SYLLABUS
Y3C01 MODERN INDIAN HISTORY (1857 - 1992)Course: 3 - STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOMNo. of credits: 2No. of Contact hours per week: 3
Aim of the Course:
To make the students understand important aspects of the freedom movement and the strategies of freedom fighters.
UNIT I - National Movement - Post First World War Scenario
• Impact of First World War on the national movement.
• Rowlatt Act - Jallian Wallabagh Massacre
• Advent of Gandhi - Khilafat movement - Malabar Rebellion - noncooperation
movement - the Swaraj party
• Montague-Chelmsford reforms - provisions - diarchy – Simon Commission.
• Working Class Movement and the formation of AITUC.
• Revolutionary terrorists - Bhagat Singh and Surya Sen – Hindustan Republican Association - participation of women - Kalpana Dutt – Beena Das - influence of Russian Revolution
• Khudai Khidmatagars
UNIT II – Strengthening Freedom Struggle
• Purna Swaraj Resolution
• Civil Disobedience Movement - Participation of Women - Gandhi Irwin Pact - Round Table Conferences.
• Gandhian Methods of Struggles - Strategies
• Emergence of Left Wing - Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose - Formation of Workers and Peasant Parties.
• Role of Press in the National Movement - Fight for the Freedom of Press.
• Communal Award and the Pune Pact
• Emergence of the Communist Party of India
• Formation of All India Kisan Sabha.
• Government of India Act of 1935 - Elected Ministries in the Provinces.
UNIT III – Towards Freedom
• Second World War and Indian Nationalists
• Quit-India Movement
• Indian National Army
• Crips Mission
• RIN Mutiny - Labour Strikes
• INA Trials
• Cabinet Mission - Mount Batten Plan - Interim government
• Wawell Plan - Direct Action - communalism - Massacre - Partition and Independence - scars of partition.
Readings
Bandopadhyaya Sekhar : Plassey to Partition
Bipan Chandra (et. al) : India's Struggle for Independence
Bipan Chandra : Nationalism and Colonialism in Modern India
Metcalf, Barbara. D and Thomas. R. Metcalf : A Concise History of Modern India 4th Edition, OUP, 2008
Dharam Kumar & Tapan Ray Chaudhuri : The Cambridge Economic History of Indian
1707-1970
Mahajan, Sucheta : Independence and Partition: The Erosion of Colonial Power in India
Desai.A.R : Social Background of Indian Nationalism, Popular Prakasan, Bombay, 1976.
Kulke, Herman : State in India 1000-1800
Panikkar. K.N. : Culture Ideology Hegemony Intellectual and Social Consciousness in Colonial India, Tulika, New Delhi, 1995
Panikkar ,K.N., : Against Lord and State.
Gangadharan, M. : Malabar Rebellion.
Sarkar, Sumit : Modern India 1885-1947
Majumdar. R.C. : The Struggle for Freedom
syllabus in PDF format
syllabus in PDF format
WOMEN IN REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT
Thousands of men and women, inspired by Gandhi's politics of satyagraha, joined the passive resistance campaigns in the 1920s and the 1930s. But at the same time there were some Indians who were convinced that non-violent methods alone would not free India. Revolutionary activity surfaced in Bengal, the Punjab, the United Provinces and Bihar. Among these revolutionaries were a minority of women, the most well-known of whom were in Bengal.
Why women revolutionaries?
Women joined the revolutionary movement for many reasons.
• Some were inspired by leaders like Subhas Chandra Bose, known popularly as "netaji" (the leader), a radical member of the Congress in Bengal.
• Others joined because of their anger at British policy, or because of their patriotic idealism.
• According to Tara Ali Baig, a historian, great deal of frustration among educated young men and women who felt that it was only when we were independent that they would be able to have a life and that the only way to do it was by terrorism." (Zareer Masani, Indian Tales of the Raj, 1987
• The deeds of the revolutionaries inspired many young women. The exploits of men like Bhagat Singh became household legends. In 1929, when he was tried for throwing a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly, and hanged, many wept. Kalpana Dutt, one of the women involved in a raid on the Chittagong armoury in 1930, remembered the impact of men like Bhagat Singh: "The narratives of revolutionary deeds, the lives of Khudiram, Kanailal, Bhagat Singh, no doubt stirred us to the very core, teaching us to defy death ..." Kalpana Dutt (Joshi), Chittagong Armoury Raiders Reminiscences, 1979
Kalyani Das, another young university student, was also drawn to revolutionary activity, but for a different reason. She began as a passive resister, helping to found the Chattri Sangha (Female Students' Association) in 1928 in Calcutta. She had also organised and taken part in peaceful picketing, but she abandoned this form of protest when a peaceful demonstration of the women from the Chattri Sangha led by her met with police brutality. This convinced her that the revolutionary message made more sense:
"I had to witness the most painful and inhuman tortures made on young student volunteers at the gate of the Presidency College. We also went to Midnapore where inhuman atrocities were perpetrated on poor villagers." Geraldine H. Forbes, 'Goddesses or Rebels? The Women Revolutionaries of Bengal', Netaji Oration, The Oracle, 1980
Educated and sophisticated, many of these revolutionaries had been brought up on the patriotic literature of Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Sarat Chandra Chatterjee. They also read about revolutionary movements in Ireland, Italy and Russia. Stirred by patriotic ideals, they wanted to strike at the British Raj and inspire the masses by their courage and sacrifices for the Motherland.
Many young women in Bengal, between the ages of 16 and 30, came under the influence of the revolutionary movement. They joined physical culture clubs and patriotic societies like Deepali Sangha (Enlightened Torch-bearers' Association) in Dacca and Chattri Sangha in Calcutta. They received training in physical fitness, and instruction in shooting, lathi and sword fighting. Women who joined these revolutionary societies were given the same training as men. They carried out similar missions, smuggling banned literature and acting as messengers. They helped to manufacture bombs and they smuggled weapons. They sheltered fellow revolutionaries on the run, they carried out assassinations, and they organised and led attacks on British officials and buildings.
Revolutionaries in action
Idealistic young girls and women carried out terrorist acts. In December 1931, for example, Shanti Ghose and Suniti Choudhury, two schoolgirls from Comilla, assassinated the British magistrate. They had gone to see him on the pretext of getting his permission for a swimming competition. While he read the petition, the two girls shot him dead. They were only 16 and 17 at
the time.
In February 1932, Bina Das, the sister of Kalyani Das, fired five shots at Stanley Jackson, the governor of Bengal, while receiving her degree at the Calcutta University convocation. Her attempt was unsuccessful. Bina Das, in her statement, emphasised that she had no personal feelings against the governor. But he represented the system which kept India under British rule:
"My object was to die and if to die, to die nobly fighting against this despotic system of government which has kept my country in perpetual subjection . . . I fired at the Governor impelled by my love of my country." Vijay Agnew, Elite Women in Indian Politics, 1979
Bina Das was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment.
Another young revolutionary, Pritilata Waddedar, a teacher, led a dramatic raid on a club in Chittagong. This was the Pahartali Railway Officers' Club, where British officers and their wives gathered every Saturday evening for drinks and dancing. On the night of 24 September 1932, under the leadership of Pritilata, a group of 15 young men entered the club and began shooting.
Confusion followed:
"The music, laughter and revelry came to a dead stop suddenly about 9 o'clock in the night. Instead there was a sound of bombs exploding and shots being fired. Those inside tried to get out by the windows, but then rushed back again in panic. Within a quarter of an hour it was all over - there was silence. Only the wounded groaned in pain and fear." Kalpana Dutt (Joshi), Chittagong Armoury Raiders Reminiscences, 1979
A dozen people were injured, and one woman died. In the cover of darkness the raiders made their escape - except for Pritilata. She died a hundred yards from the Club having swallowed potassium cyanide. She was only 21.
The attack on the Chittagong armoury: 1930
The most organised attempt at an armed uprising took place on the anniversary of the 1916 Irish Rising. On 18 April 1930 an armed group of revolutionaries, which included two women in their ranks, marched on the armoury in Chittagong. The officials were taken by surprise. The
revolutionaries captured the armoury and seized the town. They cut all communications and proclaimed an independent Revolutionary Republic. Kalpana Dutt, one of the two women raiders, described the momentous events in her Reminiscences:
"On 18 April 1930 a batch of armed revolutionaries raided the Chittagong armoury, burnt the police lines, put the telegraph office out of order, removed rails from the railway tracks. The word went round: 'Ananta Singh's lads have done it again!'" Kalpana Dutt (Joshi), Chittagong Armoury Raiders Reminiscences, 1979
But expecting the army to come after them, the revolutionaries moved into the hills, where on 22 April they were surrounded. After a pitched battle they were forced to flee into the forests. For almost four years they carried on a guerrilla campaign, with many villagers, both Hindu and Muslim, giving the rebels shelter and support.
Kalpana Dutt remembered that the Chittagong revolutionaries were under no illusion that the Government would send troops. But it was important to make a stand and set an example to young people: "the patriots would die to a man in defending their freedom. In the annals of the struggle for Indian freedom this tale would be an unending source of inspiration to all, forever!"
Kalpana Dutt (Joshi), Chittagong Armoury Raiders Reminiscences, 1979
Kalpana Dutt evaded arrest until 17 September 1932 when, on her way to meet the leaders on the run, she was captured. She was disguised as a man, which aroused police suspicion. Kalpana Dutt remembered: "At the time I was not an absconder myself, but a student in the fourth year science of the local government college ... For some time past, the intelligence branch marked me out as a suspect, as being one likely to have come in contact with the revolutionaries. But the lack of evidence against me baffled them ... The authorities therefore decided to keep me in custody, as they were anxious to make a thorough investigation to make sure about me ... The
police became convinced that I too was a revolutionary and an accomplice of Preeti ... So they sent me up for trial as an accused under Section 109 and granted me bail. This section is applied only in the case of those who conceal their identity for immoral purposes!" Kalpana Dutt (Joshi), Chittagong Armoury Raiders Reminiscences, 1979
She was then instructed to run away. The police were still anxious to prove that Kalpana Dutt had concealed arms seized at Chittagong. They also suspected her of recruiting girls for the Chittagong revolutionary group, one of the most active groups in Calcutta.
As a fugitive on the run she moved from village to village in the company of Surya Sen, the leader of the Chittagong group. In February 1933, he was captured and hanged. Three months later, in May 1933, Kalpana Dutt was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. She was only 18, and so considered too young to hang. In May 1939, following popular pressure from C. F. Andrews, Rabindranath Tagore and Gandhi, she was released.
Revolutionaries outlawed
The Government cracked down on revolutionary groups. Some were hanged, whilst others were tortured and imprisoned for life. Villages suspected of sheltering revolutionaries were burnt. Fines were imposed and villagers terrorised. An old Brahmin (high-caste) lady, arrested with her children for hiding revolutionaries, was tortured and jailed. Kalpana Dutt met her in prison and was shocked:
"As I was entering the female ward ... a dark-complexioned middle-aged widow came running to me and asked me if I was a swadeshi ... She would not let me go and followed me ... babbling all the time about the police. Warning me against them she said, 'They might torture you, but even then you must not tell them anything; they might even threaten you with hanging, but you must
never give way.' The police torture had made her a little demented ..." Kalpana Dutt (Joshi), Chittagong Armoury Raiders Reminiscences, 1979
Police action against the terrorists succeeded in disintegrating the revolutionary societies by 1934.
Why women revolutionaries?
Women joined the revolutionary movement for many reasons.
• Some were inspired by leaders like Subhas Chandra Bose, known popularly as "netaji" (the leader), a radical member of the Congress in Bengal.
• Others joined because of their anger at British policy, or because of their patriotic idealism.
• According to Tara Ali Baig, a historian, great deal of frustration among educated young men and women who felt that it was only when we were independent that they would be able to have a life and that the only way to do it was by terrorism." (Zareer Masani, Indian Tales of the Raj, 1987
• The deeds of the revolutionaries inspired many young women. The exploits of men like Bhagat Singh became household legends. In 1929, when he was tried for throwing a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly, and hanged, many wept. Kalpana Dutt, one of the women involved in a raid on the Chittagong armoury in 1930, remembered the impact of men like Bhagat Singh: "The narratives of revolutionary deeds, the lives of Khudiram, Kanailal, Bhagat Singh, no doubt stirred us to the very core, teaching us to defy death ..." Kalpana Dutt (Joshi), Chittagong Armoury Raiders Reminiscences, 1979
Kalyani Das, another young university student, was also drawn to revolutionary activity, but for a different reason. She began as a passive resister, helping to found the Chattri Sangha (Female Students' Association) in 1928 in Calcutta. She had also organised and taken part in peaceful picketing, but she abandoned this form of protest when a peaceful demonstration of the women from the Chattri Sangha led by her met with police brutality. This convinced her that the revolutionary message made more sense:
"I had to witness the most painful and inhuman tortures made on young student volunteers at the gate of the Presidency College. We also went to Midnapore where inhuman atrocities were perpetrated on poor villagers." Geraldine H. Forbes, 'Goddesses or Rebels? The Women Revolutionaries of Bengal', Netaji Oration, The Oracle, 1980
Educated and sophisticated, many of these revolutionaries had been brought up on the patriotic literature of Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Sarat Chandra Chatterjee. They also read about revolutionary movements in Ireland, Italy and Russia. Stirred by patriotic ideals, they wanted to strike at the British Raj and inspire the masses by their courage and sacrifices for the Motherland.
Many young women in Bengal, between the ages of 16 and 30, came under the influence of the revolutionary movement. They joined physical culture clubs and patriotic societies like Deepali Sangha (Enlightened Torch-bearers' Association) in Dacca and Chattri Sangha in Calcutta. They received training in physical fitness, and instruction in shooting, lathi and sword fighting. Women who joined these revolutionary societies were given the same training as men. They carried out similar missions, smuggling banned literature and acting as messengers. They helped to manufacture bombs and they smuggled weapons. They sheltered fellow revolutionaries on the run, they carried out assassinations, and they organised and led attacks on British officials and buildings.
Revolutionaries in action
Idealistic young girls and women carried out terrorist acts. In December 1931, for example, Shanti Ghose and Suniti Choudhury, two schoolgirls from Comilla, assassinated the British magistrate. They had gone to see him on the pretext of getting his permission for a swimming competition. While he read the petition, the two girls shot him dead. They were only 16 and 17 at
the time.
In February 1932, Bina Das, the sister of Kalyani Das, fired five shots at Stanley Jackson, the governor of Bengal, while receiving her degree at the Calcutta University convocation. Her attempt was unsuccessful. Bina Das, in her statement, emphasised that she had no personal feelings against the governor. But he represented the system which kept India under British rule:
"My object was to die and if to die, to die nobly fighting against this despotic system of government which has kept my country in perpetual subjection . . . I fired at the Governor impelled by my love of my country." Vijay Agnew, Elite Women in Indian Politics, 1979
Bina Das was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment.
Another young revolutionary, Pritilata Waddedar, a teacher, led a dramatic raid on a club in Chittagong. This was the Pahartali Railway Officers' Club, where British officers and their wives gathered every Saturday evening for drinks and dancing. On the night of 24 September 1932, under the leadership of Pritilata, a group of 15 young men entered the club and began shooting.
Confusion followed:
"The music, laughter and revelry came to a dead stop suddenly about 9 o'clock in the night. Instead there was a sound of bombs exploding and shots being fired. Those inside tried to get out by the windows, but then rushed back again in panic. Within a quarter of an hour it was all over - there was silence. Only the wounded groaned in pain and fear." Kalpana Dutt (Joshi), Chittagong Armoury Raiders Reminiscences, 1979
A dozen people were injured, and one woman died. In the cover of darkness the raiders made their escape - except for Pritilata. She died a hundred yards from the Club having swallowed potassium cyanide. She was only 21.
The attack on the Chittagong armoury: 1930
The most organised attempt at an armed uprising took place on the anniversary of the 1916 Irish Rising. On 18 April 1930 an armed group of revolutionaries, which included two women in their ranks, marched on the armoury in Chittagong. The officials were taken by surprise. The
revolutionaries captured the armoury and seized the town. They cut all communications and proclaimed an independent Revolutionary Republic. Kalpana Dutt, one of the two women raiders, described the momentous events in her Reminiscences:
"On 18 April 1930 a batch of armed revolutionaries raided the Chittagong armoury, burnt the police lines, put the telegraph office out of order, removed rails from the railway tracks. The word went round: 'Ananta Singh's lads have done it again!'" Kalpana Dutt (Joshi), Chittagong Armoury Raiders Reminiscences, 1979
But expecting the army to come after them, the revolutionaries moved into the hills, where on 22 April they were surrounded. After a pitched battle they were forced to flee into the forests. For almost four years they carried on a guerrilla campaign, with many villagers, both Hindu and Muslim, giving the rebels shelter and support.
Kalpana Dutt remembered that the Chittagong revolutionaries were under no illusion that the Government would send troops. But it was important to make a stand and set an example to young people: "the patriots would die to a man in defending their freedom. In the annals of the struggle for Indian freedom this tale would be an unending source of inspiration to all, forever!"
Kalpana Dutt (Joshi), Chittagong Armoury Raiders Reminiscences, 1979
Kalpana Dutt evaded arrest until 17 September 1932 when, on her way to meet the leaders on the run, she was captured. She was disguised as a man, which aroused police suspicion. Kalpana Dutt remembered: "At the time I was not an absconder myself, but a student in the fourth year science of the local government college ... For some time past, the intelligence branch marked me out as a suspect, as being one likely to have come in contact with the revolutionaries. But the lack of evidence against me baffled them ... The authorities therefore decided to keep me in custody, as they were anxious to make a thorough investigation to make sure about me ... The
police became convinced that I too was a revolutionary and an accomplice of Preeti ... So they sent me up for trial as an accused under Section 109 and granted me bail. This section is applied only in the case of those who conceal their identity for immoral purposes!" Kalpana Dutt (Joshi), Chittagong Armoury Raiders Reminiscences, 1979
She was then instructed to run away. The police were still anxious to prove that Kalpana Dutt had concealed arms seized at Chittagong. They also suspected her of recruiting girls for the Chittagong revolutionary group, one of the most active groups in Calcutta.
As a fugitive on the run she moved from village to village in the company of Surya Sen, the leader of the Chittagong group. In February 1933, he was captured and hanged. Three months later, in May 1933, Kalpana Dutt was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. She was only 18, and so considered too young to hang. In May 1939, following popular pressure from C. F. Andrews, Rabindranath Tagore and Gandhi, she was released.
Revolutionaries outlawed
The Government cracked down on revolutionary groups. Some were hanged, whilst others were tortured and imprisoned for life. Villages suspected of sheltering revolutionaries were burnt. Fines were imposed and villagers terrorised. An old Brahmin (high-caste) lady, arrested with her children for hiding revolutionaries, was tortured and jailed. Kalpana Dutt met her in prison and was shocked:
"As I was entering the female ward ... a dark-complexioned middle-aged widow came running to me and asked me if I was a swadeshi ... She would not let me go and followed me ... babbling all the time about the police. Warning me against them she said, 'They might torture you, but even then you must not tell them anything; they might even threaten you with hanging, but you must
never give way.' The police torture had made her a little demented ..." Kalpana Dutt (Joshi), Chittagong Armoury Raiders Reminiscences, 1979
Police action against the terrorists succeeded in disintegrating the revolutionary societies by 1934.
