel the oppressive laws.
 The Second Round Table Conference was a failure from India’s point of view.
 Gandhiji’s demand for full self-government was rejected.