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Eternal India
encyclopedia
FREEDOMMOVEMENT
be set up to review the fitness of India for
further reforms and extension of parliamen-
tary democracy. This came to be known as the
Simon Commision as Sir John Simon was its
Chairman.
M. A. Ansari, the Congress President at
the Madras session of 1927, declared a
Congress boycott of the Commision's work of
enquiry.
leaders who did not see eye-to-eye with the
Congress and held an All-India Muslim con-
ference on Jan 1,1929 which issued a mani-
festo of Muslim demands. This formed the ba-
sis of the 14 demands formulated by Jinnah in
the same year.
On April 8, Bhagat Singh and
Batukeswar Datta threw bombs in
the Assembly Hall at Delhi.
on the constitutional changes in the Central
Legislative Assembly on February 18. The
motion was carried in the Assembly.
On June 27, the A.I.C.C. met at Ahme-
dabad. There was an altercation between
Gandhi and the Swarajists over the new con-
stitution of the Congress.
On November 23, a pact was signed be-
tween Gandhi and the Swarajya party on
March 29,1925, C.R. Das issued a manifesto
condemning violence perpetuated by the Gov-
ernment. On June 16, C.R. Das died. On Aug
22, Vithal bhai Patel was elected the president
of the Central Legislative Assembly.
In the Kanpur session of the Congress
held on Dec 26-28, the Congress, the members
of the Swarajya party were directed to walk
out of the Legislatures (which they did in
March, 1926).
1926 : On April 3, conference of all political
parties was held except the Congress.
After the death of Chittaranjan Das in
mid-1925, the Bengal ‘
Swarajists’
were in
total disarray.
Meanwhile communalism was beginning
to make headway in the country, feeding on
political inactivity and frustration. Even the
Swarajists were affected by the communal
virus. After the death of C.R. Das the Muslim
League and the Hindu Mahasabha, started in
1917, once more became active. The Swarajya
Party split when Madan Mohan Malaviya and
Lajpat Rai founded a purely Hindu party - the
so-called Independent Congress Party - under
whose banner they fought the coming elec-
tions.
Communal riots broke out in Delhi,
Lucknow, Allahabad, Jabalpur and Nagpur.
No less than sixteen riots took place in 1925.
The Calcutta riots of 1926 were the worst.
The Statutory Commission of 1928 listed 112
communal riots between 1922 and 1927 in
which approximately 450 lives were lost and
5,000 persons were injured.
1927-28 - Shapurji Saklatwala became a
member of British Parliament.
Emergence of Nalini Gupta, S. A. Dange
and Muzaffar Ahmed. Princely states met in
Bombay to demand integration of Indian states
and found AISPC (All India State People's
Conference)
In November 1927, the British Cabinet
announced that a Royal Commission would
‘Indian people are entitled to de-
termine their own constitution ei-
ther by a Round Table Conference
or by a convention parliament. That
claim has been definitely negatived
by the appointment of the commis-
sion... We cannot be parties to an
enquiry into our fitness for Swaraj
or for any measure of responsible
government. ..The third reason (for
boycott) in undoubtedly the affront
to Indian self-respect involved in
the deliberate, exclusion of Indians
from the commission. ’
- S. Srinivasa Iyengar.
The Congress, the Liberal Federation,
and initially, even the Muslim League decided
to boycott the Simon Commission.
The Congress slogan.
Go
Back, Simon
which confronted the Commission wherever
it went created a bond of unity in the national
struggle. The police lathi-charged demonstra-
tors and among the many who were injured
were Lala Lajpat Rai who received serious
injuries from which he died on November 17,
1928.
On 3 February 1928 when the Commis-
sion landed in Bombay it was met by huge
processions, with
‘GoBack, Simon’
banners
and black flags.
*
On Aug 28-31 - All parties convention
held in Calcutta. Congress session in Calcutta
accepted the constitution for India drafted by
the Nehru Committee.
1929
*
The Muslim League grew in strength.
Mohammed Ai Jinnah joined the Muslim
Lahore conspiracy case - The govern-
ment started a case against Bhagat Singh- the
Lahore conspiracy case. Some of the accused
protested against their treatment as prisoners.
To draw public attention to their stand they
went on a hunger-strike. Finally, the jail au-
thorities were compelled to feed them forci-
bly, so that they would not die as martyrs.
Jatin Das who refused to take food and
medicine died on 13th Sept 1929.
In reply to the Congress demands the
Viceroy Lord Irwin declared on Oct 31,1929
that the
‘natural issue of India's constitutional
progress'
was the attainment of Dominion
status and announced that a Round Table
Conference of all parties would be held in
London to discuss the recommendations of
the Simon Commission. As this fell far short
of its demands the Congress at its Lahore
session in December 1929 declared complete
independence
-‘PURNA SWARAJ’
as its
goal and decided to boycott the Round Table
Conference and took steps to launch a pro-
gramme of civil disobedience. This was inter-
preted by the no-change group as boycotting
all legislative, executive and other govern-
ment institutions.
The broad masses of India sympathized
with the Congress demand for Puma Swaraj.
The demand was accepted by not only the
youth, but also the older generation, and the
moderate Swarajists and non-changers in the
Congress.
‘On Dec. 31, 1929 at the stroke of
the midnight the resolution of
PURNA
SWARAJ was passed. As 1930 ushered
in, the Flag of Independence, the tri colour,
was unfurled to the deafening shouts of
“INQUILAB ZINDABAD”
Long Live Revolution