The Path from British India to Independent India
Note = This post gives a basic overview based on available information and is not a complete analysis. Readers are encouraged to explore additional sources to understand the topic better.
Synopsis
- Introduction
- Reforms of 1909 and 1919
- Divergent Political Paths
- Early Hindu and Muslim Political Movements
- Purna Swaraj and Communist Influence
- Simon Commission and Its Impacts
- Dalit Political Representation
- Government of India Act of 1935
- 1937 Provincial Elections
- Savarkar's Two-Nation Theory
- Lahore Resolution
- Pakistan and Dravidistan
- Cabinet Mission
- Gandhi's Role
- A Freedom Struggle or a Power Struggle?
- Constituent Assembly and Drafting the Constitution
- Gandhi's Final Fast
- Conclusion
- Reference
Introduction
The journey to Indian independence was a complex mix of political reforms, social movements, and ideological struggles. Key events like the Minto-Morley and Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms increased Indian representation in governance, while the demand for "Purna Swaraj" united nationalists across the country. The Simon Commission and the Government of India Act of 1935 further influenced discussions about autonomy and representation. The contrasting political visions of leaders like Gandhi and Jinnah shaped the course of Indian politics. Rising communal tensions, exacerbated by the two-nation theory, ultimately led to the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan. The emergence of the Constituent Assembly marked a crucial moment in drafting a new Constitution for India.
Reforms of 1909 and 1919
The Indian political landscape changed with the Minto-Morley Reforms of 1909, which introduced indirect elections through an Electoral College, increased Indian representation in councils, and created separate constituencies for Muslims, reserving 25% of the seats for them. These changes were formalized in the Indian Councils Act of 1909.
The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms took another step toward Indian self-governance by establishing the diarchy system, allowing limited powers for Indian representatives in legislatures and increased self-rule at the provincial level through the Government of India Act of 1919. Although separate electorates were granted to Sikhs, Christians, Anglo-Indians, and Europeans, full autonomy was not provided.
Divergent Political Paths
In the early 20th century, several political parties emerged to represent public interests, including the Indian National Congress (Congress) and the Justice Party. Under the Government of India Act of 1919, political responses varied sharply across regions, leading to significantly divergent political trajectories in North and South India over the following decades.
During the 1920s, the Congress boycotted provincial elections as part of Mahatma Gandhi's Non-Cooperation Movement. As a result, governance in many provinces remained in the hands of British governors and other Indian political groups. The suspension of the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922 led to internal differences within the Congress over whether to continue boycotting legislative councils or to enter them to oppose British rule from within. This split resulted in the formation of the Swaraj Party. By the 1930s, under Jawaharlal Nehru's leadership, the Congress gradually shifted from non-electoral mass movements to electoral politics, a transition that coincided with rising Hindu-Muslim tensions, particularly in North India. The Congress eventually established dominance across much of the North, creating a largely single-party political landscape.
In contrast, the Justice Party actively participated in electoral politics and governed the Madras Presidency during the 1920s. It implemented several progressive welfare measures, including women's voting rights, caste-based reservations, free meals for schoolchildren, reforms in staff selection, town planning initiatives, taxation reforms, and the establishment of the Hindu Religious Endowments Board. During this period, Periyar emerged as a prominent rationalist leader through his Self-Respect Movement. He joined the Justice Party at the request of its leaders, aligning with its commitment to social justice and public welfare, and deepening its ideological foundations in anti-caste politics.
In 1944, Periyar transformed the Justice Party into the Dravidar Kazhagam, withdrawing from electoral politics to focus on social reform. His disciple Annadurai later founded the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in 1949, entering electoral politics in 1957 and coming to power in 1967. The DMK carried forward Periyar's principles and the Justice Party's legacy of political participation and social welfare. Under Kalaignar’s leadership, the Dravidian movement expanded further and achieved sustained state power in Tamil Nadu, while M.G.Ramachandran's breakaway party, the AIADMK, emerged as a major competing force. Together, these parties have alternated in power for over five decades, maintaining Tamil Nadu's distinct political identity rooted in social justice and regional autonomy.
Early Hindu and Muslim Political Movements
In the early period, power struggles in North India existed between the Brahmin elite and non-Brahmin caste rulers. In the medieval period, this dynamic transformed into competition between the Brahmin elite and Muslim rulers. Subsequently, the Brahmin elite portrayed Muslims as a threat to Hindu society, mobilized non-Brahmin Hindu communities, and gradually transformed socio-political conflicts into a Hindu-Muslim religious divide. This historical trend solidified in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a period that witnessed significant shifts in Hindu-Muslim political thought.
In the latter half of the 19th century, Chandranath Basu first used the term "Hindutva." Even before Gandhi's national politics emerged, Lal-Bal-Pal (Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Bipin Chandra Pal) became prominent nationalists who shaped the early Indian independence movement. Their approach, aimed at expanding popular political participation against the British government, clearly incorporated Hindu cultural symbols. In particular, Bal Gangadhar Tilak used festivals such as Ganesh Chaturthi and Shivaji Jayanti as tools for political mobilization. Lala Lajpat Rai also served as the president of the Hindu Mahasabha, a precursor to the RSS.
In the 1880s, the Islamic philosopher Syed Ahmed Khan spoke about "Muslim nationalism within India." In the 1930s, the Urdu poet Muhammad Iqbal emphasized the need for political rights and protection for Muslims. None of these were demands for a separate country. When the Muslim League was formed, its objective was to protect Muslim religious and cultural identities based on the principle of "unity in diversity." Even during periods when Hindutva movements actively promoted Hindu-Muslim division, Jinnah consistently advocated a politics of Hindu-Muslim unity.
Purna Swaraj and Communist Influence
In 1921, at the Indian National Congress meeting in Ahmedabad, Hasrat Mohani and Swami Kumaranand, leaders associated with the communist movement, proposed the concept of "Purna Swaraj" (Complete Independence) for India. This idea resonated with the goals of the newly formed Communist Party, although Gandhi did not support it at the time.
Later, in 1929, during the Congress session in Lahore led by Jawaharlal Nehru, the demand for complete independence was officially adopted. Nehru hoisted the Indian tricolor flag for the first time on December 31, 1929. The Congress declared January 26 as "Purna Swaraj" Day, marked by public meetings and flag hoisting throughout India.
In 1920, a significant meeting in Tashkent led to the establishment of the Indian Communist Party, which aligned with the objectives of the Communist International (Comintern) to promote global communism under Soviet leadership. In 1934, M.N.Roy, a prominent communist supporter, was the first to advocate for the creation of a Constituent Assembly for India, which was eventually convened in 1946, with Ambedkar leading the drafting of the Indian Constitution.
Simon Commission and Its Impacts
The Simon Commission, appointed in 1927 to review the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, faced strong boycotts from Indian political parties, including the Indian National Congress, because it included no Indian members. However, it received support from social reformists such as Ambedkar, who saw an opportunity to advocate for minority rights, and Periyar, who sought greater non-Brahmin representation. During its work in 1928, the Commission traveled across India gathering evidence, and in 1930 it submitted its report, recommending increased powers for provincial governments. Despite these reforms, British governors retained emergency powers, and full self-rule remained out of reach.
Lala Lajpat Rai died from injuries sustained during a protest against the Simon Commission in 1928. His death intensified public outrage and strengthened the demand for complete independence. It also inspired revolutionary figures like Bhagat Singh to seek revenge. Although Bhagat Singh admired Lajpat Rai as a nationalist leader and sought to avenge his death, he differed from Rai in terms of religious and communal ideology.
In response to growing demands for complete independence, the British mocked India's call for "Purna Swaraj," claiming Indians were incapable of governing themselves and challenging them to submit reform proposals. Subsequently, in 1928, Motilal Nehru presented the Nehru Report, advocating Dominion Status and a unified voting system to avoid separate electorates based on religion. However, Muhammad Ali Jinnah dismissed this report, concerned about the potential dominance of Hindu interests, and presented his own set of demands, known as the Fourteen Points. The results of the Simon Commission and reports from Indian leaders prompted the Round Table Conferences (1930–1932), which focused on constitutional reforms.
Dalit Political Representation
In the context of social justice, Ambedkar and his colleagues urged the British government to recognize Dalits as a distinct political group, rather than categorizing them as part of the Hindu community. After the conclusion of the Second Round Table Conferences, British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald announced in 1932 the provision of separate electorates for Dalits for a period of 20 years. This included 71 constituencies with a second vote, allowing Dalits to vote both for their own representatives and for general candidates. Ambedkar viewed this second vote as essential for safeguarding Dalit political interests and ensuring meaningful representation.
However, these provisions were never implemented due to Gandhi's fast, which led to the Poona Pact of 1932. Under intense pressure, Ambedkar accepted a compromise of 148 reserved seats within a joint electorate but without double voting rights. Although the number of seats increased, real political power remained with upper castes, and the agreement ensured that Dalits continued to be treated as part of Hindu society rather than as an independent political group.
Government of India Act of 1935
The Government of India Act of 1935 abolished the diarchy system at the provincial level, granting more autonomy to provinces starting in 1937, while simultaneously introducing a diarchy system at the central level. It proposed a Union of India with authority over key subjects such as foreign affairs, defense, and communications. The Union would have an executive and legislature formed from representatives of both British India and the states. It required a majority from religious communities and a majority of all members present to address significant communal issues.
Provinces would retain powers over all subjects not assigned to the Union and could form groups with their own executives and legislatures to manage certain provincial subjects collectively. This approach aimed to promote self-governance at the regional level while ensuring a cooperative framework within the Union. Additionally, the plan included a provision allowing any province to request a reconsideration of its constitutional arrangements every ten years.
1937 Provincial Elections
Following the Government of India Act of 1935, the Congress formed provincial Governments after the 1937 elections in regions such as the Madras Presidency, Bombay Presidency, and the United Provinces. In the 1937 provincial elections, the Muslim League suffered a major setback, while Congress came to power with a majority. Fearing that Hindu nationalist movements might dominate, potentially enabled by right-wing factions within the Congress-led provincial Governments, Jinnah undertook a profound political reassessment. After 1937, Jinnah began to speak more intensely about the political rights and security of Muslims, gradually shifting toward the demand for Pakistan.
Savarkar's Two-Nation Theory
In his 1923 work "Essentials of Hindutva," Savarkar laid the ideological groundwork for the two-nation theory. By 1937, at the Hindu Mahasabha session in Ahmedabad, the Hindutva movement formally put forward the two-nation theory. The idea that "Hindus are one nation and Muslims are another" was emphasized in Hindutva politics even before the Muslim League adopted this position. Against this political backdrop, a sense of insecurity gradually began to grow among Muslims.
Lahore Resolution
At the 1940 Lahore Conference, the Muslim League passed the historic Pakistan Resolution, which became Jinnah's central political objective and rallying cry. This resolution formally articulated the demand for a separate Muslim homeland, marking a decisive shift in the Muslim League's political strategy. Over the following years, the demand for Pakistan evolved from a political slogan into a large-scale mass movement, particularly after events such as Direct Action Day. During this period, the two-nation theory gained political traction.
Pakistan and Dravidistan
In the 1940s, meetings and correspondence took place between Periyar, Jinnah, and Ambedkar regarding Pakistan, Dravidistan, and the welfare of marginalized communities. When Periyar sought Jinnah's support for Dravidistan, Jinnah replied, "Just as we speak as representatives of Indian Muslims, the non-Brahmin federation should speak regarding Dravidistan."
Dravida Nadu (Dravidistan), led by Periyar and supported by C.N. Annadurai in the 1940s, was a demand for a separate nation for Dravidian-speaking regions of South India, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. The demand was driven by anti-Brahmanism, social reform, and the protection of Dravidian race, language, culture, and rights. Various secessionist conferences were held, and a map of Dravida Nadu was released at the Kanchipuram conference. Political slogans such as "Either Dravida Nadu or the graveyard" were raised.
It is said that if A.T.Panneerselvam, a pioneer of the Dravidian movement, had not perished in a plane crash and had been able to speak directly with British officials in London, the demand for Dravida Nadu might have received more support. Ultimately, the Dravida Nadu demand, which received limited support outside Tamil Nadu, weakened in the early 1960s and was formally abandoned.
Gandhi's Role
Gandhi became actively involved in the Indian independence movement during the final phases of World War I, striving to eradicate untouchability, support women's rights, and improve living conditions, while aiming for self-rule and, eventually, complete independence.
His key non-violent movements included the Champaran Satyagraha (1917), Kheda Satyagraha (1918), support for the Khilafat Movement (1919), the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–1922), the Salt March and Civil Disobedience Movement (1930), and the Quit India Movement (1942). In 1921, Gandhi started the Tilak Swaraj Fund to honor Bal Gangadhar Tilak and raise one crore rupees for the freedom struggle.
During World War II, when the British sought India's support for the war effort, Gandhi and the Congress demanded complete independence before committing to participation. In response, the British sent Sir Stafford Cripps in 1942 to negotiate with Indian leaders through what became known as the Cripps Mission. The mission offered India dominion status after the war, with provinces having the option to opt out of a united India. However, the proposals were rejected by Congress because they fell short of full immediate independence and could have allowed the partition of India. The failure of the Cripps Mission further intensified nationalist agitation, leading directly to the Quit India Movement in August 1942. Gandhi was arrested immediately and remained imprisoned for most of the war.
Gandhi faced criticism from multiple perspectives. Some supporters of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose questioned his approach to fighting fascism, while he drew controversy for his fast against Ambedkar's demand for separate Dalit voting rights. Unlike Ambedkar, who converted to Buddhism, or Periyar, who opposed religion as a tool of social oppression, Gandhi chose to work within the Hindu religious framework, which critics argue limited the scope of social transformation.
Cabinet Mission
The Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946, proposed by British Prime Minister Clement Attlee, aimed to facilitate India's transition to independence while preventing partition. The plan rejected the demand for a separate Pakistan, instead proposing a federal structure with provinces grouped based on religious demographics and limited central powers. Initially, both Jinnah's Muslim League and Nehru's Congress accepted the plan. However, tensions escalated when Nehru, after becoming Congress President in July 1946, stated that the Constituent Assembly could modify the plan and suggested provincial grouping might not continue. This statement generated widespread concern among senior Congress leaders like Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, who feared it would undermine years of negotiations and minority safeguards. The remarks were interpreted as a shift in Congress's approach, raising apprehensions that the Constitution would be framed primarily according to Congress's Programme.
The breakdown of consensus followed as Congress rejected the grouping of provinces by religion, while the Muslim League refused to compromise due to fears of Hindu dominance. Subsequent reconciliation efforts failed, leading to the formation of an interim government with Nehru as Prime Minister but without Muslim League participation. The Muslim League's declaration of "Direct Action Day" triggered widespread violence and unrest. The fundamental ideological differences between the Indian National Congress, which advocated for a united secular state, and the Muslim League, which sought a separate Muslim nation, ultimately made partition inevitable. The Indian Independence Act of 1947 granted independence to India on August 15 and to Pakistan on August 14, 1947.
The idea of Pakistan developed more through political negotiations than through a large popular movement. A quote often attributed to Jinnah, “I will tell you who created Pakistan it was I, my secretary and his typewriter,” though its authenticity is uncertain, highlights the top down nature of Pakistan’s creation led mainly by elite political negotiations.
A Freedom Struggle or a Power Struggle?
According to social justice activists and scholars in the Ambedkarite and Periyarist traditions, the Indian independence movement can be said to have concluded with the Round Table Conference convened by British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald. From this perspective, everything that followed primarily consisted of negotiations over the sharing of power.
At the Round Table Conference, political rights were granted to Muslims and Dalits by the British government to ensure the development of minority communities. Meanwhile, the British, preparing to leave India, sought to profitably liquidate their Indian assets. According to this interpretation, the Brahmin-Baniya alliance acquired British merchant assets at favorable prices and, in return, gained the right to rule India. Subsequently, right-wing factions within Congress, along with Hindutva movements like the RSS, gradually stripped away the rights of Muslims and Dalits. As a result, the Brahmin-Baniya alliance established its dominance throughout India, with Brahmins controlling political power and Baniyas, subservient to the Brahmins, controlling economic power.
Social justice leaders such as Periyar and Ambedkar, who exposed the injustices perpetrated by the Brahmin-Baniya alliance, along with their second-generation followers, strongly emphasized through campaigns, movements, books, and magazines that marginalized communities must remain vigilant against its oppression.
While Muslim and Dalit minorities began gaining political rights in the 1920s, Gandhi promoted Sanatana Dharma, and Jinnah advocated for Hindu-Muslim unity. Conversely, when the socio-economic rights of Muslims and Dalits diminished in the 1940s, Gandhi emphasized national unity, while Jinnah advocated separatism to protect Muslim interests.
Constituent Assembly and Drafting the
Constitution
Following the Cabinet Mission Plan, the Constituent Assembly of India was elected in 1946. It consisted of 389 members, including 93 from princely states and 296 from British India. On 2 September 1946, the Assembly established the Interim Government of India. The first meeting was held on 9 December 1946 in New Delhi. Dr.Sachidanand was elected Interim President, and Dr.Rajendra Prasad was elected President on 11 December 1946, with H.C.Mukherjee as Vice President.
Eight main committees were appointed, the most important being the Drafting Committee. On 29 August 1947, the Constituent Assembly constituted the Drafting Committee, headed by Ambedkar, to prepare the Draft Constitution. The new Constitution replaced the Government of India Act 1935 and was adopted on 26 November 1949, coming into force on 26 January 1950, celebrated as Republic Day. The Constituent Assembly acted as the Provisional Parliament until 1952.
Gandhi's Final Fast
Following partition, Gandhi began a fast on 13 January 1948 to prevent the severe communal violence that had erupted across India between Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs, to restore peace and unity, and to demand the release of Rs.55 crores due to Pakistan.
Of the Rs.75 crores due to Pakistan under the agreement, the Indian government had released only Rs.20 crores on 15 August 1947. The remaining Rs.55 crores had been temporarily withheld after Pathan groups, supported by Pakistan, invaded Kashmir on 22 October 1947. However, in response to Gandhi's demand during his fast, the Indian government released the full amount on 18 January 1948.
Conclusion
The journey
toward Indian independence was characterized by transformative events,
ideological conflicts, and the emergence of key figures navigating colonial
rule. The interplay between political movements, social justice initiatives,
communal tensions, and power struggles shaped India's path, ultimately leading
to independence and Partition. The evolution of Gandhi's and Jinnah's ideas,
the rise of Hindutva, and negotiations over minority rights all intertwined to
produce one of the most significant events in modern history, the creation of
independent India and Pakistan.
Reference
Gandhi - A Servant Leadership
Purna Swaraj, 1929
Government of India Act, 1935
Cabinet Mission Plan, 1946
History of Indian Constituent Assembly
Indian Constituent Assembly : An Evaluation
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