After Civil Disobedient Movement

The First Stage Debate

1. Constructive work on Gandhian lines.
2. Should be a constitutional struggle and participation in elections to the Central Legislature.
• Elections and council work, political interest and morale of the people.
• Build up congress, prepare the masses for the next phase.
• Strong presence in councils would serve as an equivalent to the movement.
3. Strong leftist trend by Nehru critical both constructive work and council entry

Nehru’s Vision

• “The basic goal before Indian people as before people of the world is abolition of capitalism and establishment of socialism.”
• Withdrawal of the Civil disobedience Movement means - "a spiritual defeat", "a surrender of ideals" & "Retreat from revolutionary to reformist mentality".
• Vested interests be revised in favour of the masses by taking up the economic and class demands of peasants and workers, and landlords and capitalists, organising masses in their class organisations - kisan sabhas and trade unions.
• Argued class organisations - influencing its policies and activities.
• No genuine anti-imperialist struggle, he said, without incorporating the class struggle of the masses.

Nehru’s Opposition to Struggle-Truce-Struggle Strategy

• Large number of Congressmen led by Gandhi believed that a mass phase of movement (struggle phase) followed by a phase of reprieve (truce phase) before the next.
• Truce phase - masses to recoup their strength to fight and also give the government a chance to respond to the demands of the nationalists stage of mass struggle could be taken up.
• Struggle-truce-struggle or S-T-S strategy.
• Nehru argued, “continuous direct action” policy by the Congress and without the interposition of a constitutionalist phase, suggested a Struggle-Victory (S-V) strategy

Council Entry

• Gandhi said that the withdrawal of the Civil Disobedience Movement did not mean bowing down before opportunists or compromising with imperialism.
• May 1934, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) met at Patna to set up a Parliamentary Board to fight elections under the aegis of the Congress itself.
• Large section of the intelligentsia favoured parliamentary politics.
• Gandhi’s emphasis on the spinning wheel as the “second lung of the nation”.
• Socialists led by Nehru also had differences with Gandhi.
• October 1934, Gandhi resignation from the Congress.
• Radicalise the Congress than to get isolated from the masses. right wing was no less accommodating.
• Election of Central Legislative Assembly, november 1934, captured 45 out of 75 seats reserved for Indians.

Government of India Act, 1935

All India Federation

• States with allotment of 52 seats in the proposed Council of States should agree to join the federation.
• Aggregate population of states in the above category should be 50% of the total population of all Indian states.

Conditions were not fulfilled, the proposed federation never came up.

Federal Level

Executive

• Governor-general was pivot of the entire Constitution.
• Reserved and transferred subjects.
• Executive councillors were not to be responsible to the central legislature
• Transferred subjects - Administrated by Governor-general on the advice of ministers elected by the legislature.
• Governor-general could act in his individual judgement, security and tranquillity of India.

Legislature

• Bicameral legislature
• Election, Council of States was direct & Federal Assembly, indirect.
• Council of States was to be a permanent body with one-third members retiring every third year.
• Federal, provincial and concurrent list.
• System of religion-based and class-based electorates was further extended.
• 80 per cent of the budget was non-votable.
• Governor-general had residuary powers.
• Restore cuts in grants.
• Certify bills rejected by the legislature.
• Issue ordinance.
• Exercise his veto.

Provincial Autonomy

• Replaced dyarchy & granted autonomy and separate legal identity.
• freed from “the superintendence, direction” legal authority directly from the British Crown.
• Independent financial powers and resources.

Executive

• Crown’s nominee and representative to exercise authority on the king’s behalf in a province.
• Governor was to have special powers regarding minorities, rights of civil servants, law and order, British business interests, partially excluded areas, princely states, etc.
• Governor could take over and indefinitely run administration.

Legislature

• Separate electorates based on Communal Award.
• Directly elected, Franchise was extended. Men & women has voting rights.
• Council of ministers headed by a premier.
• Provincial and concurrent lists.
• 40% of the budget was still not votable.
• Governor
• Refuse assent to a bill.
• Promulgate ordinances.
• Enact governor’s Acts.

Evaluation of the Act

• Numerous ‘safeguards’ and ‘special responsibilities’ of the governor-general.
• Governor still had extensive powers.
• 14 per cent of British Indian population.
• System of communal electorates.
• Rigid constitution with no possibility of internal growth

The Long-Term British Strategy

• Weaken the national movement and integrate large segments of the movement into colonial, constitutional and administrative structure.
• Reforms would revive the political standing of constitutionalist liberals.
• Moderates who had lost public support.
• Once Congressmen tasted power, they would be reluctant to go back to politics of sacrifice.
• Right wing to be placated through constitutional concessions and radical leftists to be crushed through police measures.
• Provincial autonomy would create powerful provincial leaders, Congress central leadership would get weakened.

Nationalists’ Response

• Act rejected by the Congress.
• Constituent Assembly elected on the basis of adult franchise to frame a constitution for independent India.

Second Stage Debate

• 1937, elections to provincial assemblies.
• Full agreement that the Congress should fight these elections on the basis of a detailed political and economic programme, thus deepening the anti-imperialist consciousness of the people

Divided Oponion

• Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Bose, and Congress socialists and communists, opposed to office acceptance.
• assuming responsibility without power,
• As a counter-strategy, leftists proposed entry into the councils with an aim to create deadlocks. Preparing for the resumption of a mass movement.
• Proponents of office acceptance argued that they were equally committed to combating the 1935 Act, option of a mass movement was not available at the time
• Fight these tendencies and not to abandon office.
• Administrative field should not be left open to pro-government reactionary forces.
• Provincial ministries could be used to promote constructive work.

Gandhi’s Position

• Opposed office acceptance in the CWC, but willing to give a trial to the formation of Congress ministries.
• Lucknow in early 1936 & Faizpur in late 1937, resolution "Not to submit to this constitution or to cooperate with it, but to combat it both inside and outside the legislatures so that it can be ended".
• February 1937, elections eleven provinces - Madras, Central Provinces, Bihar, Orissa, United Provinces, Bombay Presidency, Assam, NWFP, Bengal, Punjab and Sindh.

Congress Manifesto for Elections

• Congress manifesto reaffirmed total rejection of the 1935 Act
• Promised release of prisoners
• Removal of disabilities on the basis of gender and caste, radical transformation of the agrarian system.
• Reduction of rent and revenue.
• Scaling down of rural debts.
• Cheap credit and right to form trade unions and to strike.

Congress won 716 out of 1,161 seats it contested, majority in all provinces.prestige of the Congress rose and Nehru was reconciled to the dominant strategy of S-T-S.