ELECTIONS AND CONGRESS RULE IN PROVINCES Study Materials

Elections and Congress Rule in Provinces

ELECTIONS AND CONGRESS RULE IN PROVINCES

We will cover topics from the Faizpur Session of the INC to Congress’ participation in the 1937 elections. We will discuss Congress’ rule in provinces, Gandhiji’s advice on elections and the challenges faced leading to eventual resignation.

The period from 1936 to 1939 marked significant political changes within the Congress.

After the Civil Disobedience Movement was called off, the nationalists engaged in a two-phase discussion to determine their future strategy.

The first phase, during 1934-35, focused on deciding the immediate course of action during the non-mass struggle period.

The second phase, in 1937, revolved around the acceptance of office following the provincial elections under the autonomy clauses of the Government of India Act, 1935.

Three main approaches emerged regarding the Congress's next steps after the suspension of the Civil Disobedience Movement: ➤ Pursuing constructive activities along Gandhian principles. ➤ Engaging in constitutional politics by contesting elections to the Central Legislature. ➤ Advocating for a revival of non-constitutional mass movements, as supported by the leftist faction led by Nehru, which criticized constitutional politics and constructive work for diverting focus from the primary goal of fighting colonial rule.

During this time, the Congress decided to prioritize constitutional politics over agitation, aiming to test its efficacy. This marked a departure from earlier approaches, with Congress members actively striving for success within the constitutional framework.

TOWARDS CONSTITUTIONALISM

There emerged voices within the Congress advocating a return to constitutional methods.

In some quarters the revival of the Swarajist Party was also discussed. Asaf Ali and S. Satyamurti had raised this issue with Gandhiji even during the period of the mass movement.

Another prominent Congressman, Dr. M.A. Ansari was in favour of council entry. In 1933 Satyamurti formed the Madras Swaraj Party. K.M. Munshi, B.C. Roy and Ramaswamy lyengar also sought Gandhiji’s support for the revival of the Swaraj Party.

At this moment, Gandhiji did not favour the idea of constitutional methods, he told them: ‘If you believe in the move (return to the constitutional methods) you are free to sponsor it.’

Some Congressmen favoured council entry while a few others like Acharya Narendra Dev and Purshottam Das Tandon opposed it.

As soon as the Civil Disobedience Movement was withdrawn, Gandhiji gave a free hand to each side by saying: ‘I want all sections to work in all directions towards one thing in their own ways without criticizing one another.’

In October 1934, Gandhiji had withdrawn from the Congress refusing 4-anna membership of the Congress. However, this did not mean that his hold over the Congress had weakened or that he was not guiding the Congress policy any longer.

TOWARDS ELECTIONS

The Congress session at Lucknow (April 1936) was presided over by Jawaharlal Nehru.

The most important decision was that the Congress resolved to contest elections on the basis of a manifesto. However, the question of office acceptance was kept pending.

Election Manifesto

It was the task of the Parliamentary Committee to draft the Election Manifesto of the Congress. The manifesto aimed at ‘explaining the political and economic policy and programme of the Congress’. The prominent features of the Election Manifesto adopted by the AICC in August 1936:

It was made clear that the purpose of sending Congressmen to the legislatures was not to cooperate with the Government, but to combat the Act of 1935 and to end it. British imperialism was to be resisted in its ‘attempts to strengthen its hold on India’.

It highlighted the poverty of Indian masses particularly peasants, workers and artisans, and stated that ‘for the vast millions of our countrymen the problem of achieving national independence can give us the power to solve our economic and social problems and end the exploitation of our masses’.

The task of the Congress representatives was ‘to take all possible steps to end the various regulations, ordinances and Acts which oppress the Indian people’. They would work for: a) establishment of civil liberty, b) release of political prisoners, and c) undoing the wrongs done to the peasants and others.

In relation to industrial workers the policy of the Congress would be to secure for them a decent standard of living, regular hours of work, and better working conditions for labour. The promises made included the right to form unions, suitable machinery to settle disputes with employers, and protection ‘against the economic consequences of old age’.

There were many other promises in the Manifesto, such as removal of untouchability, equal status for women, encouragement to khadi and village industries, and satisfactory solution to communal problems. The question of office acceptance was to be decided after the elections. Thus, the Congress was gearing itself for elections, and trying to reach a decision for the selection of candidates. The Lucknow session was important from another point of view as well. It was during this session that the first meeting of the All-India Kisan Sabha was held under the presidency of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati.

FAIZPUR CONGRESS

The next session of the Congress was held at Faizpur in December 1936, again under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru.

In this session the Congress demanded the formation of a Constituent Assembly to frame a constitution of their own. The question of office acceptance was deferred again.

However, the most important thing which the Congress resolved at Faizpur was the adoption of an agrarian programme. 

The major features outlined in this programme included 50 per cent reduction in rent and revenue, exemption of uneconomic holdings from rent and land tax, taxation on agricultural income, abolition of feudal levies and forced labour, cooperative farming, wiping out arrears of rent, modification of ejection laws, and recognition of peasant unions.

This programme was however silent on the issue of the abolition of Zamindari and Taluqdari systems. 

The Kisan Sabha leaders like Sahajanand Saraswati, N.G. Ranga and Indulal Yagnik, though welcoming the programme in general, criticized it on this ground for they felt that these systems were the root cause of peasant exploitation.

They were supported by Socialist leaders like Jayprakash Narayan. Here it is worth mentioning that the Right Wing in the Congress was not in favour of Zamindari abolition.

ELECTIONS OF 1937

Elections were held on different dates in different provinces and the results were very encouraging for the Congress. Except Bengal, Punjab, and Sindh, the Congress had fared well in other regions.

In five provinces, it had a clear majority. In Bengal, NWFP, Assam and Bombay Congress emerged as the single largest party, whereas in Punjab and Sindh its performance was poor.

The Congress could not do well in the elections to upper houses as the franchise there was limited to the upper strata only.

The performance of Congress in reserved constituencies was not at all satisfactory except in the labour seats. But it did well in general seats.

Office Acceptance

The decision of office acceptance had been left pending due to differences within the Congress.

The AICC met in March 1937 to decide over the issue.

Rajendra Prasad moved a resolution for ‘conditional acceptance’ of office which was accepted. The condition attached was that the governors would not use their special powers to intervene with the functioning of ministries.

Jayprakash Narain moved an amendment for total rejection of office but this was defeated when put to vote. This was considered as a major victory for the Right Wing within the Congress. Gandhiji himself was in favour of conditional acceptance of office.

In six provinces where the Congress was in majority its leaders were invited by the Governors to from ministries. However, this offer was turned down due to the refusal of Governors to give assurances on the conditions put forward by the Congress.

The next move of the Government was to form ‘Interim Ministries’ in these provinces.

On June 20, Viceroy Linlithgow clarified the stance of the Government in relation to special powers of the Governors vis-à-vis ministers. The C.W.C. met at Wardha in the first week of July and permitted office acceptance.

It is worth mentioning here that most of the Indian capitalists were in favour of office acceptance by the Congress. G.D. Birla was consistently making efforts in this direction and was in touch with Congress leaders.

The resignation of the interim ministries was followed by the formation of Congress ministries. It was the beginning of the new era in the freedom-struggle.

In Bengal, Fazlul Huq invited the Congress to cooperate in forming a coalition government. The Congress refused and Huq then joined hands with the Muslim League. In Sindh, Congress supported the ministry of Gulam Hussain Hidayatulla and in Assam of Bardoloi. In Punjab the Congress was not in a position to play a dominant role.

CONGRESS RULE IN PROVINCES

Congress ministries were formed in Bombay, Madras, Central Provinces, Orissa, United Provinces, Bihar and later in the NWFP and Assam also.

Gandhiji’s Advice

Gandhiji advised Congressmen to hold these offices lightly and not tightly. The offices were to be seen as ‘crowns of thorns’ which had been accepted to see if they quickened the pace towards the nationalist goal. 

Gandhiji advised that these offices should be used in a way not expected or intended by the British. Gandhiji urged Congressmen to prove that the Congress could rule with least assistance from the police and the Army.

Work under Congress Ministries

In the 28 months of Congress rule in the provinces, there were some efforts made for people’s welfare. They were:

Political Prisoners

The Congress, through its election manifesto, was committed to the release of political prisoners and detenues. Many among them were in prison even without facing trials.

The largest number of political prisoners was in Bengal, a non-Congress ruled province. Gandhiji went to Calcutta to personally negotiate for their release and after three weeks of long talks he was able to secure the release of 1100 detenues.

In U.P, many prisoners were released, prominent among them were the Kakori prisoners. There were massive public demonstrations welcoming these prisoners. But the British Government disliked this.

Gandhiji, Govind Ballabh Pant and Jawaharlal Nehru, while welcoming their release, condemned ‘welcome demonstrations’.

The Congress also worked for lifting restrictions on the return to India of political exiles like Rash Behari Gosh, Prithvi Singh, Maulvi Abdullah Khan, Abani Mukerjee, etc. However, it could not do much in this regard.

CIVIL LIBERTIES

The Congress ministries took significant steps to restore civil liberties:

Emergency power laws were abolished.

Bans on prohibited organizations like the Hindustan Seva Dal and Youth Leagues, along with restrictions on certain books and journals, were lifted.

Press restrictions were removed, and newspapers were removed from blacklists.

Confiscated arms and arms licenses were returned.

Police authority was curtailed, and the CID ceased monitoring politicians.

Political prisoners and revolutionaries were freed, with deportation and internment orders canceled.

In Bombay, lands confiscated during the Civil Disobedience Movement were returned, and pensions of officials involved in the movement were reinstated. However, there were notable shortcomings in the Congress ministries' approach to civil liberties. For instance, Yusuf Meherally, a socialist, was arrested by the Madras government for inflammatory speeches but later released. Similarly, S.S. Batliwala faced arrest and a six-month sentence for seditious speech. Additionally, K.M. Munshi, the Bombay home minister, used the CID to target communists and leftists.

Agrarian Reforms or The Peasants’ Question

Tenancy legislation was taken up in all the Congress ruled provinces. The Right Wing did not want to go ahead in this without negotiating with the landlords and the position varied from province to province. 

In Bombay the Congress was successful in getting those lands restored to their original owners which had been sold to new owners as a result of the no-rent campaign during the Civil-Disobedience Movement.

In all the provinces, efforts were made to protect the peasant from moneylenders and increase irrigation facilities. But in most of the areas the zamindars remained in a dominant position.

In spite of constraints, the Congress ministries managed to legislate a number of laws relating to land reforms, debt relief, forest grazing fee, arrears of rent, land tenures, etc.

Labour

In October 1937, the Labour Committee appointed by the Congress, gave a programme which was accepted by the AICC. This included: ➤ holidays with pay, ➤ employment insurance, ➤ leave with pay during sickness  ➤ to devise way to fix minimum wages, and ➤ recognition of such Trade Unions by the State which pursued a policy of peaceful and legitimate means.

However, Bombay was the only province to undertake Labour Legislation.

The Ministry introduced the Industrial Disputes Bill with the aim to prevent strikes and lockouts as far as possible.

The ministries treated militant trade union protests as law-and-order problems, and acted as mediators as far as possible.

Constructive Programme

In all the Congress ruled provinces, sincere efforts were made to introduce prohibition, encourage education and give impetus to village industries. These included:

A vigorous campaign in favour of prohibition,

A grant of 2 Lakh rupees for Khadi and hand-spinning by the Madras Ministry,

Honorary medical officers to be appointed in hospitals, and

Investment on public buildings to be considerably reduced.

Measures for welfare of Harijans taken—temple entry, use of public facilities, scholarships, an increase in their numbers in government service and police, etc.

Prison reforms undertaken.

Efforts taken to develop planning through the National Planning Committee set up under Congress president Subhash Bose in 1938. An advance was made in the field of education. An All-India National Education Conference was held at Wardha (22 and 23 October, 1937). The Conference formulated a scheme which included:

Free and compulsory education to be provided for seven years throughout the country,

Mother tongue should be the medium of instruction, and

Emphasis on vocational and Manual Training. On the basis of these guidelines Dr. Zakir Hussain submitted a scheme of Basic education to be implemented by the Congress Ministries (2 December, 1937). This scheme included learning of basic crafts; proper knowledge of mother tongue; basic scientific knowledge, etc. In many provinces, attempts were made to put this scheme into action. Some other major achievements of the Congress Ministries were:

Reduction in salaries of Ministers,

The declaration of Fundamental Rights,

Welfare Schemes for Tribals,

Repeal of Moplah Outrages Act, and

Carrying out commercial and economic surveys.

Some Problems Faced by Congress

There was malicious propaganda carried out against the Congress by the Communal parties. They accused the Congress of discrimination against the minorities, but such propaganda was carried out due to political and communal overtones, rather than on factual basis.

At the same time, many opportunists joined the Congress during this period in order to seek advantages of office.

Tripuri Crisis 1939- After the Haripura session of 1938 under the presidentship of Subhas Chandra, the next session was held at Tripuri where the Congress faced a major crisis. This time an election was held for the President and Bose defeated Pattabhi Sitaramayya. This was regarded as a victory of the Left Wing, as the Right Wing had solidly supported Sitaramayya. Even Gandhiji regarded this defeat as his own defeat. There were problems in the formation of the working committee and ultimately Bose resigned from the Presidentship.

Evaluation

By 1939, internal conflicts, opportunism, and power struggles began to emerge among Congress members. However, they managed to effectively leverage council work to their benefit. The 28-month Congress rule holds significance for several reasons:

It reinforced the belief that Indian self-rule was essential for achieving radical social transformation.

Congress leaders demonstrated that a movement could utilize state power to advance its objectives without succumbing to external influence.

The ministries successfully controlled communal riots, maintaining relative peace.

The morale of the bureaucracy declined under Indian leadership.

Engagement in council work helped mitigate opposition from previously antagonistic groups.

People gained a clearer vision of what governance could look like under an independent India.

The administrative role of Indians further dispelled the myth that they were incapable of self-governance.