h2g2 - THE BRITISH IN INDIA

INDIA 1918 -1947.. THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE

INTRODUCTORY BACKGROUND - HOW THE BRITISH RAJ STARTED

THE EAST INDIA COMPANY
The Company was set up in December 1600 to handle English trade with the East Indies. At first Portugal blocked its efforts , but by 1618 the company had established factories in four towns . Fifty years later Charles II received Bombay from the Portuguese when he married a Portuguese princess and he gave it to the company. By this time the company had leased Madras on the south-east coast, and a factory had been established at Hugli and at other sites in the north-east. To keep these sites safe the factories were fortified and Indians were recruited as 'sepoys'- soldiers or guards. The company's business expanded for the first forty years of the eighteenth century , and three little villages in Bengal which had been placed under its control in 1698 , had become the major town of Calcutta with a population of 100,000 by 1735.

At this time the Moghul Empire which ruled much of the region was disintegrating. The death of the emperor in 1707 was followed by a civil war between his sons. India was then invaded by a Persian force in 1738 and then an Afghan one in 1747, 1748 and 1751. Central power disappeared and new states began to assert themselves. The European trading companies kept out of the fighting until , in 1740 , war broke out in Europe between France and Britain The fighting spread to India where both sides made pacts with local rulers . The Nawab of Bengal decided that he was not profitting sufficiently from Calcutta . His forces captured it and subjected the Europeans to "The Black Hole" . A British force force made up of 1,100 Europeans and 4,000 "sepoys" consistently defeated the "Nawab's" forces of 15,000 from the Battle of Plassey in 1757 through to the end of the war in 1763.

THE COMPANY AS RULER
With the French company defeated the British company , and British citizens in their employ , held enormous power in the Indian sub-continent. Robert Clive and his successor as Governor General of the company both faced prosecution on their return to England because there was tremendous potential for corruption. In the absence of any effective Indian authorities , the British Parliament tried to regulate the conduct of the Company and its officers . Their business was to be limited to commerce. Then in 1798 a new governor general arrived at a time when once again Britain was at war with France, and some Indian rulers were looking to alliances with France. The governor general offered British protection to Indian allies on these terms; (a) a yearly tribute, (b) an agreement not to carry on wars without British consent, (c) the maintenance of a proper army commanded by British officers with the surrender of land to provide revenue for the maintenance of this force. Some states agreed , others chose to join the French, and when war came "British" forces of about 55, 000 in the whole of India faced Indian armies of 250,000 , plus 40,000 troops trained by France. The direction of the British forces were commanded by the governor-general's brother , Arthur Wellesley, later the Duke of Wellington. Gradually most Indian states accepted the system of "subsidiary alliances" by which Indian rulers would continue to rule their countries , while the East India company would have overall power.

Some states had been directly ruled by the Company since the seventeenth century., and after 1823 other states were taken over of they suffered misgovernment, or had no royal heir, or plotted against Britain, or had insane tyrants as rulers. At this time attitudes were changing in the Company and in Britain . It was a period of moral reform in Britain and morality dictated interference with Indian culture. (a) Hindu law said that anyone converting to Christianity would lose their inheritance. This was stopped in 1832.(b) The throwing of children into sea at the mouth of the Ganges and female infanticide to avoid the expense of a dowry were banned by regulations in 1795,1802 and 1804 (c) In 1815 and 1817 regulations tried to stop the burning of pregnant or young widows and made it a crime to compel a woman to burn herself, or drug her or get her drunk in order that she could be burned. Finally in 1829 "suttee" was made totally illegal (d) In 1843 slavery was abolished in India , freeing millions of slaves with no compensation for their owners, (e) The "Thugs" , reputed devotees of the goddess Kali , who murdered victims by strangulation, were suppressed and moves were taken against the human sacrifices practised by the Khonds in Orissa.

THE FIRST WAR OF INDEPENDENCE OR THE MUTINY
Many of the Company's changes were resented. Progressive Governor Generals built railways and telegraph services introducing more western ways. An investigation into landholding rights resulted in 20,000 estates being taken away . A law in 1856 allowed Hindu widows to remarry and there was concern about the future treatment of the Moghul Emperor, now a mere ceremonial figure-head . This made for a potentially explosive situation especially when British troops were taken away to fight in the Crimean War in 1857 leaving only 45,000 European troops and 233,000 "sepoys" in the Indian armies. The introduction of the Enfield rifle ,with its greased cartridge , provided a cause on which both Hindus and Muslims could unite. A mutiny broke out in the in May 1857 with many units in the north of India supporting the restoration of Moghul rule.

The "Mutiny" , or "the First War of Independence" as it is now referred to in India , had three long-lasting consequences :- (a) the British valued the loyalty of the Sikh and Gurkha units which were some of the most important ones to stay loyal , (b) the British government decided to end the rule by the East India Company. India became a British crown colony ruled by a Viceroy . This change was proclaimed at a great gathering in November 1858 and Queen Victoria announced that all the Indian princes and their rights would be respected. There would be justice, benevolence and religious toleration, and that all "of whatever race or creed, may be freely and impartially admitted to offices in our service, the duties of which they may be qualified, by their education, ability and integrity, duly to discharge", (c) both sides had committed atrocities in 1857 and there was a legacy of bitterness on both sides. The memory of the massacre of European civilians , especially women and children, now fed the insecurity of the Europeans , while for many Indians the idea of a united campaign to overthrow the British rule was not an ideal which could be easily forgotten.

CHANGE IN INDIA 1858-1900
(A) THE CIVIL SERVICE: Once the Company was no longer ruling there were improvements in the efficiency of the government of India, but there were also unfortunate side effects. The Secretary of State was in sole charge at the British end , and an Indian Civil Service developed which only answered to the Secretary of State , not Parliament. Its members were often products of the English public schools and "Oxbridge" and they re-created a segregated social life in India. British officials now rarely had any social contact with Indians and new scientific theories of racial superiority widened the gulf between the Indians and the Europeans .

The Raj did provide for some Indian involvement in government. An Act of 1861 set up a central legislative council to suggest changes in the law with some places reserved for Indians , and there were some moves to allow Indians to take the examinations for entry into the higher civil service. There were also serious attempts to revive Indian local government and in 1876 , when the Emperor died, Victoria took the title of Empress of India ("Kaisar-i-Hind").

Probably the most important work of the Indian administration in the first fifty years of Crown government involved tackling the famines which broke out in different localities .After a report in 1880 the same basic principles were applied in India as had been established in Britain. In time of famine the state should provide work for able-bodied men while distributing money or food to the aged and infirm. In the terrible famines of 1896-97 and 1899-1900 possibly as many as a quarter of the whole Indian population received some kind of relief. The government also encouraged private companies to build up the railway network , guaranteeing to make their profits up to 5%. Irrigation schemes too were undertaken; one canal built between 1890 and 1899 made it possible to convert a waste area into a region supporting a population of 800,000 people.

(B) EDUCATION AND THE HINDU REVIVAL. The Moghuls had been the last of a succession of Islamic invaders who had ruled over India for centuries , relegating the Hindus and their culture to subservience. In the eighteenth century many of the Company employees developed a passionate interest in the ancient Hindu culture of the country, founding colleges to revive the study of the ancient texts. Then the new company charter in 1813 encouraged investment not only in "the revival and improvement of literature" but also for " the introduction of useful knowledge and religious and moral improvement". Missionaries and liberal Indians helped to found English schools and in 1854 a plan was developed for a whole system of education, with teaching carried out in whichever one of the Indian languages was spoken in the locality. In 1857 a university was founded at Calcutta and in the next thirty years others were set up at Bombay, Madras, Lahore and Allahabad.

With the revival of its intellectual life India produced a number of new religious and social movements (1). Raja Rammohan Roy founded a movement in 1824 dedicated to the worship of the one Great God. This work was carried on by Devendranath Tagore from 1843 . Tagore's son , Rabindranath Tagore, became an internationally respected poet during the second half of the nineteenth century and was awarded a British knighthood. (2) The Theosophical Society started in the USA in 1875 . Its founders moved to India in 1879 and ten years later the remarkable Mrs Annie Besant joined it. Under Mrs Besant's leadership a Central Hindu School was set up which became the Hindu University in 1915.

With an increasingly well-educated upper class in India, government policy was subject to more effective criticism . Graduates of the Indian universities began to organise meetings. In 1883 an Indian National Conference met in Calcutta and two years later a separate Indian National Congress met in Bombay .Then the two organisations quietly merged.

The INC subsequently met every year and became an active critic of the Raj government arguing for more involvement of educated Indians in the government. In 1886 changes allowed more Indians to join the imperial and provincial civil services, and in 1892 the size of the central legislative council was increased. The British, however, were suspicious of a "western style" Indian Nationalism expressed by the small western-educated elite. They knew of India as a region of 179 different languages spoken in 544 different dialects. India had 16 different major written languages with their own individual literature and , in the light of the anti-Muslim hatred in the Balkans, the British encouraged the large Muslim minority to fear any democratic system of government which would set Hindus up in power over Muslims.

(C) THE ECONOMY. To many Indians the economic consequences of British involvement in the region seemed disastrous. Early in the Seventeenth Century some regions of India had been as industrialised as Britain. When the East India Company had begun trading the attraction had largely been the goods produced by Indian industry so much so that early in the Eighteenth Century Britain was concerned that the trade with the Indies was draining British gold and silver away because there was so little that Britain had to export there. To prevent this from happening the Britain banned the import of cotton cloth . Then the technological changes of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries changed the situation . The great Indian cotton industry could not compete with the factory system in Britain , however much Indian wages were forced down. It was alleged that weavers contracted to work for the Company cut off their thumbs as the only escape from the labour.

In 1851 the first "modern" cotton mill was set up in India and by 1901 there were 264 such mills, but traditional Indian production , and the way of life which went with it had been undermined. Moreover when British investors put money into India they naturally expected profits to come to Britain.

In 1869 the Suez Canal greatly reduced the journey time from India to Europe and Bombay, Karachi, Calcutta and Madras became great sea ports served by the World's largest railway network. To many Indians , however, it was apparent that the British were developing the region as a "colony" in the same way that the Americas, Africa and Australasia were being developed. Britain had become the "Workshop of the World" and saw its Empire as a resource to supply mineral wealth and commodities which could not be produced in the British climate. Though there were pockets of industrial development the extensive investment went into plantations for tea , previously purchased from China, and rubber , originally from Brazil. Such "commodities", however, are very vulnerable to changes in the World markets and provide low-paid , labouring work. It seemed that British India was to be a land of villages and peasants , not an industrial and commercial rival. Nevertheless between 1879 and 1908 manufactured exports increased from 8% to 22% of total exports , while manufactured imports declined from 65% to 53%.

While the Raj administrators prided themselves that they were giving India good government, they took it for granted that India should pay for what it was getting. The land tax levied on the Indian peasant was often 40% of the food he produced , and this was often justified on the grounds that the peasant was lazy and would only do the minimum . The land tax, along with a tradition of land-holding which divided family holdings into ever smaller patches and the oppressive interest rates of money lenders were blamed for continued poverty, though the suppression of female infanticide and ' suttee', and the property rights given to widows also had an impact . Though the British organised massive relief programmes there were massive famines during the first 50 years of the Raj - 1m dead in 1866, 1.5 m dead in 1869, 5m dead in 1876-78 and 2m dead in 1899-1900 (total 9.5m), while the plague hit Bombay and killed 4.5 million in the years 1905-1910.

THE RAJ AT THE START OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.

HOW THE RAJ WAS GOVERNED:
By 1900 British "India" contained about 300 million people , just over three-quarters of whom were directly ruled by the British. Forty per cent of the area containing one quarter of the population was still ruled as 562 "Native States" . Here traditional ruling families continued in hereditary power as "subsidiary allies" of the British. This involved accepting a "British resident" in their states and showing allegiance to the English Crown. The fabulous wealth and security enjoyed by many of these princes made them useful allies for fifty years aainst the demands of the newly educated Nationalist and Democratic elements who spearheaded demands for reform.

British policies for India were still determined in London by the Secretary of State for India who appointed a council of at least ten people to advise him. In 1909 Indians were admitted to this council. The Crown's representative in India was the Viceroy , who was sent out for a term of four years , hardly long enough to get to know the country, and the Viceroy was helped by a central council of six , which included the commander-in-chief appointed by the Crown. The 5,000 Raj servants were divided into separate departments :- Revenue and Agriculture, Home, Foreign, Finance, Military, Public Works and Legislative. The sub-continent was divided into different regions which had either Governors appointed by the Crown (Madras and Bombay) or Lieutenant Governors appointed by the Viceroy (The Punjab, Bengal, Burma, and the North West Provinces).

For most Indians, however, the real face of the Raj was the "district officer" who was responsible for applying and interpreting the rules for the administration of his own district. These were usually young men , freshly graduated from Oxford or Cambridge , who now found themselves alone in remote areas with sole responsibility for the peace, security and well-being of tens of thousands , but while they had considerable power over the Indian population they had no real input into Raj policies.

NEW "KAISARS":
The Empress Victoria died in 1901 and was followed by her son Edward . His government faced new challenges in India. In 1906 the Muslim League was set up to create a separate voice for the Muslim population which did not feel part of one Indian Nation. This was the year which saw the start of Hindu violence directed against British rule as well as the first serious attempts to boycott British goods and Muslims anticipated that such violence would be turned against them if the British were not there. The INC saw this as the result of British "divide and rule" propaganda.

The British Crown believed that parliamentary democracy was the only answer to such problems and in 1908 King Edward VII spoke of the need to prudently extend the principle of representative institutions in India . The following year the Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909 increased the size of the legislative councils to increase the number of Indians involved and admitted Indians to central and provincial executive councils and the council of the Secretary of State for India. When George V became King in 1911 he went to India in person to become "Kaisar" and a traditional "Durbar" was held at Delhi . There before the assembled princes the new emperor announced that a new city of Delhi was to be built and New Delhi would become once more the capital of the Raj. Three years later , when the First World war broke out , Indians supported Britain , even M.K. Gandhi who had become something of a national hero because of his campaigns in South Africa.

GANDHI IN SOUTH AFRICA .
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born at Porbandar 2 October 1869. His family were of the trader caste and belonged to a school of Hinduism which was totally vegetarian and opposed to all taking of life. According to his own testimony , he was a terribly shy boy, and a poor student at school. He was married off to Kasturbai at the age of 13. After graduating from High School with mediocre grades, he failed every class he took at college and returned home after five months. An uncle suggested that he should go to London to study law for three years. His wife had to sell her jewellry to pay for his ticket, and his older brother undertook to pay the rest of his expenses. His religion normally forbade travel across the "dark waters" , but his mother agreed .

Arriving in London Gandhi was embarrassed by his white flannel suit . After the initial shock an Indian acquaintance told him that he was in England to learn how to be a British gentleman. He engaged tutors in French and proper speaking , bought suits and a top hat, began violin lessons and started ballroom dancing. After three months he decided that this was not his true self. He got his own rooms in central London where he could cook for himself and walk everywhere . He joined the London Vegetarian Society and tried to "spread the word " . After three years in London he was enrolled at the "bar" and left for India the next day, worried about reports about his mother's health. When he arrived in Bombay he was told that she was already dead , but they had waited for his return to tell him.

Gandhi tried to establish himself as lawyer in India, but his English book learning had left him ignorant of Indian realities, and no-one would give him any work. When he finally got a brief he was too nervous to address the court and ran out. Then , because of his brother's contacts, a local Muslim firm offered him a 1 year contract with its office in South Africa. By now he had two sons to support and no income , so he accepted to go to work for Dada Abdullah . When he arrived in South Africa in 1893 he found that the work involved a detailed knowledge of book-keeping, and , as his years in London had taught him how to study books, he eventually became an expert on Dada Abdullah's case. His employer was in a disagreement with a blood relation and Gandhi could have won the case for his client , but persuaded him to settle out of court -" I had learnt the true practice of law. I had learnt to find out the better side of human nature and to enter men's hearts. I realized that the true function of a lawyer was to unite parties riven assunder." Now he quickly got more work and with an income of 25-30,000 dollars a year could afford to bring over his family, who had to become "Europeanised". At 27 he was a success, but this brought him no personal peace and satisfaction .

He had had to learn in his first year in South Africa that a "Europeanised Indian" in South Africa would face discrimination. Dada Abdullah had reserved him a first class seat on a train across Natal and he was thrown off the train for his refusal to move down to the third class compartment , which was where Indians were supposed to travel. The train moved off with his overcoat and luggage leaving him to spend the night in the deserted railway station. Once he had become a prosperous lawyer he took an interest in the condition of all the Indians in South Africa , many there as "indentured servants" - just one step up from slavery. His concern took a practical form when the black death broke out in the Indian quarter of Johannesburg ,and he turned up to help the English nurse who was tending the victims in a quarantined building. He turned his back on material comforts, bought a book on how to launder his clothes, and , when an English hair-dresser refused to cut his hair, bought his own pair of clippers. He began a weekly news magazine "Indian Opinion" and , when the Boer war, broke out in 1899, he recruited an Indian ambulance Corps to deal with the wounded. He now founded his first "ashram" or family community in the countryside outside Durban , and a handful of young men and women, both European and Asian came to join him. Kasturbai was required to now give up European comforts , and even take her turn cleaning the toilets, normally the work of untouchables. She even had to give up her jewels , as her husband gave up the presents he received from grateful clients and the community. These valuables were all put into a trust for his community. Increasingly he turned to the great Hindu text , the Bhagavad Gita , which had been introduced to him by English friends in England , through an English transalation. It was to become his "infallible guide of conduct " for life. In it Sri Krishna , the Lord of Love, lays out the " way of love" through engagement with the forces of light and darkness. Man is born to fight , but he can choose how and whom he will fight.

In 1906 he found his motivation and his battle. He had recruited a second ambulance corps to help the natal government to put down a rebellion by Zulus. His party was appalled by the vicious treatment of the Zulus and carried the wounded on stretchers for 40 miles to get treatment. He now resolved to devote all of his energies to helping other people. The government of Transvaal had introduced the "Black Act" which would deprive South African Indians of what civil rights they did have. In a meeting at Johannesburg he called for nonviolent resistance to the point of death , and every man and woman present rose to show their acceptance of this struggle. In a conflict which lasted seven years Gandhi went to prison several times. In the end , however, he won the respect and then the friendship of the head of the Transvaal Government , Jan Smuts. Gandhi forced them to repeal the "black act" and an annual tax on ex-indentured servants. Indian marriages were made legally valid and the status of the Indian Community in South Africa was stabilised . So in 1913 Gandhi returned to India as something of a hero amongst Indian Nationalist circles. He had taken on the British and won. He had a method of struggle which had succeeded -"satyagraha". Back in India , however, he chose no high profile political career . He felt the need to get to know India and was not still not prepared to live a life of wealth and privilege like other "western educated" Indian leaders. He established a new "ashram" at Ahmadabad in Gujarat and continued to dedicate himself to the needs of the poor- the untouchable classes, the peasants and the mill-hands.

THE FIRST WORLD WAR AND ITS AFTERMATH
INDIAN PARTICIPATION IN THE WAR.
When the war broke out Indian politicians hoped that support for Britain in 1914 might lead to India gaining self-governing status like Australia , New Zealand and Canada, and , because Britain had only a"contemptible little army" , it was not long before Indian soldiers found themselves in France. The Lahore and Meerat Divisions arrived in France in September 1914 and under the command of Lieutenant General Sir George Wilcox they were sent to 8 miles of the front near Lille. Between .October 24-November 1 -the Indians divisions suffered 705 casualties.. Losses of officers and men created a serious problem. Replacing dead officers was a particular problem since the officers had to be British gentlemen who were familiar with the languages and culture of the "sepoys". Remembering the events of 1857 recruits were taken especially from the Sikhs of the Punjab , and , in this strange continent , incomprehensible war and terrible winter conditions personal loyalties to comrades and known officers were very important. . By the end of 1914 the Indian units had lost 8,000 officers and men , and battlefield experience had shown no higher level of civilization in the west. The wounded, however, were shipped to the south coast of England . Many were treated in Brighton which seemed a "fairyland" and "paradise" compared to the poverty of rural India and soon found that English "ladies" were "very friendly", especially when they had money. The whole question of controlling prostitution around military installations (like Tooting Barracks) had been a major issue for forty years , but in the case of the Indian soldiers the solution was simple . All social contact was stopped ; but not before the soldiers had discovered that not all Britsh people were aloof and superior like the Raj servants back home.

Once recovered the soldiers were sent back to the Front and a major feat of Indian arms was achieved by the Gurkhas at Neuchatel when they captured solidly defended German lines. By the end of the war around 1,116,000 Indian fighting men and 563,000 non-combatant auxiliaries had taken part in the war effort as volunteers. Like the British Tommies they returned home with new ideas about the world, often physically or psychologically damaged, they themselves , or their widows and families , wondering whether "The War to End All Wars" was going to produce "a land fit for heroes. "

MOVES TO MAKE A BETTER INDIA.
In 1916 at Lucknow the INC and the Muslim League made a pact which would be the basis of cooperation if India should gain self-government and a Home Rule League was set up modelled on the current Home Rule movements for Scotland and Ireland. The following year the British born theosophist Annie Besant served as chairman of the Congress , and Wilson's Fourteen Points and the May and October Revolutions in Russia created a climate in which major change seemed possible.

In August 1917 Mr Montagu, the Secretary of State for India , announced in parliament a policy of "the gradual development of self-governing institutions with a view to the progressive realisation of responsible government of India as an integral part of the British Empire". Within the Indian Army Indians became eligible for officer status , and in 1918 Montagu toured India for six months to sound out public opinion before issuing the Montagu-Chelmsford Report It recommended a clear division between Central and Provincial Governments a much greater Indian participation at the provincial level so that power would be shared in a "Dyarchy" (Diarchy) . The Provincial Governments were to take responsibility for internal law and order, justice and jails, irrigation, forests, inspection of factories, famine relief, education, medical and sanitary services, agriculture and the development of industries. For certain "reserved subjects" the ten Provincial Governors were answerable to the Governor -General and Whitehall , but, following the principle of DIARCHY , or joint government , other subjects would be dealt with by the Governor acting with Ministers chosen from legislative councils . To guarantee a full representation of Indian opinion , seventy per cent of the members of these councils were to be elected , with different communities chosing their own representatives. The executive part of The Central Government was not to have DIARCHY , but an assembly was created which could evolve like the English parliament. A new Central Legislature , with two separate houses was to have a majority of elected members in both the upper and lower houses. As in the early development of the English parliament the right to vote would be based on a high property qualification , but in theory the legislature had extensive powers to make laws or challenge the government. After ten years there would be an inquiry into the workings of the system to see whether the conditions were right for a further instalment of gradual change.

THE JALLIANWALLA BAGH MASSACRE The First World War had cost India more than �30m per annum and a one-off gift of �100m was made to Britain . These costs along with war disruption of normal economic life resulted in a rapid rise in prices and the Punjab in particular had borne a heavy burden. Because of the British preference for Sikh soldiers, Governor General O'Dwyer fixed a quota of recruits from the Punjab which supplied 60% of all the soldiers from only one thirteenth of the Indian population. With the end of the war the veterans returned home only to find that ,as throughout the Empire , British rule was reaffirmed , often viciously , in case "native" peoples believed that Wilson's 14 Points were going to be recognised quickly and universally. In India the Rowlatt Acts of 1919 to sought to continue the suspension of normal legal procedures allowing the authorities to arrest and detain anyone without trial and impose "curfews". Gandhi now called for the kind of passive resistance movement which had been so successful in South Africa.

Gandhi called for a "hartal" or Holy Day for 20 March 1919 in Delhi, which was already disturbed because of the question of the Turkish Empire and just how the leading Islamic power would be treated in defeat. There were clashes between demonstrators and police, and another "hartals" occurred on 6 April. Two-thirds of all the demonstrations were in the Punjab and on 9 April at Amritsar in the Punjab at a Hindu festival there was a crowd of 50,000 people shouting for Hindu-Muslim unity. The authorities became worried that things would get totally out of control and on 10 April they arrested Dr Kitchlew a Muslim barrister and Dr Satyapal a Hindu doctor. This provoked massive crowds to collect calling for their release. One crowd approached the bridges leading to the "civil lines"- the area where 125 English women and children lived . Eventually shots were fired and ten demonstrators were wounded . One boy died. This triggered widespread violence and looting . At the National Bank Mr Stewart and Mr Smith were murdered. The Charter Bank was looted. The manager of the Alliance Bank was killed as was a railway guard and an electrician. Even more shocking for European opinion, a missionary, Miss Sherwood, was chased , sexually assaulted by a mob , and left for dead. An urgent message was sent calling General Dyer to come with a contingent of troops.

In the evening of 11 April General Dyer arrived. He was an "Anglo-Indian" anxious to show that he was a " true-Brit" who knew how to handle India because he had lived there all his life. The next morning (12 April) he issued a proclamation banning all meetings and demonstrations and setting up a curfew at 8pm. The proclamation was repeated on the morning of 13 April, the day of the Hindu harvest festival of Baisakhi , when people from outlying villages usually came to a land fair. In defiance of the ban a meeting was called to be held in the Jallianwalla Bagh, a market square in Amritsar. It started around 2 pm. At 4 pm an aeroplane flew over the square and some people started to leave , but the speakers called on them to stay . General Dyer advanced to the Jallianwalla Bagh from the telegraph office, where he had made his base . He could not get his armoured car with its machine gun through the narrow entrance to the bagh. Meanwhile all the other gates into the area were locked and bolted. Dyer took his "Indian "troops into the square , lined them up , and , as the crowd waited to see what they would do , gave the order to open fire. Asked whether they should warn the crowd, Dyer replied that they had had their warning At 5 pm the shooting started and Dyer directed the firing into the crowds as they attempted to scale the walls or jumped into the well. Official estimates for the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre were 379 dead and 1,200 wounded.

After the massacre the Punjab was put under military rule. There was an 8pm curfew. Crawling orders were enforced where Miss Sherwood had been assaulted and people were publicly whipped across the Punjab. There was also some bombing. This miiltary rule lasted till 6 June.

Badrul Islam Ali Khan , an English-educated barrister, and acting head of the Congress, who had signed the call for the meeting , was sentenced to death, but he had an English wife and friends in Britain who took up his cause in Parliament, so he was released. An investigation into the massacre blamed Dyer and he lost his commission in the army. Many on both sides, however, thought that he had been made a scapegoat . Public subscriptions in Britain raised �26,000 for Dyer, and when he was put on trial by the House of Lords he was acquitted . Indian opinion saw the Hunter Enquiry as a "whitewash" and resented the Indemnity Act passed by the British parliament to protect British officials from any prosecution over the Punjab disturbances. Rabindronath Tagore condemned the British authorities and gave up his knighthood and Gandhi became convinced that British rule was now totally dishonoured.

Indian opinion always held Governor O'Dwyer responsible. When warned of Gandhi's tactics of "soul force" he had apparently replied that he would defeat it with "fist-force" . During the Second World War a young Sikh , Udham Singh , came to England and even worked as a chauffeur for O'Dwyer waiting for the right moment. He assassinated O'Dwyer while he was making a speech in the Caxton Hall in London . He was arrested at the scene and was hanged for murder; but his remains were finally taken back to India , where he was treated as a hero who exacted revenge on the real villain of the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre.

GANDHI AND THE FAILURE OF NON-VIOLENCE
Gandhi had condemned the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre , but as a lawyer he had waited for the due process of law to produce justice. He recruited a team to help him to investigate all of the "Punjab outrages" and was now outraged at the Hunter Commission findings , which did not reflect the views of its Indian members. In 1919 the British Parliament had passed a "Government of India Act" setting up Montagu's "diarchy" . Congress had declared the changes as inadequate , but in December 1919 decided to work with them. Now a special session of Congress was held in Calcutta in September 1920 which adopted Gandhi's suggestion of non-co-operation with British rule and with the aim of achieving "Swarajya" or self-rule. At this time the" Khilafat Movement" amongst Muslims was protesting against the British role in the defeat and break up of the Turkish Empire, which held the "caliphate"- i.e. it was in charge of Mecca and the Holy Places. Gandhi called for all Indians to support the Khilafat cause and insisted that Congress should now be organised on a more permanent basis. The time for an annual meeting of university graduates had gone . There should be committees in the villages throughout India and a permanent working committee organising day to day activities. The campaign should be non-violent like the ones he had organised in South Africa. By using only "soul-force" the Indians would liberate themselves within a year. Non-co-operation would involve renunciation of government titles, boycotting the law courts, the legislatures and the government schools and colleges, non-payment of taxes, and bonfires to be made of British cloth. There was a massive response . Motilal Nehru , a very wealthy barrister , and his son Jawarharlal Nehru who had attended Harrow School and Cambridge were notable supporters , losing a fortune in legal fees and , like 30,000 others imprisoned by the authorities they came to regard imprisonment as a badge of honour . The popular young Prince of Wales was sent to tour India in 1921 to find a "hartal" with the streets of Bombay deserted and this was repeated in most of the provincial capitals he visited.

In December 1921 Gandhi was put in personal charge of a national movement and popular enthusiasm rose to fever pitch. Gandhi confined direct action to a small district of 87,000 people, but even such a small region could not be controlled. At Chauri Chaura 22 Indian policemen were killed when their police station was set on fire. Gandhi was appalled and the movement was suspended. He took personal responsibility as the one in charge and fasted until all acts of violence had stopped . Then when he was arrested and brought to trail in March 1922 he pleaded guilty to "Sedition" , the crime of undermining the government's authority. He was sentenced to six years in prison , the minimum sentence

THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA 1919-39
THE TWENTIES- In 1919 Congress had decided to work with the new Government of India Act and the leaders of the Indian Moderate Party had left the Congress movement to found the Indian Liberal Federation . When Congress decided to boycott the newly elected councils such groups and individuals continued to sit , and in 1921 a Chamber of Princes was set up so that the 562 independent Indian rulers could discuss common problems. In 1923 , after Gandhi had called-off "direct action" some Congress leaders , n.b. Motilal Nehru, founded the Swarajya Party which contested the elections to the next central legislature with a view to using obstruction tactics from within.

Then Kemal Attaturk's revolution in Turkey changed that country into a secular state. It was no longer ruled by the leader of the Islamic Empire . This brought the collapse of the Khilafat Movement which had been the basis of Hindu/Muslim cooperation. The attempt by the 1919 Act to create more representative Provincial governments dealing with Indian affairs touched sensitive issues in communities in which either Muslims , Sikhs or Hindus could find themselves in a local minority. From 1923 onwards there were communal riots especially between Hindus and Muslims , with killing on a large scale in the larger cities and throughout the provinces of the Punjab and Bengal. Congress continued to stress a nationalistic approach , organising itself as a permanent, national party and ignoring the power of regional and sectoral differences.

In view of the continued problems the review of the working of the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms which was due to take place after ten years, was brought forward . The Simon Commission was appointed in 1927 and the selection of only British members for the commission served to reunite all strands of opinion in India. An All-Parties Conference was held in 1928 to work out a common Indian position, but failed , Popular discontent became strong again and the Congress leaders called Gandhi back to supreme command. In December 1928 Congress demanded the granting of Indian self-government by 31 December 1929 , otherwise it would declare its own independence. The following month (Jan 1929) , an All-India Muslim Conference was held which issued its own manifesto of Muslim demands.

At midnight on 31 December 1929 Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru , President of Congress, raised the National Flag and Independence Day was celebrated on 26 January 1930. Members of the Muslim League now began to talk about the right of the Muslim population to govern themselves and some students groups began to call for a totally separate Muslim state made up of the northern regions with large Muslim populations- Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir, and Sind - PAKISTAN.

THE SALT CAMPAIGN AND THE ROUND TABLE TALKS- After the previous failure of direct action Gandhi gave very careful thought to exactly how he could show Britain that India could not be ruled by them against its will. The salt tax of 1923 had caused much controversy and resentment , and on April 6 1930 Gandhi started his march to the sea at Dandi to make salt. The Viceroy decided to ignore this illegal act and soon thousands of "satyagrahi" joined in the campaign of civil disobedience , carefully organised in the full blare of World publicity. The authorities killed 103, injured 420, and put 60,000 people in prison, but were unable to suppress the movement by force . Victims of Raj persecution became heroes . Wounds , injuries and periods of imprisonment were sources of respect and pride.

Sir John Simon had suggested that , once his commission had reported , a Round table Conference should be held at which all strands of Indian opinion would be represented. Gandhi had been arrested and the Congress refused to send a representative when the first conference first met in November 1930 . These talks were adjourned in January 1931 and in March talks between Gandhi and Lord Irwin , the Viceroy, brought an end to the salt campaign (the Irwin-Gandhi Pact). Congress now sent Gandhi to London as its sole representative at the Round table Conference in return for the release of prisoners and the easing of government restrictions. The conference issues were difficult. Some princes favoured the creation of a federal United States of India which would leave them in local power. Hindus favoured a great deal of central power because they would be the overall majority; but Muslims favoured provincial power because some provinces at least would have Muslim rule.

The talks made little progress and Congress returned to civil disobedience and a boycott of British goods. Gandhi was imprisoned and in the next year (1932) 120,000 people were arrested , according to Congress estimates. The Raj authorities now tried to suppress the Congress as an illegal , seditious organisation , and set up the "Indian Sandhurst" -the Military Academy at Dehra Dun - to train a new Indian officer . A report issued in 1933 found that the authorities had a dismal record of " wholesale violence, physical outrages, shooting and beating up, punitive expeditions, collective fines on villages and seizure of land and property of villagers."

A smaller third session of the Round table Conference in November-December 1932 still failed to produce agreement , but the British Government accepted a responsibility for moving forward .Proposals were put forward in a white paper in 1933-( a white paper is a government document issued for public discussion). Gandhi put forward demands for changes , but the civil disobedience campaign was called off, so that normal life could be restored. Gandhi backed up his demands by fasting , with the threat of fasting to death.

THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT OF 1935.
The new act suggested made provision for the Central government of the whole of India to be vested in an All-India Federation using the principle of Diarchy with Britain keeping control of crucial areas like foreign policy. These measures were never fully implemented because not enough of the princes applied to join the federal state Provincial government , however, was radically changed. Diarchy was abolished . The governor of each province would be directly appointed by the British crown had the executive power , but he would be advised by Indian ministers chosen from the elected local legislature. as in the British parliamentary system. The provinces were now given control of their own internal affairs. Some of the innovations , however, reflected British views about the way that India should progress, with protection for "minority" interests. Power was not to be handed over to the Hindu ruling castes alone since provincial legislatures were to be elected in such a way as to give guaranteed representation to all of the communities. The assemblies had reserved seats for Muslim and Hindu minorities , women and the untouchables (harijans). The electorate was still small in terms of the total population ( about 10% ) , but that was more than twice the size of the British electorate at that time.

The act fell far short of Congress demands . They had already declared Indian independence at the end of 1929 but this act still left Britain in control of key areas They had worked for one Indian Nation which would incorporate all the religions of the subcontinent, but this act continued principles of "divide and rule". There would be some Muslim Provinces , and minority Muslim representation in "Hindu" provinces. Moreover not everyone shared Gandhi's commitment to the principle that the "outcastes" should be integrated into society or welcomed the granting of political status to women. Nevertheless , partly perhaps in view of the international situation (n.b. Japan's invasion of China ) and the accession of George VI, Congress decided to use the 1935 act and in the first elections in 1937 the Congress Party won most of the "general" and Hindu seats. The Muslims League now called for the implementation of the Lucknow Pact and asked to join coalition governments in each province. Congress now insisted that any Muslims in government would have to accept the Congress ideals . In other words Muslim Nationalists who believed in one nation could join and any Muslim was welcome to join the Congress Party and seek nomination as a representative. At this rejection Mr Jinnah , the President of the Muslim League declared that "Muslims can expect neither justice nor fair play under Congress government."

Congress now formed ministries in seven out of eleven provinces and by 1939 the party's membership had gone up from 500,000 to 5 million. The Congress governments tackled some of the basic problems of India., but , with the exception of the Punjab,coalition governments failed to work together harmoniously. Gandhi was now an old man , retired from active politics. The Congress leadership of his own candidates was challenged by a "left wing" led by Subhas Chandra Bose . Eventually this became a new separate party, the "Forward Bloc" , which rejected Gandhi's vision of a return to an India of small handcraft village production with everyone living in "ashram"-type communities which provided for spiritual rather than material growth.

ASPECTS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA 1918-1939
Questions of law and order, inte-rcommunal violence and how to deal with anti-British campaigns and demonstrations was only the "headline news" of the time.

ADMINISTRATION. Under the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms Provincial Governments were able to create more effective municipal and local governments organizations. "Indianization" of services like the civil service and the army made some progress .

TRANSPORT. The Government of India took over most of the railway companies between 1925 and 1930 and began to undertake all new railway construction. This was viewed positively as the profits of the companies had gone out of India. After a meeting in 1927 a tax was placed on petrol to pay for road improvements .

IRRIGATION AND AGRICULTURE . After 1919 provincial governments undertook a number of important irrigation schemes many of which came to completion between 1932 and 1934. Agricultural improvement and research was a priority before 1914 . After a Royal Commission in 1928 an Imperial Council for Agricultural Research was set up . Rural debt continued to be a problem and various measures tried to reduce the impact of money-lending. The acts of 1919 and 1935 both forced provincial governments to set aside funds annually for a famine relief fund.

LABOUR. A Royal Commission into conditions of work in 1929 resulted in a number of new laws between 1933 and 1937 , and after 1937 Provincial ministries set up various schemes to investigate working practices in the industrial centres.

EDUCATION AND CULTURE: In 1905 Gokhale founded the Servants of India Society to train "national missionaries for the service of India" and many members of the Society did important work in political, social or cultural life. The mood of reform and revival also affected communities like the Parsis and the Sikhs , while a powerful new Muslim press sprang up to serve the Muslim community. Life for Indian women changed as they emerged from "purdah" and became educated. Birth control , child marriage and suffrage issues were taken up. Representatives of Indian womanhood attended the Round Table Conferences and women were allotted some seats in both Central and Provincial bodies in 1935 .Some 6 million women got the vote , compared with 29 million men. Such changes also reflected changes in education. In 1935-36 51% of boys of school age and 17% of girls were on school rolls, but it had not been possible to make even primary education compulsory and free. Indian intellectual and artistic life , however, was undergoing something like a renaissance; e.g. new literature in Bengali, Oriya, Hindi, Urdu, and Marathi, the establishment of numerous museums, important contributions to various sciences, and a new appreciation of the Fine Arts of painting and sculpture.

THE SECOND WORLD WAR
THE OUTBREAK OF WAR IN 1939 - Though the Congress provincial governments had power over the internal affairs of the regions formerly under British rule (n.b. not the Native States) , the British government had kept control of foreign affairs . In 1939 when Britain took India into the Second World War , Congress objected to the lack of consultation and all of the Congress provincial ministers resigned. The Muslim League observed a day of thanksgiving for their deliverance from Hindu rule.

TIME-LINE OF EVENTS- 1939 When Britain declared war on Germany , Congress demanded to know whether the war aims included the elimination of imperialism and the treatment of India as a free nation. When it received no satisfactory reply, all its ministries resigned .The Indian Princes , however, stood solidly behind Britain with the armies of their 562 states, and there were plenty of volunteer recruits.

1940 While German forces swept through western Europe Congress offered to co-operate if a Provisional National Government were set up .The Viceroy (Lord Lithinglow) tried to placate Congress with his "August offer" of a constituent assembly to work out how India was to be governed, but they moved to another campaign of civil disobedience with Gandhi in charge. Meanwhile in January Mr Jinnah declared that the Hindus and Muslims were two separate nations and in March the Muslim League began to call for a separate Muslim state. The government could now deny Congress demands for a national government because Muslims did not agree.

1941 In December Japan entered the war.

1942. In February 1942 Singapore was captured. Churchill saw the situation in India as an emergency as Japanese forces began to fight their way up through Burma towards India . Sir Stafford Cripps was sent from Britain and more or less repeated "the August offer". It was rejected again and in August Congress voted for mass struggle on the widest possible scale- the "Quit India" campaign . In wartime conditions such action met a swift response. The following day all the Congress leaders were arrested and Congress was declared an illegal body . Without the leaders to control events there were outbreaks of violence. In the riots, assaults and disorders the police and the military killed 940 and injured 1,630. Altogether 60,000 people were arrested. These measures reduced the outward signs of unrest. Meanwhile Subhas Chandra Bose had escaped from India in 1941 and had made contacts with Germany and Japan . He made his way to Singapore . The Japanese now declared that their imperialism was directed at the removal of foreigners from Asia and the creation of an "Asian co-prosperity sphere" . Chandra Bose set up a government of "Free India" and organised an Indian National Army out of Indian soldiers captured by the Japanese. He declared a the Government of Free India at Singapore and his troops advanced with the Japanese to the frontiers of India, offering to "liberate" the Indians from European Imperialism.

1944 In May Gandhi was released from prison on grounds of health and had fruitless talks with Mr Jinnah to try to soften Muslim demands for the creation of Pakistan.

1945 Lord Wavell, who had become Governor-General in 1943, proposed that the Central Council should be totally Indian in membership apart from the Viceroy and the commander-in-chief , but a conference to work out the membership failed to come to any agreement because of the different views of Congress and the League. Meanwhile the trial of members of the Indian National Army gave their cause much more publicity than they had achieved during the war.

THE WAR EFFORT: In 1939 the Indian Army numbered 182,000 . By 1945 it had grown to 2 million men and the Civil Defence Corps grew to 82,000. The number of Indian officers increased greatly from 400 to 10,000. Various training schools produced electrical and mechanical engineers, the Medical Corps, and the Indian Air Force grew from 200 to 27,000. India thus ended the war with a military establishment which could justifiably feel large enough and sufficently experienced and qualified to accept the burden of its own internal and external security. The "Indian States " contributed 65 million ruppees to the war effort.

THE IMPACT ON DAILY LIFE: The conditions of the common people, always deplorable, deteriorated as essential goods were bought up for the war effort forcing up prices. Though there were regulations black markets flourished. In the Bengal famine of 1943 1.5 million people died. Larger producers, however, did well out of the higher prices. The Famine Inquiry Commission report published in 1945 stated -" Society, together with its organs, failed to protect its weaker members. Indeed , there was a moral and social breakdown, as well as an administrative breakdown."

INDEPENDENCE AND PARTITION
THE HURRIED END OF THE RAJ- 1946 Britain's new Labour Government decided to end the political deadlock and organised new elections . The Congress won most of the "general " seats while the League won the Muslim seats. Delicate negotiations between the Viceroy and the Congress and League politicians failed to achieve progress.and a "Cabinet Mission" went from Britain to try to break the deadlock, with proposals for an interim government and a constituent assembly. The 16 August was fixed on as a Muslim "day of action" , which got totally out of control in Calcutta where there were terrible communal riots with the killing of Hindus and looting of shops . Communal violence again broke out in September after Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and his colleagues were brought onto the Viceroys executive committee. A constituent assembly did meet , but the Muslim League boycotted the talks and Briatin announced no plan would be implemented in Muslim majority areas. The League was now convinced that nothing less than a separate Pakistan could be accepted.

1947 In February 1947 the Labour Government , embarrassed by its imperial responsibilities, announced its intention to quit India by June 1948 , and appointed Lord Mountbatten as Viceroy to arrange the transfer of power . More Muslim violence resulted in Hindus and Sikhs demanding the partition of the Punjab and Bengal. This was accommodated by the principles laid down by Mountbatten in June, which basically allowed for "self-determination". Hindus and Nationalists were not happy that India was being cut up , and Jinnah did not like a "truncated and moth-eaten Pakistan". But the Congress and the League accepted the deal and Mountbatten decided to bring forward the transfer of power by 10 months. This precipitate action was supported in London which was not prepared to risk further British lives overseas. The India Independence Bill passed the British Parliament in June 1947 and at midnight on the 14-15 August India became a self-governing dominion of the British Empire. Lord Mountbatten was asked to be the first Governor-General of India and Mr Jinnah became the first Governor-General of Pakistan.

DEATH AND DISASTER- Gandhi took no part in the independence celebrations. He had always wanted a united India and was distressed at the religious war. On his 78 birthday in 1947 he said "Time was, whatever, I said, the masses followed. Today mine is a lone voice". As the Punjab and Bengal divided with some 12 million people on the move the slaughter of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs may have reached a death toll of half a million.

Gandhi fasted "unto death" twice to try to prevent further massacres. He saw the new Congress government becoming elitist, losing touch with the masses and pursuing policies of Westernisation, industrialisation and modernisation. He saw the rank and file Congress members as corrupt and greedy.

1948 January 30 Gandhi was assassinated around 4.30 p.m. as he went to his evening prayer meeting. The next day the funeral was attended or watched by millions of people. His son, Ramdas, lit the funeral pyre. India observed 13 days of mourning before his ashes were scattered into the confluence of the sacred rivers Jumna and Ganges. His assassin, a 37 year-old Hindu extremist, was put on trial with 8 accomplices . In his defence he said that Gandhi's methods" would ultimately result in the emasculation of the Hindu community and thus make the community incapable of resisting aggression." He was hanged along with his main accomplice on 15 November 1949.

GANDHI --- HIS LIFE AND LEGACY
" Born at Porbandar, otherwise known as Sudamapuri , on the 2nd October 1869."

HIS CONTRIBUTION TO THE STRUGGLE
1. HIS TIME IN SOUTH AFRICA.. His experience as a young lawyer in South Africa allowed him to work out successful strategies and tactics of civil disobedience. The fact that the "Asian" community was a minority one there, largely low-paid labour with some businessmen and professionals (like Gandhi-a lawyer and barrister), made it much easier for Gandhi to show a community of interest between different groups. The small scale also made movements more manageable. When he returned to India he was famous as an Indian leader who had defeated white imperialist governments.

2. HIS RADICAL APPROACH. As a result of many influences Gandhi was not just out to place Indian princes and high caste Hindus in the place of the British. He made use of his knowledge of Islam and Christianity to bring out a real community of interest between all Indians, and in fact all humanity. After the famines of 1866-1900 in which 9m people died Lord Curzon wrote of "the apathy and indifference of representative natives". Gandhi actively helped in famine areas and in his own life, dress , food etc he showed his alliance with the ordinary people. He became "Bapu" -father.

3. HIS STRATEGIES FOR MASS MOVEMENT. Gandhi was able to use the spiritualism of India as an instrument of political action. "Hartal"= holy day was used , in place of the European General Strike. "Satyagraha" = holding onto truth , and opposing injustice with love. "Satyagrahi" = one who practices satyagraha.. "Ahimsa"= non-violence , completely selfless love. "Ashram"= a community where spiritual disciplines are practiced. BUT (1) these were very practical tactics against British rule. Indians were called on to do things which they could do without breaking the law , or only breaking minor laws.(2) He targeted his actions cleverly for economic damage to Britain and benefit to the India. "Khadi"= homespun cloth.

4. HIS LEGAL TRAINING. He was able to analyse changes in the law and used his lawyer's mind to examine cases carefully. Not only was he a high profile figurehead for Congress, but he was the person who transformed it into a party with a talent for organisation and detail.

5. HIS TOTAL COMMITMENT. He became the "mahatma"= the Great Soul. At key moments he put his life in danger , not least by undertaking fasts to the death if his views did not prevail.

POST-SCRIPT:
1950 The constituent assembly ,which had first met in November 1946 ,spent three years working out a new constitution .This came into force on January 26, 1950. Then India severed all ties with Britain becoming a republic within the British Commonwealth.

The ideals of the constitution were ones of which Gandhi would have approved:
" The Constitution guarantees to all citizens freedom of speech and expression, the right to assemble peaceably, and freedom of conscience and worship, subject to general considerations of public security and morality.
All citizens , irrespective of religion , race, caste, sex, and place of birth, shall enjoy equality before the law and no disability shall be imposed on them in any respect.
'Untouchability' is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden.
No person shall be deprived of his life, property or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law."

BIOGRAPHIES
JINNAH Mohammed Ali (1876-1948) was born in Karachi and came to England to study law in 1892. Returning to Bombay four years later he practised as a barrister. He entered politics in 1906 and was elected to the central legislative council in 1910 as a Moslem representative for Bombay. He joined the Moslem League in 1913 and became its president in 1916. After Gandhi became the leader of the Congress "Party" in 1921, he had increasing differences with Congress and finally produced his own "fourteen points" which included- separate electorates , proper representation of minorities, the separation of Sind, more representation for the North-West Frontier (Afghan) Province and Baluchistan, and machinery for guaranteeing religious liberty. He attended the 1930-1 Round Table conference and agreed to work with the 1935 act " for what it's worth". The behaviour of Congress ministries , however, persuaded him that federal schemes were impractical. In February 1940 he told the press that any future constitutional settlement in India would have to be based on the two nations of India. In 1939 he had warned the British that Muslim support in the war could only be based on fair play in the Congress provinces and a Moslem League say on any future constitutional developments. He strongly condemned the "Quit India" action in 1942 . Talks with Gandhi in 1944 got nowhere and he rejected Lord Wavell's offer to nominate Moslems to the executive council unless they were all members of the Moslem League. He took part in the complex talks of 1946 , which broke down, and in August 1947 he became the first Governor-General of Pakistan. He died in Karachi on 11 September 1948.

MOUNTBATTON Lord Louis ( born 1900) joined the Navy in 1913 and became a captain in 1937. In 1942 he became chief of combined operations and was a major architect of the allied landings in North Africa, Sicily and Normandy. Though still a junior captain , in 1943 he was appointed supreme allied commander in South-East Asia, with the acting ranks of admiral, lieutenant-general and air marshal . After victory against the Japanese he was seen as one of the great men of the Second World War and, as the grandson of Queen Victoria , an ideal candidate to handle the post-war situation in India. He became Viceroy in February 1947 and brought a spirit of "military bustle" to the negotiations . He took a great personal responsibility for driving through the independence and partition of the sub-continent, speeding up the process in a way which now appears to have been reckless. As Viceroy he ( and his wife) were on intimate terms with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru , who asked him to be the first governor-general of independent India in August 1947. He held the post until 21 June 1948, after which he resumed his naval career.

GANDHI Mohandas Karamchand (1869-1948) born at Porbandar , went to England at the age of 19 and qualified as a barrister. In 1893 he went to South Africa where he worked for 20 years serving the "Indian" community of small traders and indentured "coolies". His struggle against injustice in South Africa lasted until 1913. He returned to India and set up an "ashram " in Gujarat , working for the underdog . He was awarded a medal for his work in recruiting a labour corps for the British war effort, but the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre changed his attitude to British rule and he called for and helped to organise mass-action. After the deaths at Chauri Chaura he stopped the action . Soon afterwards he was arrested and sentenced to six years in prison, though, due to ill-health , he only served a few months. He became the recognised leader of Congress and in 1930 backed up the declaration of independence with his salt march, and associated action. The mass movement was suspended in 1931 and Gandhi attended the talks in London . On his return he found the truce with the government had broken down , and , in the struggle, undertook a "fast unto death" to modify the proposals for special seats in the assemblies for the depressed classes. During the Second World War he denounced Nazism and Fascism, but regarded war as abominable. In 1942 he was arrested as he prepared to launch "open rebellion" against British rule. The violence of the "Quit India "campaign he blamed on British rule. After a fast early in 1944 , he was released in May 1945 , and retired from active politics, though he played a very active role behind the scenes in 1946. He resisted partition and worked against the bloodshed in 1947, touring Bengal on foot preaching Hindu-Moslem Unity. He was killed on 30 January 1948 by Hindus.

TIME-LINE --- KEY DATES
1858 British India placed under Crown rule
1885 first meeting of Indian National Congress
1906 Foundation of Muslim League + Congress declaration about "Swaraj" or self -rule.
1909 Morley-Minto Reforms 1911 The Delhi Durbar 1916 The Lucknow Pact (+ Home Rule League)
1917 Montagu's declaration and visit to India
1919 Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms+ Rowlatt Acts+ Amritsar Massacre
1920 Non Cooperation (+Khilafat) Movements
1927 Appointment of the Simon Commission
1929 Lahore Congress + declaration of Independence
1930 Civil Disobedience movement v salt tax + Round Table Talks
1931 Irwin-Gandhi Pact + 2nd Round Table Talks
1932 suppression of Congress + 3rd Round Table
1935 New Government of India Act
1937 Provincial autonomy with Congress Ministries in most provinces (Federal Court created)
1939 Second World War+ Congress resignations and political deadlock
1940 Lord Lithinglow's offer-rejected
1941 Japan enters the war
1942 fall of Singapore-evacuation of Burma + Cripps mission . Quit India -arrest of Indian leaders.
1944 Gandhi-Jinnah talks on future
1945 trial of Indian National Army men
1946 Naval mutiny- Cabinet mission- Plan. Muslim "direct action day" -violence
1947 Announcement of handover for 1948- Lord Mountbatten Viceroy-rioting-independence 15 August


	Sign in or register to join or start a new conversation.