Nicholas Owen
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199233014
- eISBN:
- 9780191716423
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199233014.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Political History
This book examines the complex and often troubled relationship between anti-imperialist campaigners in Britain and India, from the formation of the Indian National Congress in 1885 to the winning of ...
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This book examines the complex and often troubled relationship between anti-imperialist campaigners in Britain and India, from the formation of the Indian National Congress in 1885 to the winning of independence in 1947. It traces the efforts of British radicals and socialists to identify forms of anti-imperialism in India, which fitted comfortably with their existing beliefs and their sense of how authentic progressive movements were supposed to work. On the other side of the relationship, it charts the trajectory of the Indian National Congress as it shifted from appeals couched in language familiar to British progressives to the less familiar vocabulary and techniques of Mahatma Gandhi. The new Gandhian methods of self-reliance had unwelcome implications for the work that the British supporters of Congress had traditionally undertaken, leading to the collapse of their main organization, and the precipitation of anti-imperialist work into the turbulent cross-currents of left-wing British politics. Metropolitan anti-imperialism became largely a function of other commitments, whether communist, theosophical, pacifist, socialist, or anti-fascist. The book explains the strengths and weaknesses of these connections, and the ultimate failure to create the durable alliance between anti-imperialists which the British Empire's governors had always feared. Drawing on a wide range of newly available archival material in Britain and India, including the records of campaigning organizations, political parties, the British government, and the imperial security services, the chapter provides a full account of the diverse and fragmented world of British metropolitan anti-imperialism.Less
This book examines the complex and often troubled relationship between anti-imperialist campaigners in Britain and India, from the formation of the Indian National Congress in 1885 to the winning of independence in 1947. It traces the efforts of British radicals and socialists to identify forms of anti-imperialism in India, which fitted comfortably with their existing beliefs and their sense of how authentic progressive movements were supposed to work. On the other side of the relationship, it charts the trajectory of the Indian National Congress as it shifted from appeals couched in language familiar to British progressives to the less familiar vocabulary and techniques of Mahatma Gandhi. The new Gandhian methods of self-reliance had unwelcome implications for the work that the British supporters of Congress had traditionally undertaken, leading to the collapse of their main organization, and the precipitation of anti-imperialist work into the turbulent cross-currents of left-wing British politics. Metropolitan anti-imperialism became largely a function of other commitments, whether communist, theosophical, pacifist, socialist, or anti-fascist. The book explains the strengths and weaknesses of these connections, and the ultimate failure to create the durable alliance between anti-imperialists which the British Empire's governors had always feared. Drawing on a wide range of newly available archival material in Britain and India, including the records of campaigning organizations, political parties, the British government, and the imperial security services, the chapter provides a full account of the diverse and fragmented world of British metropolitan anti-imperialism.
Nicholas Owen
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199233014
- eISBN:
- 9780191716423
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199233014.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Political History
The first chapter begins by exploring the scope for metropolitan anti-imperialism in around 1900, in particular the vulnerability of the British raj to a ‘linked-up’ agitation which united British ...
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The first chapter begins by exploring the scope for metropolitan anti-imperialism in around 1900, in particular the vulnerability of the British raj to a ‘linked-up’ agitation which united British Radicals and Indian nationalists in a single campaign. It analyses the successes and failures of the early efforts of the Indian National Congress and its British supporters to deliver such a double blow, first in the form of an agency arrangement with William Digby and Charles Bradlaugh, and later through vicarious championship by the Radicals and Liberals of the British Committee of the Indian National Congress.Less
The first chapter begins by exploring the scope for metropolitan anti-imperialism in around 1900, in particular the vulnerability of the British raj to a ‘linked-up’ agitation which united British Radicals and Indian nationalists in a single campaign. It analyses the successes and failures of the early efforts of the Indian National Congress and its British supporters to deliver such a double blow, first in the form of an agency arrangement with William Digby and Charles Bradlaugh, and later through vicarious championship by the Radicals and Liberals of the British Committee of the Indian National Congress.
Antoinette Burton
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195144253
- eISBN:
- 9780199871919
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195144253.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This book uses the writing of three 20th century Indian women to interrogate the status of the traditional archive, reading their memoirs, fictions, and histories as counter-narratives of colonial ...
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This book uses the writing of three 20th century Indian women to interrogate the status of the traditional archive, reading their memoirs, fictions, and histories as counter-narratives of colonial modernity. Janaki Majumdar was the daughter of the first president of the Indian National Congress. Her unpublished “Family History” (1935) stages the story of her parents' transnational marriage as a series of homes the family inhabited in Britain and India — thereby providing a heretofore unavailable narrative of the domestic face of 19th century Indian nationalism. Cornelia Sorabji was one of the first Indian women to qualify for the bar. Her memoirs (1934 and 1936) demonstrate her determination to rescue the zenana (women's quarters) and purdahnashin (secluded women) from the recesses of the orthodox home in order to counter the emancipationist claims of Gandhian nationalism. Last but not least, Attia Hosain's 1961 novel, Sunlight on Broken Column, represents the violence and trauma of partition through the biography of a young heroine called Laila and her family home. Taken together, their writings raise questions about what counts as an archive, offering insights into the relationship of women to memory and history, gender to fact and fiction, and feminism to nationalism and postcolonialism.Less
This book uses the writing of three 20th century Indian women to interrogate the status of the traditional archive, reading their memoirs, fictions, and histories as counter-narratives of colonial modernity. Janaki Majumdar was the daughter of the first president of the Indian National Congress. Her unpublished “Family History” (1935) stages the story of her parents' transnational marriage as a series of homes the family inhabited in Britain and India — thereby providing a heretofore unavailable narrative of the domestic face of 19th century Indian nationalism. Cornelia Sorabji was one of the first Indian women to qualify for the bar. Her memoirs (1934 and 1936) demonstrate her determination to rescue the zenana (women's quarters) and purdahnashin (secluded women) from the recesses of the orthodox home in order to counter the emancipationist claims of Gandhian nationalism. Last but not least, Attia Hosain's 1961 novel, Sunlight on Broken Column, represents the violence and trauma of partition through the biography of a young heroine called Laila and her family home. Taken together, their writings raise questions about what counts as an archive, offering insights into the relationship of women to memory and history, gender to fact and fiction, and feminism to nationalism and postcolonialism.
Nicholas Owen
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199233014
- eISBN:
- 9780191716423
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199233014.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Political History
This chapter examines the growth of co-operation between the British Labour Party and the Indian National Congress, which it is suggested to have peaked at the end of the First World War when Tilak ...
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This chapter examines the growth of co-operation between the British Labour Party and the Indian National Congress, which it is suggested to have peaked at the end of the First World War when Tilak and the Labour Party formed a political alliance over their response to the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms. This alliance took organizational form in a revived British Committee. The chapter explores the implications of the death of Tilak and the Gandhian takeover of Congress in 1920, arguing that contrary to conventional wisdom, the British Committee did not slip into decline, but was a healthy organization abolished on principle because its vicarious approach was incompatible with the self-reliance urged by the Gandhians. The chapter concludes by examining the problems the British Labour Party identified with the strategy of Gandhian non-co-operation. The Gandhian proposal — which offered a combined, experimental search for truth between Briton and Indian — is outlined as an alternative, but largely unused mode of co-operation.Less
This chapter examines the growth of co-operation between the British Labour Party and the Indian National Congress, which it is suggested to have peaked at the end of the First World War when Tilak and the Labour Party formed a political alliance over their response to the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms. This alliance took organizational form in a revived British Committee. The chapter explores the implications of the death of Tilak and the Gandhian takeover of Congress in 1920, arguing that contrary to conventional wisdom, the British Committee did not slip into decline, but was a healthy organization abolished on principle because its vicarious approach was incompatible with the self-reliance urged by the Gandhians. The chapter concludes by examining the problems the British Labour Party identified with the strategy of Gandhian non-co-operation. The Gandhian proposal — which offered a combined, experimental search for truth between Briton and Indian — is outlined as an alternative, but largely unused mode of co-operation.
Latha Varadarajan
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199733910
- eISBN:
- 9780199866205
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199733910.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter is the first of three chapters explaining the production of the Indian domestic abroad. At the moment of independence in 1947, the postcolonial Indian state very deliberately adopted a ...
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This chapter is the first of three chapters explaining the production of the Indian domestic abroad. At the moment of independence in 1947, the postcolonial Indian state very deliberately adopted a policy of distancing itself from the emigrant communities identified variously as “Indians abroad” or “Overseas Indians.” What made this move puzzling was that these very groups had not too long ago been identified by the Indian nationalist movement as an essential part of the Indian nation that had been involved in an epic struggle against British colonial rule. The chapter sets up the puzzle of the shift from the transnational nationalism that prevailed during colonialism, and the nature of the more territorially based nationalism that replaced it following independence. Following postcolonial scholarship, it begins by situating the contestations regarding the meaning and extent of the modern Indian nation and state in the context of the historical experience of colonialism.Less
This chapter is the first of three chapters explaining the production of the Indian domestic abroad. At the moment of independence in 1947, the postcolonial Indian state very deliberately adopted a policy of distancing itself from the emigrant communities identified variously as “Indians abroad” or “Overseas Indians.” What made this move puzzling was that these very groups had not too long ago been identified by the Indian nationalist movement as an essential part of the Indian nation that had been involved in an epic struggle against British colonial rule. The chapter sets up the puzzle of the shift from the transnational nationalism that prevailed during colonialism, and the nature of the more territorially based nationalism that replaced it following independence. Following postcolonial scholarship, it begins by situating the contestations regarding the meaning and extent of the modern Indian nation and state in the context of the historical experience of colonialism.
Nicholas Owen
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199233014
- eISBN:
- 9780191716423
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199233014.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Political History
This chapter analyses the growing possibilities for co-operation between the early Labour Party in Britain and the newly resurgent Congress movement in India. It does so through examination of four ...
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This chapter analyses the growing possibilities for co-operation between the early Labour Party in Britain and the newly resurgent Congress movement in India. It does so through examination of four visits to India made in the years after 1907 by British progressives: Keir Hardie, Ramsay MacDonald, the Radical journalist Henry Nevinson, and Sidney and Beatrice Webb. The visitors' divergent impressions and recommendations are assessed, and it is argued that they found themselves torn between perceptions of familiarity and authenticity. Much of what they saw in India seemed familiar to them from metropolitan experience, but in consequence, imitative and inauthentic. On the other hand, differences in demands and styles of campaigning were at once reassuring in their authenticity, but worrying in their unfamiliarity. In consequence, the visitors' views reflected in large measure their own assumptions about the way in which progressive advances could be made, and hence about democracy and modernity.Less
This chapter analyses the growing possibilities for co-operation between the early Labour Party in Britain and the newly resurgent Congress movement in India. It does so through examination of four visits to India made in the years after 1907 by British progressives: Keir Hardie, Ramsay MacDonald, the Radical journalist Henry Nevinson, and Sidney and Beatrice Webb. The visitors' divergent impressions and recommendations are assessed, and it is argued that they found themselves torn between perceptions of familiarity and authenticity. Much of what they saw in India seemed familiar to them from metropolitan experience, but in consequence, imitative and inauthentic. On the other hand, differences in demands and styles of campaigning were at once reassuring in their authenticity, but worrying in their unfamiliarity. In consequence, the visitors' views reflected in large measure their own assumptions about the way in which progressive advances could be made, and hence about democracy and modernity.
Nicholas Owen
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199233014
- eISBN:
- 9780191716423
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199233014.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Political History
This chapter examines Labour's evolving Indian policy in the 1920s and early 1930s, focusing on two interrelated developments. The first is Labour's closer engagement with the machinery of imperial ...
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This chapter examines Labour's evolving Indian policy in the 1920s and early 1930s, focusing on two interrelated developments. The first is Labour's closer engagement with the machinery of imperial governance, especially during its two periods of minority government in 1924 and 1929-31. It is argued that officials in Britain and India managed to prevent ‘linked-up’ campaigning in 1924, but did so less successfully from 1929-31. The second development was Labour's troubled relationship with the increasingly alien Gandhian Congress. This revived the question briefly smothered by Tilak: was Congress really a modernizing, progressive force or not? Labour's answer to this question was affected by the emergence of a distinctive British trade union view of Indian political development, which is also explored in the chapter.Less
This chapter examines Labour's evolving Indian policy in the 1920s and early 1930s, focusing on two interrelated developments. The first is Labour's closer engagement with the machinery of imperial governance, especially during its two periods of minority government in 1924 and 1929-31. It is argued that officials in Britain and India managed to prevent ‘linked-up’ campaigning in 1924, but did so less successfully from 1929-31. The second development was Labour's troubled relationship with the increasingly alien Gandhian Congress. This revived the question briefly smothered by Tilak: was Congress really a modernizing, progressive force or not? Labour's answer to this question was affected by the emergence of a distinctive British trade union view of Indian political development, which is also explored in the chapter.
Nicholas Owen
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199233014
- eISBN:
- 9780191716423
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199233014.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Political History
This chapter examines the efforts of metropolitan anti-imperialists to influence the work of the Liberal Government between 1906 and 1910. It begins by explaining the failure of the British Committee ...
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This chapter examines the efforts of metropolitan anti-imperialists to influence the work of the Liberal Government between 1906 and 1910. It begins by explaining the failure of the British Committee to persuade the new administration to meet the demands of the Congress Moderates as a consequence of the weaknesses identified in the previous chapter. It also traces the development of a splinter group: the Indian Civil Rights Committee. It explores a very different mode of metropolitan anti-imperialism: the rejectionist stance of Shyamji Krishnavarma, Vinayak Savarkar, and the political revolutionaries of India House in Highgate, London. The chapter concludes by examining the emergence of a third mode of anti-imperialism, which developed in London partly through debate in London with advocates of the first two positions: that of Mohandas K. Gandhi.Less
This chapter examines the efforts of metropolitan anti-imperialists to influence the work of the Liberal Government between 1906 and 1910. It begins by explaining the failure of the British Committee to persuade the new administration to meet the demands of the Congress Moderates as a consequence of the weaknesses identified in the previous chapter. It also traces the development of a splinter group: the Indian Civil Rights Committee. It explores a very different mode of metropolitan anti-imperialism: the rejectionist stance of Shyamji Krishnavarma, Vinayak Savarkar, and the political revolutionaries of India House in Highgate, London. The chapter concludes by examining the emergence of a third mode of anti-imperialism, which developed in London partly through debate in London with advocates of the first two positions: that of Mohandas K. Gandhi.
James Robert Allison
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780300206692
- eISBN:
- 9780300216219
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300206692.003.0006
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Native American Studies
After successfully defending the Northern Cheyenne and Crow Reservations from non-Indian mining, American Indians launched a national campaign to prepare similarly situated energy tribes for the ...
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After successfully defending the Northern Cheyenne and Crow Reservations from non-Indian mining, American Indians launched a national campaign to prepare similarly situated energy tribes for the coming onslaught in energy demand. This chapter details those efforts that began with Northern Cheyenne and Crow leaders helping to organize a regional coalition of tribes to fight federally planned development on the Northern Plains. From this defensive alliance, energy tribes then turned to exploring options to mine their own minerals. They worked with federal agencies charged with expanding domestic energy production in the wake of the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo and consulted energy experts familiar with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Ultimately, tribes nationwide formed the Council of Energy Resource Tribes to provide a unified Indian voice to federal energy policymakers, lobby for federal aid in developing tribal resources, and share information about energy development. After much confusion as to CERT’s primary purpose – including whether it was a cartel-like “Native American OPEC” – the organization evolved into a professional consulting firm that both worked with individual tribes to pursue specific mining projects and lobbied the federal government for beneficial grants and policies.Less
After successfully defending the Northern Cheyenne and Crow Reservations from non-Indian mining, American Indians launched a national campaign to prepare similarly situated energy tribes for the coming onslaught in energy demand. This chapter details those efforts that began with Northern Cheyenne and Crow leaders helping to organize a regional coalition of tribes to fight federally planned development on the Northern Plains. From this defensive alliance, energy tribes then turned to exploring options to mine their own minerals. They worked with federal agencies charged with expanding domestic energy production in the wake of the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo and consulted energy experts familiar with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Ultimately, tribes nationwide formed the Council of Energy Resource Tribes to provide a unified Indian voice to federal energy policymakers, lobby for federal aid in developing tribal resources, and share information about energy development. After much confusion as to CERT’s primary purpose – including whether it was a cartel-like “Native American OPEC” – the organization evolved into a professional consulting firm that both worked with individual tribes to pursue specific mining projects and lobbied the federal government for beneficial grants and policies.
Mithi Mukherjee
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198062509
- eISBN:
- 9780199080151
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198062509.003.0004
- Subject:
- Law, Legal History
Chapter 3 discusses how notions of justice, equity, and liberty that were introduced in India by the British Empire in the wake of the 1857 Revolt were mediated by the figure of the monarch. This ...
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Chapter 3 discusses how notions of justice, equity, and liberty that were introduced in India by the British Empire in the wake of the 1857 Revolt were mediated by the figure of the monarch. This chapter focuses on how that historical mediation overdetermined the origin and nature of the Indian National Congress, the most powerful political party in colonial India that came to be founded in 1888. It argues that the discourse of the Indian National Congress was firmly lodged within an epistemologico-juridical paradigm determined by the telos and procedures of justice as equity and liberty. This juridical paradigm explains why the lawyer emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as the dominant enunciative persona for the articulation of political discourse. It also explains why the Indian National Congress, even as it opposed the colonial regime, continued to operate within an imperial juridical framework grounded in the figure of the monarch.Less
Chapter 3 discusses how notions of justice, equity, and liberty that were introduced in India by the British Empire in the wake of the 1857 Revolt were mediated by the figure of the monarch. This chapter focuses on how that historical mediation overdetermined the origin and nature of the Indian National Congress, the most powerful political party in colonial India that came to be founded in 1888. It argues that the discourse of the Indian National Congress was firmly lodged within an epistemologico-juridical paradigm determined by the telos and procedures of justice as equity and liberty. This juridical paradigm explains why the lawyer emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as the dominant enunciative persona for the articulation of political discourse. It also explains why the Indian National Congress, even as it opposed the colonial regime, continued to operate within an imperial juridical framework grounded in the figure of the monarch.
Nicholas Owen
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199233014
- eISBN:
- 9780191716423
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199233014.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, Political History
This chapter examines the Indian policy of the second Labour Government, arguing that many of the official obstacles that had hampered progress in 1924 were removed at the initiative of the Viceroy, ...
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This chapter examines the Indian policy of the second Labour Government, arguing that many of the official obstacles that had hampered progress in 1924 were removed at the initiative of the Viceroy, and others were attacked by the Labour ministers through novel institutional forms such as the round table conference and the (unsuccessful) attempt to appoint a Viceroy of their own. It is argued, however, that the key weakness remained: the lack of an effective working alliance between British left-wingers and Congress. The principal reasons for this absence are identified through an analysis of the visit made by Gandhi to Britain in 1931.Less
This chapter examines the Indian policy of the second Labour Government, arguing that many of the official obstacles that had hampered progress in 1924 were removed at the initiative of the Viceroy, and others were attacked by the Labour ministers through novel institutional forms such as the round table conference and the (unsuccessful) attempt to appoint a Viceroy of their own. It is argued, however, that the key weakness remained: the lack of an effective working alliance between British left-wingers and Congress. The principal reasons for this absence are identified through an analysis of the visit made by Gandhi to Britain in 1931.
Amales Tripathi
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780198090557
- eISBN:
- 9780199082919
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198090557.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Political History
Lord Irwin, Viceroy of India, considered a proposal by Lieutenant-Colonel Terence Keyes for a federal form of government to address the wave of nationalistic fervour sweeping the country. ...
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Lord Irwin, Viceroy of India, considered a proposal by Lieutenant-Colonel Terence Keyes for a federal form of government to address the wave of nationalistic fervour sweeping the country. Accordingly, Irwin nominated fifty-seven representatives to the First Round Table Conference held from 12 November 1930 to 19 January 1931, including Muslim leaders, Moderates, and members of various organizations. After an unsuccessful attempt to solve the communal problem, Hindu and Muslim leaders welcomed the federal formula as the panacea. When the First Round Table session failed to decide on the issues at hand, a Second Round Table Conference was held in September 1931. This chapter examines the outcomes of the Round Table Conferences and the emergence of the ‘Quit India’ Movement, as well as Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Congress’s adoption of the ethos of non-violence in their struggle for independence from Britain.Less
Lord Irwin, Viceroy of India, considered a proposal by Lieutenant-Colonel Terence Keyes for a federal form of government to address the wave of nationalistic fervour sweeping the country. Accordingly, Irwin nominated fifty-seven representatives to the First Round Table Conference held from 12 November 1930 to 19 January 1931, including Muslim leaders, Moderates, and members of various organizations. After an unsuccessful attempt to solve the communal problem, Hindu and Muslim leaders welcomed the federal formula as the panacea. When the First Round Table session failed to decide on the issues at hand, a Second Round Table Conference was held in September 1931. This chapter examines the outcomes of the Round Table Conferences and the emergence of the ‘Quit India’ Movement, as well as Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Congress’s adoption of the ethos of non-violence in their struggle for independence from Britain.
Amales Tripathi
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780198090557
- eISBN:
- 9780199082919
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198090557.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Political History
In his Discovery of India, Jawaharlal Nehru described the Quit India Movement as essentially a spontaneous mass upheaval in which the players, particularly Mahatma Gandhi, showed a sense of ...
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In his Discovery of India, Jawaharlal Nehru described the Quit India Movement as essentially a spontaneous mass upheaval in which the players, particularly Mahatma Gandhi, showed a sense of hesitation and self-conflict. Nehru argued that the movement against the British government was ‘ill-advised and untimely’. Due to sheer desperation, Gandhi decided to discard non-violence and refused to cooperate with the ‘Allied Powers’. Meanwhile, the Muslim League propagated the demand for Pakistan in order to win the support of the masses. This chapter examines India’s road to independence and the partition, along with the roles played by Lord Wavell and Lord Mountbatten as well as the Indian National Congress in these events. It considers the political unrest in Bengal and its impact on the Muslim League, the Calcutta riots of 1946, the arguments against Partition, and Britain’s eventual granting of independence to India in August 1947.Less
In his Discovery of India, Jawaharlal Nehru described the Quit India Movement as essentially a spontaneous mass upheaval in which the players, particularly Mahatma Gandhi, showed a sense of hesitation and self-conflict. Nehru argued that the movement against the British government was ‘ill-advised and untimely’. Due to sheer desperation, Gandhi decided to discard non-violence and refused to cooperate with the ‘Allied Powers’. Meanwhile, the Muslim League propagated the demand for Pakistan in order to win the support of the masses. This chapter examines India’s road to independence and the partition, along with the roles played by Lord Wavell and Lord Mountbatten as well as the Indian National Congress in these events. It considers the political unrest in Bengal and its impact on the Muslim League, the Calcutta riots of 1946, the arguments against Partition, and Britain’s eventual granting of independence to India in August 1947.
B. R. Nanda
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195645866
- eISBN:
- 9780199081363
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195645866.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Indian Politics
During the twelve years prior to the Partition of India, Jawaharlal Nehru was one of the foremost leaders of the Indian National Congress and wielded considerable influence over the politics of the ...
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During the twelve years prior to the Partition of India, Jawaharlal Nehru was one of the foremost leaders of the Indian National Congress and wielded considerable influence over the politics of the organization. However, he did not by any means dictate its members. The Congress organization was collective in its leadership, rather than monolithic. Nehru’s views on the communal problem can be understood by analysing the changing pattern of Indian politics, the pressures operating within and on the Congress, and the persistent conflict between the Congress and the Indian government. Nehru considered the communal problem part of the challenge of the All India Muslim League; for him, communalism was one aspect of the total situation which nationalist India had to address. This chapter examines the attitudes and actions of Nehru, as well as the Congress leadership, to the challenge of Muslim separatism in the context of the relationship between Congress and the All India Muslim League, and that between Congress and the government.Less
During the twelve years prior to the Partition of India, Jawaharlal Nehru was one of the foremost leaders of the Indian National Congress and wielded considerable influence over the politics of the organization. However, he did not by any means dictate its members. The Congress organization was collective in its leadership, rather than monolithic. Nehru’s views on the communal problem can be understood by analysing the changing pattern of Indian politics, the pressures operating within and on the Congress, and the persistent conflict between the Congress and the Indian government. Nehru considered the communal problem part of the challenge of the All India Muslim League; for him, communalism was one aspect of the total situation which nationalist India had to address. This chapter examines the attitudes and actions of Nehru, as well as the Congress leadership, to the challenge of Muslim separatism in the context of the relationship between Congress and the All India Muslim League, and that between Congress and the government.
Ronojoy Sen
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780231164900
- eISBN:
- 9780231539937
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231164900.003.0007
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sport and Leisure
Communal politics on the playing field and the history of the Pentangular and Mohammedan Sporting.
Communal politics on the playing field and the history of the Pentangular and Mohammedan Sporting.
B. R. Nanda
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195658279
- eISBN:
- 9780199081394
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195658279.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Indian History
This chapter discusses the ever-widening gap between the Hindus and Muslims and the Hindus and the British. It studies Khan’s policy of protecting the Muslim community from nationalist politics as ...
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This chapter discusses the ever-widening gap between the Hindus and Muslims and the Hindus and the British. It studies Khan’s policy of protecting the Muslim community from nationalist politics as well as strengthening its ties with the British Raj. It discusses the Muslim consciousness in India, which included a combination of self-pity and self-praise. It then emphasizes the isolation of the Indian Muslims from politics and society, which effectively drew them even closer to the government. It also discusses the establishment of the Indian National Congress and the protests against the Partition of Bengal. It shows that the partnership between proportional representation and joint electorates was meant to harmonize relations between the Hindu and Muslim communities and secure unbiased Muslim representation.Less
This chapter discusses the ever-widening gap between the Hindus and Muslims and the Hindus and the British. It studies Khan’s policy of protecting the Muslim community from nationalist politics as well as strengthening its ties with the British Raj. It discusses the Muslim consciousness in India, which included a combination of self-pity and self-praise. It then emphasizes the isolation of the Indian Muslims from politics and society, which effectively drew them even closer to the government. It also discusses the establishment of the Indian National Congress and the protests against the Partition of Bengal. It shows that the partnership between proportional representation and joint electorates was meant to harmonize relations between the Hindu and Muslim communities and secure unbiased Muslim representation.
Amales Tripathi
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780198090557
- eISBN:
- 9780199082919
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198090557.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Political History
After the Surat debacle, the Moderates implemented a new administrative structure for the Indian National Congress (INC) that was essentially anti-Extremist. The structure included a clause that ...
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After the Surat debacle, the Moderates implemented a new administrative structure for the Indian National Congress (INC) that was essentially anti-Extremist. The structure included a clause that highlighted the major objective: self-government through lawful means within the Commonwealth. However, these initiatives did not receive any support from the British government. John Morley, the Secretary of State for India, initiated a debate on administrative reforms that was thwarted by the Earl of Minto, the Governor-General of India, and his colleagues. This chapter discusses the Morley–Minto Reforms, an Act of the British Parliament that brought about a limited increase in the involvement of Indians in the governance of British India. It also examines the reconciliation between Extremists and Moderates, the political alliance between the INC and the Muslim League, Mahatma Gandhi’s views on British imperialism and his support for the Khilafat Movement, and the circumstances that led to the Salt March.Less
After the Surat debacle, the Moderates implemented a new administrative structure for the Indian National Congress (INC) that was essentially anti-Extremist. The structure included a clause that highlighted the major objective: self-government through lawful means within the Commonwealth. However, these initiatives did not receive any support from the British government. John Morley, the Secretary of State for India, initiated a debate on administrative reforms that was thwarted by the Earl of Minto, the Governor-General of India, and his colleagues. This chapter discusses the Morley–Minto Reforms, an Act of the British Parliament that brought about a limited increase in the involvement of Indians in the governance of British India. It also examines the reconciliation between Extremists and Moderates, the political alliance between the INC and the Muslim League, Mahatma Gandhi’s views on British imperialism and his support for the Khilafat Movement, and the circumstances that led to the Salt March.
Madurika Rasaratnam
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190498320
- eISBN:
- 9780190638580
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190498320.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Asian Politics
This chapter explains why the pan-ethnic conception of Indian national identity associated with the Indian National Congress was able to mobilize support in the Tamil-speaking areas, and therefore ...
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This chapter explains why the pan-ethnic conception of Indian national identity associated with the Indian National Congress was able to mobilize support in the Tamil-speaking areas, and therefore symbolically include Tamil identity, but could not do the same with Muslim politics. Congress efforts to win elections were opposed by counter-veiling mobilization in both the Tamil and Muslim electorates. It was able to overcome this opposition amongst Tamil voters but not amongst Muslims. The chapter shows that Congress success in the Tamil-speaking areas emerged from mobilization processes that adeptly incorporated key Tamil symbols, practices and claims. But its activities amongst the Muslim electorate were far more limited because of the Hindu nationalist affiliations of provincial level leaders.Less
This chapter explains why the pan-ethnic conception of Indian national identity associated with the Indian National Congress was able to mobilize support in the Tamil-speaking areas, and therefore symbolically include Tamil identity, but could not do the same with Muslim politics. Congress efforts to win elections were opposed by counter-veiling mobilization in both the Tamil and Muslim electorates. It was able to overcome this opposition amongst Tamil voters but not amongst Muslims. The chapter shows that Congress success in the Tamil-speaking areas emerged from mobilization processes that adeptly incorporated key Tamil symbols, practices and claims. But its activities amongst the Muslim electorate were far more limited because of the Hindu nationalist affiliations of provincial level leaders.
Zoya Hasan
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780195685978
- eISBN:
- 9780199082216
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195685978.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Indian Politics
The political history of modern India is intimately intertwined with the history of the Indian National Congress. The Congress is unique not only for its longevity but also for its role in the ...
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The political history of modern India is intimately intertwined with the history of the Indian National Congress. The Congress is unique not only for its longevity but also for its role in the building of the Indian nation. This book seeks to analyse important aspects of political change at a time when India is at once a rising power with an expanding middle class and a poor, unequal, and misgoverned country through the story of the shifts in the politics and strategy of the Congress Party. It investigates the structure and direction of change within the party and its governance agenda, essentially in its policy and strategy and in its organization and leadership after Indira Gandhi. It is a thematic account of political processes and the discursive and policy practices that shaped the thinking and approach of the Congress, and provides an interpretation of the politics of change in India and how this shaped the development of the Congress, especially under the United Progressive Alliance. It considers economic liberalization, the Ayodhya issue and the re-emergence of the Congress as a ruling party in 2004. This volume also analyzes how the dualist structure in the Congress leadership influenced the perception of the people about the party.Less
The political history of modern India is intimately intertwined with the history of the Indian National Congress. The Congress is unique not only for its longevity but also for its role in the building of the Indian nation. This book seeks to analyse important aspects of political change at a time when India is at once a rising power with an expanding middle class and a poor, unequal, and misgoverned country through the story of the shifts in the politics and strategy of the Congress Party. It investigates the structure and direction of change within the party and its governance agenda, essentially in its policy and strategy and in its organization and leadership after Indira Gandhi. It is a thematic account of political processes and the discursive and policy practices that shaped the thinking and approach of the Congress, and provides an interpretation of the politics of change in India and how this shaped the development of the Congress, especially under the United Progressive Alliance. It considers economic liberalization, the Ayodhya issue and the re-emergence of the Congress as a ruling party in 2004. This volume also analyzes how the dualist structure in the Congress leadership influenced the perception of the people about the party.
Peter Heehs
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195627985
- eISBN:
- 9780199080670
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195627985.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Political History
The first section of this chapter discusses the general factors in the growth of nationalism. The second section describes the administration of India after 1858. The third section considers early ...
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The first section of this chapter discusses the general factors in the growth of nationalism. The second section describes the administration of India after 1858. The third section considers early attempts at nationalist organization. The fourth section examines Lord Ripon and the Ilbert Bill controversy. The last section discusses the Indian National Congress. The brutal suppression of the Revolt of 1857 was the cause of much enmity against the British. Between 1858 and 1905 British rule in India was at its strongest. England had become the centre of an empire that included one-quarter of the world’s area and population. India was its most valuable possession, and its hold on the country seemed permanent. But during this same period, a current of national feeling began to flow through India. Soon this swelled into a stream that in half a century swept the mighty British Raj away.Less
The first section of this chapter discusses the general factors in the growth of nationalism. The second section describes the administration of India after 1858. The third section considers early attempts at nationalist organization. The fourth section examines Lord Ripon and the Ilbert Bill controversy. The last section discusses the Indian National Congress. The brutal suppression of the Revolt of 1857 was the cause of much enmity against the British. Between 1858 and 1905 British rule in India was at its strongest. England had become the centre of an empire that included one-quarter of the world’s area and population. India was its most valuable possession, and its hold on the country seemed permanent. But during this same period, a current of national feeling began to flow through India. Soon this swelled into a stream that in half a century swept the mighty British Raj away.
