UNIT 22 GROWTH OF COMMUNALISM UPTO THE SECOND WORLD WAR Structure 22.0 Objectives 22.1 Introduction 22.2 Communalism: Meaning and Components
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22.2.d What is Communalism 22.2.2 Components 22.2.3 Myths Regarding Communalism
22.3 Emergence and Growth 22.3.1 22.3.2 22.3.3 22.3.4 22.3.5 22.3.6
Socio-Economic Factors Role of British Policy 19th Century Revivalism Political Trends in the Late 19th Century Role of Communal Organisations Weaknesses in the National Movement
22.4 Communalism in the 20th Century 22.4.1 22.4.2 22.4.3 22.4.4 22.4.5 22.4.6
Partition of Bengal and the Formation of the Muslim League I Separate-Electorates Lucknow Pact Khilafat parting of the Ways Towards a Mass Base
22.5 Let Us Sum Up 22.6 Key Words 22.7 Answers to check Your Progress Exercises
22.0 OBJECTIVES You all are quite familiar with the term 'Communalism'. But have you ever tried to think what communalism actually means, and how it has come to become such a strong force in our society. This unit intends to answer some of the questions regarding communalism in India. After reading this unit you can: explain what communalism is and distinguish between various types of communalism see how communalism emerged in the Indian society and polity evaluate the role of the various forces which enabled it to grow, and trace its development in the early 20th century.
22.1 INTRODUCTION One of the major priorities of any developing country is to maintain a unity of its people. In the history of modem India, such a unity was put to a very severe test by the growing communalisation of the Indian people, politics and society. Where as the Indian National Movement aimed at achieving the unity of all Indian people, communalism sought to divide them along religious lines, by creating and spreading false barriers of religious communities, religious interests and ultimately religious nations also. This unit will tiy to tell you how communalism in India was born and thrived because of a combination of various forces and their development. For instance, the peculiarity of the socio-economic development of lndia in the 19th century, the impact of the colonial rule as well as the role of certain colonial policies, the weakness of the anti-communal nationalist forces and finally the active role played by the like the All India Muslim League and the All lndia Hindu Mahasabha,
22.2 CONIMUNALISM: MEANING AND COMPONENTS Communalisnl has different meaning to different groups and peoples, institutions, and organisations. At the same time, it can be a belief, a way of thinking, an ideology, a value and an instrument. It can he used in a variety of ways and it can be studied from a number of perspectives. It is therefore very important to know what communalism is.
22.2.1 What is Communalism Generally speaking, Communalism is a belief that all those who have a common religion, also have, as a result, comlnon social, political, cultural and economic interests and identities. In other words, it is the notion that religion forms the base of the society and a basic unit of division in the society: that it is religion that determines all the other interests of man. To understand it better, let us look at it differently. Man is a multi faceted social being, who can, at the same time have a number of identities. His identity can be based on his country, region, sex, occupation, position within the family, caste or religion. A cdmmunalist would choose from this wide range, only the religious identity and emphasize it out of proportions. As a result, social relationship, political behaviour, and economic struggles might be defined on the basis of the religious identity. So, briefly put, it is the super-imposition of the religious category over all others, which becomes the starting point of communalism. Two more things need to be clarified at this stage: Firstly, in the context of pre-independence India, communalism expressed itself mainly in terms of a conflict between certain sections of the Hindus and Muslims. It was partly for this reason that communalism was also referred to as the Hindu-Muslim problem, or the Hindu-Muslim question, in contemporary debates and literature. However, from this we should not assume that the problem was confined only to the Hindus and Muslims or that it was a religious problem at all. Secondly, communal beliefs and propaganda did not always remain at the same pitch. In fact, as the society got more politicked and as the struggle for independence intensified, communalism also, correspondingly, shifted to higher levels of propaganda. Briefly, thr communal, propaganda and arguments had three levels: i) that the interests of all the numbers of a religious comn~unitywere the same; for example it was argued that a Muslim Zamindar and a peasant had common interests because both were Muslims, (or Hindus or Sikhs as the case might be), ii) that the interests of the members of one religious community were different from the members of another religious community. In other words this meant that all Hindus had different interests from all Muslims and vice-versa, iii) that not only were these interests different, but also antagonistic and conflicting. This, in other words meant that Hindus and Muslims could not co-exist in peace because of conflicting interests. \
Needle5s to say, thesqarguments were false, based on a wrong understanding of interests and had no roots in reality. Throughout the medieval period large sections of Hindus and Musllms had co-existed with tolerance and harmony. Although they maintained their religious differences, the common people, among both Hindus and Muslims lived in peace throughout and continued to interact on a cross-communal network.
22.2.2 Components Words like communal ideology, communal tensions, communal violence, communal politics, communal feelings. etc. are often used inter-changeably. It is important to distinguish one from the other and see the various components of.communalism. A distinction was made for the first time in 1939 by K.B. Krishna (Problem bf ~ i n o r i t i e s ) between communal tension and communal politics. Communal tension was a temporary phenomenon, occurring in spurts, manifesting in communal violence and mainly involving the lower classes of people. Communal politics. on the other hand, was a persistent and continuous phenomenon and involving in the main, the middle classes, landlords and bureaucratic elements. The only thing that they had in common was that they both derived t M r sustenance from communal ideology. Communalism can also be seen as a 'weapon' and a 'value.' It was a 'weapon' for those
Growth of Communajism up to the Second Wnrld War
who stood to benefit from it, who had a vested interest in its continuation, and who used communalism to serve their desired political ends. Besides a 'weapon' communalism was also a 'value' for all those who had accepted communalism, come to believe in it, had interanalised communal ideas and incorporated them into their life-style. Such people, deeply religious in their outlook, and invariably the victims of communal ideology and propaganda, were not the beneficiaries of communalism but its victims. They were always emploited by the agents of communalism who had a vested interest in it. We have seen thus, that there are many component or aspects of communalism. Communalism should best be seen as a structure, with all the components (communal tension, communal politics, weapon, value, etc.) constituting parts of the structure. They are held together by this structure, and connected with each other through the thread of communal ideology, which sustains the structure.
22.2.3 Myths Regarding Communalism Communalism has been a widely misunderstood phenomenon and, as a result, there have been many myths about it. It is therefore very important to know what communalism is not. And while trying to understand communalism, it is important to keep the myths regarding communalism in mind. 1 As against popular notions communalism is not merely religion's entry into politics, or politics defined in religious terms. In'other word, religion's entry into politics did not necessarily produce communalism. Ti3 take-an examp1e;two of the greatest secular leaders of the 20th century-Mahatma Gandhi and Maulana Abul Kalarn Azad-were also deeply religious people and defined their politics in religious terms. 2 Communalism is not the result of religious differences. In other words, religious differences in themselves do not constitute the essence of communalism. For example, religious differences between the Hindus and Muslims had continued for centuries but they assumed the communal form only in the modem'period. If fact, communalism is not a religious problem at all. 3 Communalism was not inherent in the Indian society, as has often been assumed. It was not a 'hang-over' of India's past. It was a product of certain peculiar circumstances and combination of forces. Communalism is a modem phenomenon, as modem as the emergence of colonial rule. It is to be explained by political and economic developments in the modem period of Indian history. ,
Check Your F'rogres 1 1 What do you understand by the term communalism? Write in ten lines.
2 Write two lines each on Communal tension
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Communal politics
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3 Which of the following statements are right (\j ) or wrong (x) ? i) Communalism is not the result of religious difference only. ii) Communalism was inherent in the Indian society. iii) Communalism was a modem phenomenon: iv) Communal arguments were false and were not rooted in the Indian reality.
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22.3 EMERGENCE AND GROWTH How far back should one trace the roots of communalism? This has been a very cpntroversial problem. Some scholars have attempted to stretch it back to the medieval period of Indian history. To them, the roots of communalism lay in the failure of the Hindus and the Muslims to fuse their differences and constitute one society. Their assumption is that these differences always existed in India. There was a Hindu society and a Muslim society and not an Indian society. However, tl$s has been forcefully contradicted by others who insist that the role of the divisive forces in Indian society should not be exaggerated. There existed in India, powerful cohesive and unifying elements which often brought members of various castes, sects and communities together.
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What then, was the starting point of'this problem? The genesis of communalism should be seen with the British conquest of India. which had a e e n d o u s impact on the society and economy of India.
22.3.1 Socio-Economic Factors The British conquest brought about a change in the power structure which generally penetrated down to all the sections of the Indian society. To begin with, the British conquest marked the decadance of the upper class Muslims. It was particularly so in Bengal, where they lost their semi-monopoly in employment in the upper posts of army, administration and judiciary. They were also slowly evicted from their dominant position in land-holding as well. In particular the Permanent Settlement of 1793 and the making of English as the official court language in 1833, deprived the upper class Muslims of their wealth, power and influence. As it happened, owing to the uniqueness of the Indian situation, the loss of the Muslims invariably went in favour of the Hindus who had responded more positively to education and other modemising forces than, the Muslims who remained largely backward. In other words, "economic development within the British imperialist system benefited a group of Indians of whom a far larger proportion were Hindus than Muslims". (W.C. Smith, Modern Islam in India, 1946) Muslims, adapted later than Hindus to such British novelties as education, the new professions, posts in the administration, and culture. Consequently an intellectual awakening resulting in a re-assessment of the old beliefs, customs and values was also late among the Muslims, compared to Hindus. This time 'lag' between Ram Mohan Roy and Syed Ahmed Khan for instance, would help to explain, a feeling of weakness and insecurity on the part, of the Muslims, leading to a reliance on religion and traditional ways of thinking. This 'lag' theory i.e. the theory of a time lag between the Hindus and.Muslims in responding to the forces of modemisation and socio-economic development in the 19th century, has not been found to be wholly acceptable by recent historians. It should, therefore be taken with same reservations. One major reason is, its different application in different regions. If the Muslims as a group suffered in Bengal and as a result of the British rule, they benefited in some other parts like U.P. Still the 'lag' theory holds importance
Growth olCommunallsm up to the Second World War
Nationalism: The Inter War Years-I )
for as it gives us a clue to the 20th century phenomenon of the Muslims' alienation from the national mainstream. The relationship of the lag theory with communalism was summed up very accurately by Jawaharlal Nehru in a letter to his friend, written in 1939. "After the Indian mutiny of 1857, there was a period of intense repression and both the Hindus and the Muslims suffered from it but the Muslims probably suffered more. Gradually people began to get over this suppression. The Hindus took to English education which led to state services much more than the Muslims. The Hindus also took the professions and to industry in large numbers. Among the Muslims, the reactionary elements, prevented the spread of modem education as well as industry. The Hindus developed a new middle class during this period, while the' Muslims still continued to remains largely feudal. The Hindu middle class laid the foundation of the nationalist movement, but about a generation later, the Muslims went the same way, took to English education and state service and professions and developed a new class also. A conflict arose between the various. middle class elements for state services and this was the beginning of the communal problem in its modem phase." Communalism in India was, therefore, a struggle for jobs between vaiious communities, unequal educationally, politically and economically. Historian K.B. Krishna (Problems of Minorities, 1939), one of the earliest scholars to'work on the communal problem felt that these struggles were accentuated in an epoch of the development of Indian capitalism, under feudal conditions, by British imperalism by its policy of counterpoise. It was therefore a product of inrperalist-capitalist-feudalstructure of India. To quote K.B. Krishna: "History of the communal representation is the history of British policy in India, also one of the growth and diversity of middle class consciousness in India and the demand of the middle class for political powers. But British imperialism is one aspect of the problem. The social economy of the country another." It is now time to look at the role of British imperalism and politics in promoting the growth of communalism.
22.3.2 Role of British Policy The British policy holds a very special responsibility for favouring the growth of communalism. If communalism could flourish in India and reach monstrous proportions, which it did i n 1947, it was possible largely because of the support it received from the British government. But before we discuss the British policy in detail certain clarifications might be made. The British did not create communalism. We have seen that certain socio-economic and cultural differences already existed. They were not created but only taken advantage of by the British, to serve their political end. W.C. Smith (Modern Islam in India, 1946), has made this point very forcefully: "The political policy of the government would have been less successful than it was, had there not been powerful economic factors operating to re-inforce it. Communalism could not have proved so effective a divisive force, nor could the upper class Muslims have been so effectively repressed, had the Hindu and the Muslim sections of the class concerned been of the same economic level. But they were not." It is therefore, quite obvious that the British policy of 'divide and rule' that we are going to talk about, could succeed only because something in the internal social, economic, cultural and political conditions of society favoured its success. It is important to note that conditions were remarkably favourable for the use and growth of communalism as well as for the policy of 'divide and rule'. Communalism grew and prospdered not only because it served the political needs of the British rule but also because it met the social needs of some sections of the Indian society. Communalism was not a British creation. It was the result of a combination of a variety of factors. The history of the British policy toward communalism can be easily traced to the period just after the rebellion of 1857. The post-1857 period made it imperative for the rulers to adopt a new set of policies in order to combat the possible threat to their empire.. The British policy, therefore, underwent significant changes after 1857 and acquired a dual character. It now consisted of a combination of liberal and imperalist policies. Liberal-in so much as it recognised and conceded the claims and aspirations of the new
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classes and sections as they arose; and imperalist-because what was conceded'was always circumscribed by imperial interests, utilising the rivalries of various classes and interests. This policy was formulated with a double edged purpose to make friends by catering favourably to the aspirations of some newly emerging sections, and then to counterpoise one against the other, to offset one sectional interest against the other, one class against the other. This was, in a nutshell, the role of British policy, a policy of concession, counterpoise and coercion. ~nck this policy became operative, its net result was the spread of communalism. But even while pursuing this policy, the communal ideology became a useful allay in serving the political objectives of the government. Generally speaking, at this stage, there were two main objectives before the government.
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1 To make some friends in the society, to offer patronage to some sections mainly in order to exercise influence and extend control and thereby strengthen its base in the society. 2 To prevent a unity of the Indian people. If all the sections of the society could unite under any ideological influence, they could threaten the British empire. Therefore communal ideology had to be used and spread to deny the oneness of the Indian people. This was done more effectively in the 20th century when the communal demands and organisations were encouraged to negate the legitimacy and credibility of the nationalist demands, ideology and organisation. Thus on the one hand, all attempts were made to keep the Muslims away from the Congress, and then the clitims of the Congress were . run down on the grounds that it did not represent the Muslims! Communalism served the government in yet another way. Communal deadlock and the worsening communal situation could also be used as a justification for the continuation of the British rule. The argument they gave, went something like this-the major political parties i.e. Congress, Muslim League and the Hindu Mahasabha could not come io an agreement among themselves. The Indian people were divided amongst themselves, and were therefore incapable of governing themselves, if the British rule ended. The impossibility of any Indian alternative to British rule was, thus, emphasized. This was the British policy of first encouraging communalism and then using it for their own political ends. We shall emphasize this point further, when we deal with the developments in the 20th century.
22.3.3 19th Century ~evivalism The revivalistic tendencies in the 19th century acted as a contributory factor in the growth of communalism. Revivalism was a very general phenomenon under imperialism the world over. It meant an attempt at restoration of self respect which had been aeeply injured by political subjection. This self respect was sought to be restored by glorifying India's past, which was projected as a compensation for India's existing humiliation. Although revivalism solved same problems i.e. of inculcating a sense of pride in one's past, it created some other problems. One such problem was the projection of different glorious origins for Hindus and Muslims. This added a historical to the already existing religious, cultural and socio-economic differences. The reformers among the Hindus glorified Indias' ancient past and condemned the medieval period as an age of barbarians. Their Muslim counterparts looked to the history of the Arabs for pride and glory. So at a time when Hindus and Muslims needed to be united in every sense, they were shown to be different people, historically. This damage became clear in the 20th century when Mohammed Ali Jinnah, while formulating his two-nation theory (i.e. India was not one nation, but two-Hindu and Muslim nations) declared that Hindus and Muslims were two nations also because they had a different history and that often the hero for one was a villian for the other,
22-3.4 Political Trends in the late 19th Century Related to the question of revivalism was the emergence of certain political trends in the late 19th century among a section of the Muslims in India. Although these trends were far from being communal, they nevertheless, provided the background and a certain justification to subsequent communal politics. In this connection a reference may be made to Sir Syed Ahmed @an.
Growth of Communnllsm up to
the Second World War
Nationalism: The Inter War Years-I
The views and political activities of Syed Ahmed Khan were always marked with a certain ambivalence. He started his activities without any communal bias. His main aim was to introduce reforms among the Muslims, impress upon them the necessity of modem education and secure official patronage for them. For this purpose, he founded the Aligarh College which received financial support from many Hindus and had many Hindu students and teachers. He himself preached harmony between Hindus and Muslims. However, his politics changed after the formation of the Congress in 1885. He found his priority of securing administrative posts for Muslims and of professing loyalty to the British rule, to be in absolute contradiction with the anti-imperialist edge of the Congress. Although his main opposition with Congress was on the attitude towards the British government, he voiced his disapproval in terms of the Congress being a Hindu body, and therefore opposed to the Muslims. Thus he laid down the foundation of certain basic themes of communalism. One such theme was that being a majority. Hindus would dominate the Muslims and override their interests, if the British rule ended and the power was transferred to Indians. It was on these ground that Syed Ahmed Khan was opposed to the establishment of representative democratic institutions. According to him the democracy would only mean the power to the majority as "it would be like a game of dice in which one man had four dice and the other only one". He also felt that any system of elections would put power into the hands of Hindus. Hence, the three main themes of c o m ~ n a l i s mi.e.
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opposition to the nationalist forces, opposition to the democratic process and institutions, and loyalty to the British Government could be traced back to the ideology of Syed Ahmed Khan and his followers. Needless to say these arguments were wholly incorrect. Although there were many Hindus in it, the congress could not be called a Hindu Organisation, by any stretch of imagination. There was nothing Hindu about its demands and programme. Badruddin Tyabji, a Muslim, presided on its session in 1887, and the number of Muslim delegates to the Congress Session increased in subsequent years so as to include many prominent Muslims in it. Also, democracy or modem representative institutions, posed absolutely no threat to the Muslims. In fact it posed a threat only to the Rajas, the feudal and Jagirdari elements among the Muslims (as also among the Hindus) of whom Syed Ahmed Khan was a representative.
22.3.5 Role of Communal Organisations
22. Syed Ahmed Khan
Once communalism raised its head, then in addition to being encouraged by the Government, it grew on its own. It seemed to have the inbuilt system, whereby it could increase its strength, even independent of any external support. Communal organisations played a vital role in this process. The leading communal organisations, All India Muslim League (formed in 1906) and the All India Hindu Mahasabha (formed in 1915) were opposed to each other, but they always provided justification for each other and increasingly made each other more communal. Through their political activities and propaganda they prevented the Hindus and Muslims from coming together, made them distrust each other and thereby spread communalism among the people.
22.3.6 Weaknesses in the National Movement The growth of communalism in the 20th century could be checked by a nationalist upsurge. The communal ideology could be defeated by the nationalist forces and ideology. But the Indian National Congress, as a representative of the nationalist forces and I ideology, failed to prevent the spread of communalism among the people. Although fully committed to secularism and nationalism, and desirous to bring about a unity of the Indian people, the Indian National Movement fought a battle against the communal forces but lost ultimately due to a variety of reasons.
23. Madan Mohan hlalviyaFounder of the ~ i ~ d~ , , ~
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To begin with, the Congress could not comprehensively understand the nature of communalism. As a result of this, the Congress did not have a central strategy to combat communalism. Therefore, it kept shifting between temporary sets of strategies. Also the Congress ~ ~ bcould h not~ keep pace with the fast changing character of communalism. Besides, certain Hindu revivalistic tendencies entered into the national movement and
su&essfully prevented its attempts to reach out to Muslims and incorporate them into its fold. Also the use of certain religious symbols (like Ramarajya for instance) acted as a barrier. At the level of implementation, the Congress, sometimes, made wrong choices, while dealing with the communal forces. It tried to offer concessions and made compromises with them, which only increased the credibility of the communal groups. On certain other occasions, opportunities for a compromise were lost, thereby creating a deadlock. However, while pointing out the limitations, the complexity of the problems should not be ignored. It became very difficult to solve the communal problem, particularly because of the attitude of the Government. The British government did all it could to prevent a settlement between vaiious political groups. No matter what the Congress offered to the Muslims, the Government always offered more, thereby making the arrangement rebundant. In the next section we shall see the Congress attempts at unification and settlement and the Government attempts at division in details. Check Your Progress 2 1 Write ten lines on the role. of British Policy towards communalism.
2 Write five lines each on the following: The lag theory I
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3 Read the following statements and mark right ( d ) or wrong (x). i) The British created communalism. ii) The spread of revivalism contributed to the two-nation theory. iii) The Congress could not keep pace with the fast changing character of communalism. iv) Communal organisations spread communalism among the people.
Growth of Communalism up to the Second World War
Nationalism: The Inter War Years-I
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22.4 COMMUNALISM IN THE 20TH CENTURY In this section, we shall see some of the'major developments in the 20th century in relation to the communal problem. We shall discuss them very briefly and see how they affected the communal problem. Some of the p ~ i n t smade in the earlier section regarding the British policy and the Congress attitude will also be dealt with in this section.
22.4.1 Partition of Bengal and the Formation of the Muslim League The partition of Bengal (1905) may have started as an administrative measure, but it was soon transformed into a major political advantage for the government as it intended to convert BengaI into areas of Hindu majority and Muslim majority. It was thus the result of the British desire to weaken the nationalism of Bengal and consolidate a Muslim block against it. Said Curzon the Viceroy: "The partition would invest the Muslims of East Bengal with a unity which they had not enjoyed since the days of old Mussalman Viceroys and Kings". The partition scheme and the subsequent Swadeshi Movement was followed by the formation of the All India Muslim League towards the end of 1906, with official patronage. It consisted of a group of big Zamindars, ex-bureaucrats and other upper class Muslims, like Aga Khan, the Nawab of Dacca and Nawab Mosin-ul-Mulk. Its motive was to thwart the young Muslims from going over to the Congress, and thereby into the nationalist fold. The Muslim League was formed as purely a loyalist body whose only job was to look up to the government for favour and patronage. And they were not disappointed. Another important feature of this period was the growth uf Muslim separatism, because of the surfacing of Hindu revivalistic tendencies during the Swadeshi movement, the British propaganda that the partition of Bengal would benefit the Muslims, and spurts of commurial violence. A number of communal riots broke out in Eastern Bengal, in the p e r i d following the Swadeshi movement.
21.4.2 Separate-Electorates The declaration of separate-electorates in the legislative bodies in 1909, as a part of the Morley-Minto reforms is a major landmark in the history of communalism. Separateelectorates meant grouping of constituencies, voters and elected candidates on the basis of religion. In practical terms it meant introducing Muslims constituencies, Muslim voters and Muslim candidates. It also meant that non-Muslim voter could vote for a Muslim candidate. The election campaign and politicisation was thus strictly confined within the walls of each religion. All this was to have disastrous consequences. The introduction of the separate-electorate was based on the notion that the Indian society was a mere collection of interests and groups and that it was basically divided between the Hindus and Muslims. Indian Muslims were on the other hand, regarded as "a separate, distinct and monolithic community". It was also based on the motive of entrusting power in the hands of potential allies as well as preventing Hindu-Muslim unity. Arguing against joint-electorates, Minto pointed out to Morley: "under the joint scheme, the Hindu would not only be able to elect their own men, but a Mohammedan as well, who might not represent bona fide Muslim interests." According to these reforms, the Muslims were assured that they would be granted representation in the councils, not merely according to their 'numerical strength', but also according to their 'political importance'. Thus Minto assured a Muslim deputation: "The pitch of your address, as I understand it, is a claim that in any system of representation ... the Mohammedan community should be represented as a community ... you justly claim that your numerical strength, both in respect to the political importance of your community and the service it has rendered to the Empire entitle you to consideration. I am entirely in accord with you ... I can only say to you that the Mohammedan Community may rest assured that their political rights and interests as a community will be safeguarded in any administrative reorganisation .. . ,
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The impact of the separate electorates was as follows : , a
it created theinstitutional structures containing separatism, it was to produce severe constraints on the Congress and limit its space for nationalist activities, it was to activate the communal groups and organisations, and it ensured the impossibility of a common agreement among Indian political groups. ~ b w e v e rthe , impact of the separate-electorates was to surface in Indian politics only later. David Page (Prelude to Partition, 1982) in a recent book has summed it up very well : "The granting of separ'ate-electorates appears to have been an attempt by the Raj to shore up a crucial part of its system of control ... it was an attempt to extend and broaden the base of its rule by extending and broadening the support of its traditional allies."
22.4.3 Lucknow Pact Lucknow Pact (1916) was an attempt made by the Indian organisations, namely the Congress and Muslim League, to anive at a settlement. The Congress conceded separate electorates as a temporary arrangement, in order to obtain Muslim League's support. Two things need to be remembered regarding the Lucknow Pact: It was an a r r a n g e m ~between ~~t the leaders, not between the people. The CongressLeague settlement was wrongly equated with a Hindu-Muslim settlement, the assumption being that the Muslim League truly represented the Muslims. Soon the Lucknow Pact became redundant because of the Government of India Act, 1919, which granted much more to Muslims than the Lucknow Pact.
22.4.4 Khilafat The Khilafat agitation, about which you have already read in Unit 18, was a product of a particular political climate where Indian nationalism and Pan-Islamism went hand in hand. It witnessed Muslims' participation in the national movement at an unprecedented level. However, communalism started making inroads into Indian politics and society, just after the withdrawal of the Non-Cooperation Movement following the violence at ChauriChaura. There were many symptoms of increasing communalism in the period 1922-27: Communal violence erupted at an unprecedented level. In U.P. alone there were as many as 91 riots between 1923-1927. Issues of cow-slaughter and music before mosques come into prominence. Khilafat bodies representing Hindu-Muslim unity gradually petered out. The Muslim League got revived during 1922-23 and began to openly preach separatistic politics. It's Hindu counterpart, the Hindu Mahasabha, formed in 1915 and lying inactive since then, found good climate in which to revive itself. Movement like Tahligh (propaganda) and Tanzim (organisation) arose among the Muslims. They were partly a response to Shuddhi and sangathan among the Hindus. These were again in part a response to the forcible conversions made during the Moplah rebellion. All this vitiated the atmosphere considerably. R.S.S. (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) was founded in 1925. There were many reasons for this worsening communal situation: The Khilafat alliance brought religious heads into politics. But they entered politics on their own terms. The withdrawal of the movement however, did not lead to a withdrawal of their participation from politics. This gave a certain religious interpretation to politics. The nature of the politicgl structure itself contained the seed the communalism through the introduction of separake-electorates. This structure was enlarged by the Montagu-Chelmesford reforms (1919) which created space for communal propaganda and political alignments along communal lines. The spread of education without a corresponding growth in the employment qpportunities left an army of unemployed educated people who could use religion for jobs, favours, etc. The political situation as it stood in 1927 was far from satisfactory. Nationalist forces were divided and at a low ebb. Communalism was gaining mo'mentum.
Growth of Communalism up to the Second World War
Nationalism: The Inter War Years-I
Dr. M,A. Ansari, Dr. Saiyed Mabud, Maulvi Momzamali, Seth Osmsn Sobani,
President.
Sultan Mansion, Dongri,
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Dear
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The Khilafat Working llbmmittee held a t Nagpur deoided
that two days before the special asssions of the ~ongress(mibble
of August) a aomrrlOtee o f reegonsible persona be helb t o oonsider the fulure polioy an8 l i n e o f aotion f o r the LChilafGt organisatiar: A s t h i e a .very important matter I d e a r n ~ s t l yrequest you t o kindly.
sttend the committee meetin& a t Bombay t o help 9s i n our delibrat i o n and t o enable us t o deoide our fffut\ire line of aotion. I remain
Yours sincere1y
24. 1,etter for a meetinn of Khilafat Cnmmittee
22.4.5 Parting of the Ways
Grorrth of Comrnunalbm u# to the .Second World War
The arrival of the Simon Commission and its near unanimous boycott by all sections of political opinion, once again provided an opportunity for unity. A section of the Muslim League, under the leadership of Jinnah, took the initiative and was willing- to give up separate-electorates in favour of joint-electorates, if certain conditions were met. These were : 1/3rd representation for the Mus1i.m~in the central legislature. separation of Sind from Bombay as a separate province, reform in the North-West Frontier provinces, and Muslims' representation in the legislative council in proportion to their population in Punjab and Bengal. ;
These demands were accepted by the Congress, which opened up prospects for unity. Bu its rejection in uncompromising terms by the Hindu Mahasabha at the All Parties Conference (1928) complicated matters. The incompatibility between the League and Mahasabha frustrated all attempts at unity. The Nehru Report (framed by Motilal Nehru and Tej Bahadur Sapru), was rejected by the Muslim League as it did not incorporate all their demands. The impact of the Nehru report was significant : It led to the estrzngement of Jinnah. who called it a 'Parting of the Ways' with the Congress. went back to the se~arate-electorates.and formulated his famous fourteen poink (including separate-ele'ctorabes, reservation of seats in the centre and provinces, reservation of jobs for Muslims, creailon of new Muslim majority provinces, etc.) which became the text of the communal demands. It increased the distance between various political groups and pushed Jinnah more toward communalism. It also conmbuted to the aloofness and even hostility of most leaders among the Muslims toward the Civil Disobedience Movement.
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25. Mohd. Ali Jinnah
22.4.6 Towards a Mass Base The events of 1928-29 demonstrated a drifting apart of the communal forces. Soon this drifting apart was to reach a point of no return. This was the starting point of communalism transforming into an irresistible mass force. By 1940, all the cbmmunal demands were to pale into insignificance in front of the new demand-the demand for Pakistan, as a separate homeland for Muslims. This demand was finally achieved in 1947. Let ps look at these events in more details.
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The Government of India Act, 1935, provided for provincial autonomy and a wider franchise than earlier. Elections were held in early 1937 under separate-electorates. The results were quite revealing. In the general constituencies, Congress swept the polls, was in a position to form ministries in six provinces and was the largest single party in two others. In the Muslim constituencies however, the Congress performance was disappointing. Out of 482 Muslim consti~encies,Congress contested 58 and won 26. Quite interestingly, even the Muslim League, claiming to be a representative of the Muslims, performed verv badly, did not get a single seat in the North-West Frontier Provinces, got 2 seats out of 84 in Punjab and 3 out of 33 in Sind. It was not in a position to form a ministry anywhere. In the crucial provinces of Bengal and Punjab, the ministries were formed by regional parties (Unionist Party led by Sikander Hayat Khan in Punjab and Praja Krishak Party led by Fazl ul-Haq in Bengal). The election results confronted the Muslim League and the Congress with different messages. For the Congress, the message was loud and clear. It had a strong base among the Hindus but was yet to establish itself as a representative of the Muslims. However, the only hope was that even its rival amon the Muslims, the Muslim League, could not claim to represent them. The Congress, theyore, had a two-fold project,
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to work among the Muslims masses and being them into the Congress fold. In 1937, it did not seem a difficult task because the muslims masses seemed to be completely independent of any dominant political influence--communal or nationalist. to ignore the Muslim League completely as it had the feet of clay. There seemed no point in trying to make a settlement with the league as the election results had demonstrated its unrepresentative character. N?hru, therefore, declared quite
26. Sir TejBabdur Sapm
89
Nationalism: The Inter War Years-I
triumphantly that there were only two forces in the country-nation,aIism being represented respectively by the Congress and the Govemmknt.
and imperialism
To dchieve these two-fold tasks, the Congress decided to launch a 'Muslim mass contact campaign'. This was an attempt to ignore all the organisations and make a direct appeal to the Muslims to join the Congress. Jinnah was quite alarmed by this move and warned the Congress to stay away from the Muslims, because, according to him, only the Muslim League could represent the Muslims. Lessons for the Muslim League were also very clear: Muslim League had, hitherto, been an elite organisation, dominated by the princes and the Zamindars and had absolutely no base among the masses. In order to succeeQin the electoral politics and 'be in a better bargaining position vis-a-vis other dominant groups, it was important to have a mass base and be a popular organisation, much like the Congress was. By 1937 all the fourteen points of Jinnah had been granted by the government. And yet he found himself nowhkre! He was just not able to carry himself and the League, of which he had become the permanent President, to a position of Political respectability. Therefore, it was important to maximise the league's membership and a140 to place the demand at a much higher pitch, since all the other demands (like separate-electorates, reservation of seat, etc.) had been conceded. In order to achieve these two-fold tasks. Jinnah did the following: A massive campaign for the popularisation of the League was launched. The Muslim League actually broke out of its elite shell and began to acquire a mass character (although among Muslim masses only). Membership fee was reduced, provincial committees were fbrmed and the party programme was also transformed 40 as to acquire a socio-economic content. An equally strong campaign was launched to denounce and condemn the Congress ministries. They were shown to represent Hindu-Raj, and hostile to Musli~kpinorities. This was the sure41 way of creating a Hindu-Muslim divide. The Congres\ was asked to concentrate only on the Hindus, as it was seen by Jinnah, as a Hindu Body. In 1940, at the Lahore session, Jinnah came up with the two-nation theory. It said that Muslims were not a ntiticrt,i!\.. they were a tmtion. Hindus and Muslims, coniisted of nurioti.~, as they were different people economically, politically, socially. culturally and historically. Therefore the Muslims of India should have a sovereign state for themselves. H'ence [lie proposal for Pakistan as a separate homeland for Muslims. -10
As a result of all that has bcen discussed above, communalism began to emerge as a mass force. Although it had not become one by 1940, but the process of the translbrmation of communalism into a mass force had been set in motion. This was to lead to Pakistan in 1947. Check Your Progress 3 I What do you understand by separate-electorates? Write in about 100 words.
2 Write five lines on the following: Lucknow Pact
Two-Nation Theory 4
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3 Answer the following questions: i) When was the Hindu Mahasabha formed?
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....................................................................................................................................... ii) What were the Hindu counterparts to the movements Tabligh and Tanzim?
iii) Who used the expression 'Parting of the Ways'?
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4 What were the lessons that the election results brought to the Congress?
22.5 LET US SUM UP We have seen in this Unit how communalism grew and thrived in India as a result of a variety of factors. Specific socio-economic developments in the 19th century; role of the colonial state, its priorities and the administrative measures it took to fulfil them; weaknesses and limitations of the anti-communal forces, and the development and intensification of communal forces in the 20th century are some of the factors discussed above. Although our story ends at 1940, the onward march of communalism did not. The remaining part of the story-from the declaration of the Pakistan in 1940 to the making of Pakistan in 1947-will be taken up in another unit. But certain points should be mentioned here. The making of Pakistan was the ultimate communal demand, and its logical culmination. It was the result of the twin processes of: , I
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a gradual alienation of the Muslims as a group from the national mainstream of politics, and their consolidation, on a communal platform, for a communal movement leading to Pakistan, launched by the Muslim League under the leadership of M.A. Jinnah. These twin processes became possible because communalism in the 1940s began to attract the masses and became a mass force and ideology. This was a process which had begun in the 1920s. got accelerated in the 1930s and gathered a further momentum in the 1940s. We have seen the development of this process till 1940. You will read about the latter
Growth of Communalism up to the Second World War
Nationdim. The Inter War Years-1
22.6 KEY WORDS Permanent Settlement: A new land settlement introduced by the British government in 1793 in Bengal. According to this, the cultivators, most of whom were Muslims, lost their proprietary rights and became mere tenants. Nehru Report: The Indian response to the Simon Commission. It was a constitution prepared in 1928, named after one of its framers, Motilal Nehru and was in many senses a forerunner to the constitutipn of India, implemented in 1950. The Nehru Report was dropped by the Congress in 1930 on the grounds that it had not been accepted by all the political parties. Government of India Act, 1935: The third important constitutional measure undertaken by the British government after the Morley-Minto (1909) and Montagu-Chelmsford (1P19) reforms. It provided for elections under separateelectorates and a much wider franchise than before. It also provided provincial autonomy which meant that the party which won the elections could form a government in the provinces. Most of the powers were however reserved at the centre.
22.7 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS EXERCISES Check Your Progress 1 1 See sub-sec. 22.2.1 2 See sub-sec. 22.2.2 3 (i)d (ii) x (iii) 4 (iv) 4 C M J o u r Progress 2 , 1 See sub-sec. 22.3.2 2 See sub-secs. 22.3.1 and 22.3.3 3 (i) x (ii)J (iii) d (iv) l j Check Your Progress 3 1 See sub-sec. 22.4.2 . 2 See sub-secs. 22.4.3 and 22.4.6 3 (i) 1915 (ii) Shuddhi and Sangathan (iii) Mohammed Ali Jinnah 4 See sub-sec. 22.4.6
SOME USEFUL BOOKS FOR THIS BLOCK Sumit,Sarkar. Modern India, New Delhi, 1983. & 1984. D.N. Panigrahi (ed.). Emnomy, S o c i e ~and Polity in Modem India, ~ e Delhi, K.L. Tuteja. Sikh Politics, New Delhi, 1984. Eugene F. Irschick. Poliiics and Social Conflict in South India, University of California Press, Berkley, 1969. Sneh Mahajan. Imperialist Strategy and Moderate Politics : Indian Legislatrtre at Work, New Delhi, 1983, Chapters 1 and 2. Kapil Kumar. Peasants in Revolt; Tenants, Landlords. Congress and the Raj in Oudh. New Delhi, 1984. Bipan Chandra. Communalism in Modern India. New Delhi, 1984. Bipan Chandra, Amales Tripathi and Barun De. Freedom Struggle, N.B.T.A., New Delhi.