Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India

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FREEDOM MOVEMENT

India during First World War

When the First World War broke out in

1914, Indian leaders supported Britain in the

War. They hoped that Britain would grant

India self-government in recognition of In-

dia's help. Political campaign for self-gov-

ernment during the War was carried on

mainly by the Home Rule Leagues, one led

by Annie Besant, and the other by Tilak.

“The first outstanding feature of the war

is the co-operation and fellowship of the dif-

ferent units of a consolidated Empire. It has

dissipated the longstanding colour prejudices

under which Europe claimed an inherent and

permanent superiority over the inhabitants of

Asia and Africa and refused comradeship

with them even in the grave... Fighting side by

side with and against white races, these brave

soldiers of Africa and India have incontesta-

bly proved that the colour of the skin is en-

tirely due to climatic conditions and does not

at all connote an essential distinction in the

physical, intellectual and moral fabric of any

race whether residing in the torrid or the tropi-

cal zone..”

{Indian National Evolution -

A. Majumdar.)

Two significant developments took place

during the War. First, the Congress was re-

united and the extremists were allowed to

rejoin it. But the Congress remained mainly a

The Ghadar Party was founded in the U.S.A.

in 1913. It was the first party founded outside India

to fight for the independence of India and at the

same time to better the living conditions of Indian

people living elsewhere.

Towards the close of the 19th and at the start of

the 20th C. there was a large exodus of Indians to

the outside world mainly to Burma, Malaya, Sin-

gapore, Hong Kong etc., and finally to Canada and

U.S.A. The economic crisis of 1907 in U.S.A. fol-

lowed large scale wage cuts and anti-Indian agita-

tions. "

Everywhere they were insulted and de-

spised. In hotels and trains, parks and theatres

they were descriminated against. Everywhere hung

notice-boards: "Hindus and Dogs not allowed".

This brought a political consciousness and yearn-

ing for liberty among the Indians. This was further

strengthened by the writings of the revolutionary

papers like

'Indian Sociologist'

and

'Bande Ma-

taram

’, of Madame Cama. The outcome of all this

was the formation of the Ghadar party in 1913.

"By 1906 Indians carried on nationalistic activi-

ties in U.S.A., and Indian students and labourers

had established various headquarters in the coun-

try. During the Swadeshi movement Indian groups

in America were publishing materials against the

British Government of India''.

''The Resolutions founding the party laid down

its aim as the overthrow of imperialist Raj in India

forum for discussion. Second, the Congress

and the Muslim League came closer. They

held simultaneous sessions at Lucknow in

1916 and adopted a common programme for

attaining self-government.

In August 1917, Lord Montagu, the Sec-

retary of State for India, to appease the nation-

alists, announced that the British government's

policy in India was

‘the progressive realisa-

tion of Responsible Government as an inte-

gral part of the British empire.’

At the same

time, preparations were made to introduce

new repressive measures. However, when the

War ended, the Indian national movement

entered a new era - the era of mass struggle

against repression and for Swaraj.

Congress-League Pact

In December 1916, the I.N.C and the All

India Muslim League made a pact and agreed

on a reform scheme which is popularly known

as the Congress-League Pact of 1916. Some

of the provisions of the pact are: “

....India

shall he lifted towards Self-Government by

granting the Reforms contained in the scheme

prepared by the A.I..C.C and by the All-India

Muslim League... That in the reconstruction

of the Empire, India shall be lifted from the

position of a dependency to that of an equal

partner in the Empire with the Self-Governing

Dominions. ”

THE GHADAR PARTY

and the building up in its place of a national republic

based on freedom and equality. This aim could be

achieved only by an armed national revolution.

Every member of the party was declared to be in

honour and duty bound to participate in the fight

against slavery carried on anywhere in the world".

Hardayal of Punjab - lecturer at Stanford Univer-

sity - was the guiding spirit of the movement which,

under his dynamic personality, took its final shape.

The main activities of the Ghadar party, besides

the campaign, were the publication of

'The Ghadar

various books and pamphlets. The First issue of the

paper declared:

"Today there begins in foreign

Lucknow Congress (1916), declared its

clear and candid vote for

‘‘Swaraj’

The second

important step taken by the Congress was

to dispel Hindu-Muslim disunity. The

Muslim League and the Congress jointly

prepared a scheme for the improvement of

the country's administration.

(Hindi Daily Pratap

- 8 January, 1917)

Indian Home Rule League

Bal Gangadhar Tilak established the

Indian Home Rule League at Belgaum on 28th

April 1916, with the object

‘to attain Home

Rule and self-government within the British

Empire by all constitutional means and to

educate and organize public opinion in the

country toward the attainment of the same. ’

It was generally recognized that the time

had positively come for an organization to be

started for educating public opinion and agi-

tating for Home Rule throughout the country.

The Congress was the body which naturally

possessed the greatest authority for undertak-

ing such a work with responsibility. The

scheme of self-government which the Con-

gress was supposed to be intending to

hatch, served as a plausible excuse for

most of Moderates to negative a definite

proposal to establish a Home Rule League.

lands

.....

a war against the British Raj..... What is

our aim? mutiny. What is our work? mutiny. Where

will mutiny breakout ? In India. The time will soon

come when rifles and blood will take the place of

pens and ink".

This clearly depicted the policy

pursued by the party. The Ghadar party under Har-

dayal took up the campaign against the new immi-

gration policy of the U.S.A., the object of which

was to make it impossible for Indians to live in

U.S.A.

The strength and popularity of the Ghadar

party seemed to have dwindled towards the close

of the 1920s.