UPSC IAS exam preparation - India's Independence Struggle - Lecture 12

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GOI Act of 1935 and the Congress ministries

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

While the Congress was in the thick of battle, the Third Round-Table Conference met in London in November 1932, once again without the leaders of the Congress. Its discussions eventually led to the passing of the historic Government of India Act of 1935. 

1.1 Provisions of the GoI Act, 1935

This Act proved to be the most influential of all Acts passed till date. It provided for the establishment of an All India Federation and a new system of government for the provinces, on the basis of provincial autonomy. The so-called ‘federation’ was to be based on a union of the provinces of British India and the Princely States. There was to be a bicameral federal legislature in which the States were to be given disproportionate weightage. Moreover, the representatives of the States were not to be elected by the people, but appointed directly by the rulers. Only 14 percent of the total population in British India was given the right to vote. Even this legislature, in which the Princes were once again to be used to check and counter the nationalist elements, was denied any real power. Defence and foreign affairs remained outside its control, while the Governor-General retained special control over the other subjects. The Governor-General and the Governors were to be appointed by the British Government and were to be responsible to it. 

In the provinces, local power was increased. Ministers responsible to the provincial assemblies were to control all departments of provincial administration. But the Governors were given special powers. They could veto legislative action and legislate on their own. Moreover, they retained full control over the civil service and the police. The Act could not satisfy the nationalist aspirations for both political and economic power continued to be concentrated in the hands of the British Government. Foreign rule was to continue as before; only a few popularly elected ministers were to be added to the structure of British administration in India. The Congress condemned the Act as "totally disappointing".

The federal part of the Act was never introduced but the provincial part was soon put into operation. Bitterly opposed to the Act though the Congress was, it decided to contest the elections under the new Act of 1935, though with the declared aim of showing how unpopular the Act was. The whirlwind election campaign of the Congress met with massive popular response, even though Gandhiji did not address a single election meeting. The elections, held in February 1937, conclusively demonstrated that a large majority of Indian people supported the Congress which swept the polls in most of the provinces. Congress ministries were formed in July 1937 in seven out of eleven provinces. Later, Congress formed coalition governments in two others. Only Bengal and Punjab had non-Congress ministries. Punjab was ruled by the Unionist Party and Bengal by a coalition of the Krashak Praja Party and the Muslim League.

1.2 The Congress ministries

The Congress ministries could obviously not change the basically imperialist character of British administration in India and they failed to introduce a radical era. But they did try to improve the condition of the people within the narrow limits of the powers given to them under the Act of 1935. The Congress ministers reduced their own salaries drastically to Rs. 500 per month. Most of them travelled second or third class on the railways. They set up new standards of honesty and public service. They under took positive measures in several fields. They promoted civil liberties, repealed restrictions on the press and radical organisations, permitted trade unions and kisan (peasant) organisations to function and grow; curbed the powers of the police, and released political prisoners including a large number of revolutionary terrorists. They passed agrarian legislation dealing with tenancy rights, security of tenure, rent reduction and relief and protection to the peasant-debtors. Trade unions felt freer and were able to win wage increases for workers. The Congress governments also introduced prohibition in selected areas, undertook Harijan uplift, and paid greater attention to primary, higher and technical, education and public health. Support was given to khadi and other village industries. Modern industries too were encouraged. One of the major achievements of the Congress ministries was their firm handling of communal riots. The largest gain was psychological. People felt as if they were breathing the air of victory and self-government, for was it not a great achievement that men who were in prison till the other day were now ruling in the secretariat?

The period between 1935 and 1939 witnessed several other important political developments which, in a way, marked a new turn in the nationalist movement and the Congress.

1.3 Growth of socialist ideas

The 1930s witnessed the rapid growth of socialist ideas within and outside the Congress. In, 1929 there was a great economic slump in the United States which gradually spread to the rest of the world. Everywhere in the capitalist countries there was a steep decline in production and foreign trade, resulting in economic distress and large scale unemployment. At one time, the number of unemployed was 3 million in Britain, 6 million in Germany, and 12 million in the United States. On the other hand, the economic situation in the Soviet Union was just the opposite. Not only was there no slump, but the years between 1929 and 1936 witnessed the successful completion of the first two Five Year Plans which pushed up the Soviet industrial production by more than four times. The world depression, thus, brought the capitalist system into disrepute and drew attention towards Marxism, socialism, and economic planning. Consequently, socialist ideas began to attract more and more people, especially the young, the workers, and the peasants. (the situation reversed post 1990).

From its early days, the national movement had adopted a pro-poor orientation. This orientation was immensely strengthened with the impact of the Russian Revolution of 1917, the coming of Gandhiji on the political stage and the growth of powerful left-wing groups during the 1920s and 1930s. It was Jawaharlal Nehru who played the most important part in popularising the vision of a socialist India both within the national movement and in the country at large. Within the Congress the left-wing tendency found reflection in the election of Jawaharlal Nehru as president for 1929, 1936 & 1937, and of Subhas Chandra Bose for 1938 and 1939. Nehru argued that political freedom must mean the economic emancipation of the masses, especially of the toiling peasants from feudal exploitation.

In his presidential address to the Lucknow Congress in 1936, Nehru urged the Congress to accept socialism as its goal and to bring itself closer to the peasantry and the working class. This was also, he felt, the best way of weaning away the Muslim masses from the influence of their reactionary communal leaders. 

He said:

“I am convinced that the only key to the solution of the world's problems and of India's problems lies in socialism, and, when I use this word, I do so not in a vague humanitarian way but in the scientific, economic sense..... That involves vast and revolutionary changes in our political and social structure, the ending of vested interests in land and industry, as well as the feudal and autocratic Indian states system. That means the ending of private property, except in a restricted sense, and the replacement of the present profit system by a higher ideal of cooperative service. It means ultimately a change in our instincts and habits and desires. In short, it means a new civilization, radically different from the present capitalist order”.

The growth of the radical forces in the country was soon reflected in the programme and policies of the Congress. A major point of departure was the resolution on Fundamental Rights and Economic Policy passed by the Karachi session of the Congress on the urging of Jawaharlal Nehru. The resolution declared: "In order to end the exploitation of the masses, political freedom must include real economic freedom of the starving millions". The resolution guaranteed the basic civil rights of the people, equality before law irrespective of caste, creed or sex elections on the basis of universal adult franchise, and free and compulsory primary education. It promised substantial reduction in rent and revenue, exemption from tent in case of uneconomic holdings, and relief of agricultural indebtedness and control of money-lending; better conditions for workers including a living wage, limited hours of work and protection of women workers; the right to organise and form unions by workers and peasants; and state ownership or control of key industries, mines and means of transport.

Radicalism in the Congress was further reflected in the Faizpur Congress resolutions and the Election Manifesto of 1936 which promised radical transformation of the agrarian system, substantial reduction in rent and revenue, scaling down of rural debts and provision of cheap credit, abolition of feudal levies, security of tenure for tenants, a living wage for agricultural labourers, and the right to form trade unions and peasant unions and the right to strike. In 1945 the Congress Working Committee adopted a resolution recommending abolition of landlordism.

During 1938, when Subhas Chandra Bose was its president, the Congress committed itself to economic planning and set up a National Planning Committee under the Chairmanship of Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru and other leftists and Gandhi also argued for the public sector in large-scale industries as a means of preventing concentration of wealth in a few hands. In fact, a major development of the 1930s was the increasing acceptance of radical economic policies by Gandhiji. In 1933, he agreed with Nehru that "without a material revision of vested interests the condition of the masses can never be improved". He also accepted the principle of land to the tiller. He declared in 1942 that "the land belongs to those who will work on it and to no one else". Outside the Congress, the socialist tendency led to the growth of the Communist Party after 1935 under the leadership of P.C. Joshi and the foundation of the Congress Socialist Party in 1934 under the leadership of Acharya Narendra Dev and Jai Prakash Narayan. In 1939, Subhas Chandra Bose had been re-elected president of the Congress even though Gandhiji had opposed him. But the opposition of Gandhiji and his supporters in the Congress Working Committee compelled Bose to resign from the president-ship of the Congress in April 1939. He and many of his left-wing followers now founded the Forward Bloc. By 1939, within the Congress the left was able to command influence over one-third votes on important issues. Moreover, socialism became the accepted creed of most of the politicised youth of India during the 1930s and 1940s. The 1930s also witnessed the foundation of the All India Students Federation and the All India Progressive Writers Association.

2.0 The Peasants' and Workers' Movements

The 1930s witnessed the nation-wide awakening and organisation of the peasants and workers in India. The two nationalist mass movements of 1920-22 and 1930-34 had politicised the peasants and workers on a large scale. The economic depression that hit India and the world after 1929 also worsened the conditions of the peasants and worker in India. The prices of agricultural products dropped by over 50 percent by the end of 1932. The employers tried to reduce wages. The peasants all over the country began to demand land reforms, reduction of land revenue and rent, and relief from indebtedness. Workers in the factories and plantations increasingly demanded better conditions of work and recognition of their trade union rights.

The Civil Disobedience Movement and the rise of the left parties and groups produced a new generation of political workers who devoted themselves to the organisation of peasants and workers. Consequently, there was rapid growth of trade unions in the cities and kisan sabhas (peasants unions) all over the country, particularly in regions like U.P., Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and the Punjab. The first all-India peasant organisation, the All-India Kisan Sabha, was formed in 1936 under the president-ship of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati.

3.0 Congress and World Affairs

The third major development of the period 1935-39 was the increasing interest the Congress took in world affairs. The Congress had from its inception in 1885 opposed the use of the Indian army and of India's resources to serve British interests in Africa and Asia. It had gradually developed a foreign policy based on opposition to the spread of imperialism. 

In February 1927, Jawaharlal Nehru on behalf of the National Congress attended the Congress of Oppressed Nationalities at Brussels organised by political exiles and revolutionaries from the countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, suffering from economic or political imperialism. The Congress was called to coordinate and plan their common struggle against imperialism. Many left wing intellectuals and political leaders of Europe also joined the Congress. In his address to the Congress, Nehru said:

“We realise that there is much in common in the struggle which various subject and semi-subject and oppressed peoples are carrying on today. Their opponents are often the same, although they sometimes appear in different guises and the means employed for their subjection are often similar”.

Nehru was elected to the Executive Council of the League Against Imperialism that was born at this Congress. In 1927, the Madras session of the National Congress warned the government that the people of India would not support Britain in any war undertaken to further its imperialist aims. 

In the 1930s the Congress took a firm stand against imperialism in any part of the world and supported national movements in Asia and Africa. It condemned Fascism which had arisen at the time in Italy, Germany and Japan as the most extreme form of imperialism and racialism and gave support to the people of Ethiopia, Spain, Czechosloyakia, and China in their fight against aggression by the fascist powers. In 1937, when Japan launched an attack on China, the National Congress passed a resolution calling upon the Indian people "to refrain from the use of Japanese goods as a mark of their sympathy with the people of China". And in 1938, it sent a medical mission, headed by Dr M. Atal, to work with the Chinese armed forces.

Every time a Chinese leader visits India, he usually meets the family of an Indian doctor who died while treating wounded Chinese soldiers in the conflict with Japan in the 1940s. Dr. Dwarkanath S Kotnis was sent to China in 1938 as part of an Indian medical mission after China was invaded by Japan. He served on the frontline and saved the lives of many Chinese soldiers. After four years in China, he fell ill and died at the age of 32. "The army has lost of a helping hand, the nation a friend. Let us always bear in mind his international spirit," China's former communist leader and revolutionary hero Mao Zedong reportedly said in a tribute.

The National Congress fully recognised that the future of India was closely interlinked with the coming struggle between fascism and the forces of freedom, socialism and democracy. The emerging Congress approach to world problems, the awareness of India's position in the world, were clearly enunciated in Jawaharlal Nehru's presidential address to the Lucknow Congress in 1936:

“Our struggle was but part of a far wider struggle for freedom, and the forces that moved us were moving millions of people all over the world and driving them into action. Capitalism, in its difficulties, took to Fascism. ... It became, even in some of its homelands, what its imperialist counterpart had long been in the subject colonial countries. Fascism and imperialism thus stood out as the two faces of the now decaying capitalism. ... Socialism in the West and the rising nationalism of the Eastern and other dependent countries opposed this combination of fascism and imperialism”. 

While stressing the Congress opposition to any participation of Indian Government in a war between imperialist powers, he offered full cooperation "to the progressive forces of the world, to those who stood for freedom and the breaking of political and social bonds", for "in their struggle against imperialism and fascist reaction, we realise that our struggle is a common one".

4.0 States People's Struggle

The fourth major development during this period was the spread of national movement to the Princely States. Appalling economic, political and social conditions prevailed in most of them. Peasants were oppressed, land revenue and taxation were excessive and unbearable, education was retarded, health and other social services were extremely backward, and freedom of the Press and other civil rights hardly existed. The bulk of the State revenues were spent on the luxuries of the princes. In several States serfdom, slavery, and forced labour flourished. Throughout history, a corrupt and decadent ruler was checked to some extent by the challenge of internal revolt or external aggression. British rule freed the princes of both these dangers, and they felt free to indulge in gross misgovernment.

Moreover, the British authorities began to use the princes to prevent the growth of national unity and to counter the rising national movement. The princes in turn depended for their self-preservation from popular revolt on the protection by the British power and adopted a hostile attitude to the national movement. 

In 1921, the Chamber of Princes was created to enable the princes to meet and discuss under British guidance matters of common interest. In the Government of India Act of 1935, the proposed federal structure was so planned as to check the forces of nationalism. It was provided that the princes would get two-fifth of the seats in the Upper House and one-third of the seats in the Lower House.

People of many of the princely States now began to organise movements for democratic rights and popular governments. The All-India States People's Conference had already been founded in December 1927 to coordinate political activities in the different States. The Civil Disobedience Movement produced a deep impact on the minds of the people of these States and stirred them into political activity. Popular struggles were waged in many of the States, particularly in Rajkot, Jaipur, Kashmir, Hyderabad and Travancore. The princes met these struggles with violent repression. Some of them also took recourse to communalism. The Nizam of Hyderabad declared that the popular agitation was anti-Muslim; the Maharaja of Kashmir branded it as anti-Hindu; while the Maharaja of Travancore claimed that Christians were behind the popular agitation.

The National Congress supported the States People's struggle and urged the princes to introduce democratic representative government and to grant fundamental civil rights. In 1938, when the Congress defined its goal of independence it included the independence of the princely States. Next year, after Tripuri session (Tripuri was a small village in the Central Provinces), it decided to take a more active part in the States People's movements. As if to emphasise the common national aims of the political struggles in British India and in the States, Jawaharlal Nehru became the President of the All-India States People's Conference in 1939. The States People's movement awakened national consciousness among the people of the States. It also spread a new consciousness of unity all over India.

It was only after 1947 that the full importance of having an iron hand over the whimsical princes was realised, when India was integrating herself into one nation.

KEY FEATURES OF GOI ACT OF 1935

INTRODUCTION : The Government of India Act was passed by the British Government in the year 1935. It was one of the lengthiest Acts at that time as it contained 321 sections and 10 schedules. Once the act was passed the government saw that it was too lengthy to be regulated with efficiency and thus, the government decided to divide it into two parts for the act to function in a proper manner: The Government of India Act, 1935 and The Government of Burma Act,1935.

The Act gave new dimensions to the affairs of the country by the development of an All India Federation, Provisional autonomy and the removal of the dyarchy. It was also the last constitution of British India, before the country was divided, in 1947, into two parts-India and Pakistan. The act was implemented and formed from the sources like the Simon Commission Report, the three roundtable conferences etc. which were earlier declined by the government. The Act proposed various amendments in context to the act earlier framed in the year 1919.

HOW DID THE ACT COME INTO FORCE

• The Government Act of 1919, was not satisfactory and was too short in its provisions for the self-government form to be brought to India. The provisions were not enough to fulfill the aspirations that Indians expected. A lot of discussions took place which led to the Rowlatt Act in the same year. When the Simon Commission Report came out later (as a review), it was felt the report was not satisfactory, leading to multiple Round Table Conferences at London in 1930-32.
• The matter was important and was discussed in the round tables of 1930, 1931, and 1932 respectively.
• On the basis of the report by the government, a committee consisting 20 representatives from British India (which consisted 7 members from Indian states including 5 Muslims) was formed, that discussed in 1933. After a lot of debate, the report arrived at the end of 1934, recommending passing of this Act.
• The matter went to the parliament that gave its assent to the Act, which was passed in the year 1935 and came to be known as the Government of India Act, 1935. The provisions and the material for the act were mainly derived from the Nehru Report, Lothian report, Simon Commission Report, the White papers, the Joint Selection Commission Report to form the Act. A reason for the enactment was the presistence of Indian leaders who urged and fought to bring reforms in the country through these.

IMPOSING DYARCHY AT THE CENTRE OF THE  GOVERNMENT

• Dyarchy means a double form of government (dual form) and was first brought in 1919 by the Government of India Act for the administration of policies by the British government.
• What is Dyarchy? It is a division of the executive branch of each provincial government into authoritarian and popularly responsible sections. The first was made of executive councillors, appointed by the Crown. The second was composed of ministers chosen by the governor from the elected members (Indians) of the provincial legislatures. 
• The Dyarchy was divided into parts - the Reserved and the Transferred depending upon the subject matters related.
• The provisions were divided under the heads of the advice of the ministers and the councilors. Dyarchy was imposed for better administration and the Governor General was to look after and coordinate among the two parts of the government.
• The Act gave a new dimension by making it a Federal form of Government. The viceroy was vested with certain overriding and certifying powers under the Secretary of State for India. The main purpose of imposing Dyarchy was to bring stability and efficiency at the center. 

IMPORTANCE OF THE ACT

The Act holds great importance in Indian history.

• The introduction of this Act ended the Dyarchy system by giving more freedom to British India for better governance in the form of Provincial Autonomy 
• There was a division of the federal subjects between the Centre and the provinces, as the division in the 1919 Act was revised
• It led to the relationship of a Dominion Status which ignited the desire for full freedom again
• The Act made the Governor General the pivot of the constitution to settle disputes 
• It stressed protection of minorities and women etc. and safeguarding their rights

FEATURES OF THE ACT

Salient features were

1. Introduced a dyarchy at the central level in the government
2. Focused to fulfill the national aspirations
3. Gave a measure to form a federal form of government and an all India Federation (it never happened finally)
4. Tried making a federal form of Government in India (which is the model in Indian constitution too) by dividing the centre and its units under three lists - Federal List, Provincial List, and Concurrent list - while the residuary powers were with the Viceroy,
5. Separation of states led to the creation of two new states - Sindh and Orissa
6. Extended the franchise by giving 10% voting rights to the public
7. Provided for the establishment of a federal court which (done in 1937)
8. Abolished the Indian Council and made provision for the introduction of an advisory body in India
9. Re-organized certain provinces such as separating Burma from India
10. Establishment of the Reserve bank of India (RBI) for monetary and currency control in India.

WHY DID THE ACT FAIL

The Act had much promise to the people for welfare but was not able to deliver anything substantial finally.

• The concept of an All India Federation failed completely because the Indian National Congress never supported it. The representation of the princely states was still in the hands of the British so the concept could not be implemented.
• It failed to provide flexibility to the people at the constitutional level with regards amendments of rights as the power to change or alter any right was with the British government while the Indians could do nothing.
• The Act failed to provide a proper federal structure, as majority of the power was with the Governor General who was not responsible for the central legislature. Finally, the outbreak of World War II in 1939 ended the whole story!

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT ACT OF 1935 AND 1919

CONCLUSION

• The Government of India Act, 1935 was a major step before the independence of India in 1947. It helped in the reorganization of states - Sindh was separated from the province of Bombay, Bihar and Orissa were separated, Aden which was earlier a part of the country was separated and made a new crown colony.
• The Government of India Act was a failure as it could not be taken to its logical end.
• The concept of dyarchy proved to be wrong and the Act was opposed by the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League both.
• Due to the lack of provision of a central government, the Act did not truly empower anyone. Jawaharlal Nehru said that the act for Indians seemed like-” Driving a car with all brakes but with no engine”.     

Provincial elections of 1937 and the congress ministries

• The demise of the Civil Disobedience Movement around 1934 resulted in serious dissension within Congress, in the same way as it had happened after the withdrawal of Non Cooperation Movement (NCM) in 1922.
• While Gandhi temporarily withrew from active politics, the socialists and other leftist elements formed the Congress Socialist Party within Congress in 1934. Nehru never formally joined this group, whose ideology ranged from radical nationalism to advocacy of Marxian wcientific socialism.
• The divide within Congress centred on two issues: (a) Council Entry and (b) Office acceptance.
• At the Lucknow Congress in 1936, majority of delegates led by Dr. Rajendra Prasad and Vallabhbhai Patel with the blessing of Gandhiji, came to the view that contesting elections & subsequent acceptance of office under Act of 1935 would help boost the flagging morale of the Congress.
• The AICC meeting in August 1936 in Bombay decided in favour of contesting election but postponed the decision on office acceptance until elections were over.
• The federal part of the Government of India Act, 1935 was never introduced but provincial autonomy came into operation from 1937. Though new constitutional reforms fell far short of India's national aspirations, but the Congress decided to contest the elections to the assembles in the provinces under the new Act of 1935.
• Elections : 
• Provincial elections were held in British India in the winter of 1936-37 as mandated by the Government of India Act 1935. Elections were held in 11 provinces- Madras, Central Provinces, Bihar, Orissa, United Provinces, Bombay Presidency, Assam, NWFP, Bengal, Punjab and Sindh.
• The 1937 election was the first in which large masses of Indians were eligible to participate. An estimated 30.1 million persons, including 4.25 million women, had acquired the right to vote (14% of the total population), and 15.5 million of these, including 917,000 women, actually did exercise their franchise.
• Election result :
• The results were in favour of the Indian National Congress. Of the total of 1,585 seats, it won 707 (44.6%). Among the 864 seats assigned "general" constituencies, it contested 739 and won 617. Of the 125 non-general constituencies contested by Congress, 59 were reserved for Muslims and in those the Congress won 25 seats, 15 of them in the entirely-Muslim North-West.
• Frontier Province : The All-India Muslim League won 106 seats (6.7% of the total), placing it as second-ranking party.The election results were a blow to the League. The Muslim League fared badly even in provinces predominantly inhabited by Muslims.After the election, Muhammad Ali Jinnah of the League offered to form coalitions with the Congress. The League insisted that the Congress should not nominate any Muslims to the ministries, as it (the League) claimed to be the exclusive representative of Indian Muslims. This was not acceptable to the Congress, and it declined the League's offer.
• The only other party to win more than 5 percent of all the assembly seats was the Unionist Party (Punjab), with 101 seats.
• Formation of Ministries :
• AICC sanctioned office acceptance by overriding objections of Nehru and other CSP leaders. Nehru’s objections hinged on the argument that by running provincial governments, Congress would be letting down the masses whose high spirits the Congress itself had once helpd.
• Congress Ministries were formed in 8 out of 11 provinces of India in 1937.
• The Madras Presidency :
• The Government of India Act of 1935 established a bicameral legislature in the Madras province. The Legislature consisted of the Governor and two Legislative bodies - a Legislative Assembly and a Legislative Council.
• The Justice Party had been in power in Madras for 17 years since 1920. Its hold on power was briefly interrupted only once in 1926-28. The Justice Government under the Raja of Bobbili had been steadily losing ground since the early 1930s, due to factional politics and the autocratic rule of Bobbili Raja.
• The Justice Party was seen as the collaborative party, agreeing with the British Government's harsh measures. Its economic policies during the Great Depression of the 1930s were also highly unpopular. Its refusal to decrease the land revenue taxation in non-Zamindari areas by 12.5% was hugely unpopular. The Bobbili Raja, himself a Zamindar, cracked down on the Congress protests demanding reduction of the revenue.
• The Swaraj Party which had been the Justice party's main opposition merged with the Indian National Congress in 1935 when the Congress decided to participate in the electoral process. The Civil Disobedience movement, the Land Tax reduction agitations and Union organizations helped the Congress to mobilize popular opposition to the Bobbili Raja government. The revenue agitations brought the peasants into the Congress fold and the Gandhian hand spinning programme assured the support of weavers. Preferential treatment given to European traders brought the support of the indigenous industrialists and commercial interests.
• Congress won 74% of all seats, eclipsing the incumbent Justice Party (21 seats). Despite being the majority party in the Assembly and the Council, the Congress was hesitant to form a Government. Their objections stemmed from the special powers given to the Governor by the Government of India Act of 1935. Eventually an interim Government was formed with Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu of the Justice Party as Chief Minister on 1 April 1937. Congress leaders like S. Satyamurti were apprehensive about the decision to not accept power. They carried out a campaign to convince Congress High Command to accept power within the limitations set by the Government of India Act. They also appealed to the British Government to give assurances that the Governor's special powers will not be misused.
• On 22 June, Viceroy Linlithgow issued a statement expressing the British Government's desire to work with the Congress in implementing the 1935 Act. On 1 July, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) agreed to form Governments in the provinces they had won. On 14 July, Rajaji was sworn in as the Chief Minister.
• The 1937 elections marked the start of the Indian National Congress' participation in the governance of India. In the Madras Presidency, it also marked the beginning of Rajaji's ascendancy in the Congress Legislature Party.
• Sindh :
• These were the first elections in the province after its creation in 1936. The Sindh Legislative Assembly had 60 members. The Sind United Party emerged the leader with 22 seats. In the General constituencies, the Sind Hindu Mahasabha won eleven seats, the Congress Party eight seats.
• Mohammad Ali Jinnah had tried to set up a League Parliamentary Board in Sindh in 1936, but he failed, though 72% of the population was Muslim.Though 34 seats were reserved for Muslims, the Muslim League could secure none of them.
• United Provinces :
• The UP legislature consisted of a Legislative Council of 52 elected and 6 or 8 nominated members and a Legislative Assembly of 228 elected members: some from exclusive Muslim constituencies, some from "General" constituencies, and some "Special" constituencies.
• The Congress won a clear majority in the United Provinces, with 133 seats, while the Muslim League won only 27 out of the 64 seats reserved for Muslims.
• Assam :
• In Assam, the Congress won 33 seats out of a total of 108 making it the single largest party, though it was not in a position to form a ministry.
• The Governor called upon Sir Muhammad Sadulla, ex-Judicial Member of Assam and Leader of the Assam Valley Muslim Party to form the ministry.The Congress was a part of the ruling coalition.
• Bombay :
• GOI Act,1935 created a bicameral legislature in the Bombay province.
• The Congress fell just short of gaining half the seats. However, it was able to draw on the support of some small pro-Congress groups to form a working majority. B.G. Kher became the first Chief Minister of Bombay.
• Other provinces :
• In three additional provinces, Central Provinces, Bihar, and Orissa, the Congress won clear majorities.
• In the overwhelmingly Muslim North-West Frontier Province, Congress won 19 out of 50 seats and was able, with minor party support, to form a ministry.
• The Unionist Party under Sikander Hyat Khan formed the government in Punjab with 67 out of 175 seats. The Congress won 18 seats and the Akali Dal, 10.
• In Bengal, though the Congress was the largest party (with 52 seats), The Krishak Praja Party of A. K. Fazlul Huq (with 36 seats) was able to form a coalition government.
• Rule of Congress Ministries(1937-39) :
• Rule of Congress ministry aroused many expectations among almost all classes. There was all around increased civil liberty and many legislations regarding land reform, industry reform, social reform etc. were passes in many provinces.
• But the achievements of the Congress ministries during two years frustrated several groups that had voted for Congress (industrial working class, peasants, dalits).
• Dalits and their leaders were not impressed with only few caste disabilities being removed and temple entry bills by Congress ministries.
• Congress victories had aroused the hopes of industrial working class leading to increased militancy and industrial unrest in Bombay, Gujarat, UP and Bengal at a time when Congress was drawn into a closer friendship with Indian capitalists. This resulted in the allegedly anti-labour shift in Congress attitudes that led to The Bombay Traders Disputes Act in 1938.
• Congress also found it difficult to rise up to expectations of farmer voters who were expecting radical changes.
• Another dilemma of Congress leadership was visible regarding princely India (to support Prajamandal movement or not).
• Pirpur Committee was established in 1938 by the All India Muslim League to prepare a detailed report regarding the ‘atrocities’ of the Congress Ministries (1937-1939). Its report charged the Congress for interference with the religious rites, suppression of Urdu and propaganda of Hindi, denial of legitimate representation and suppression in economy of the Muslims.

Leading individuals in Indian Independence movement in 1920s, 30s and 40s

1. The Lok Nayak : Born on the 11th of October, 1902, Jayaprakash Narayan came to be known as Lok Nayak (People’s hero) for his credible work in the field of social reform and independent activism.
2. Won the Bharat Ratna : JP was posthumously awarded India’s greatest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, in 1999. He also received the Magsaysay award on account of his public service.
3. Married a freedom fighter : JP married Prabhavati Devi, at an early age of 18, a freedom fighter herself who was to later become an inmate of the Mahatma Gandhi’s ashram, upon his request.
4. Washed dishes to pay his fees : In 1922 Narayan travelled to the US, where he was admitted into Berkeley. To pay for his education he did a number of menial jobs from plucking grapes to washing dishes and mending automobiles as a mechanic.
5. Jailed several times : He was jailed and tortured several times by the British, as a member of the INC. He was was one of the frontrunners of the Quit India movement. Gandhiji was JP’s mentor in INC.
6. Was carried on shoulders : Because he was ill, Yogendra Shukla a fellow colleague of the nationalist movement carried him on his shoulders to Gaya – a distance of 124 km.
7. Started the “Total Revolution” : He called it the Sampoorna Kranti, as he campaigned for total transformation in the Indian political system as it had become corrupt post-independence. That upset the government of Indira Gandhi in a big way, in 1970s.
8. Stood up against Indira Gandhi : In 1975, Indira Gandhi declared a national emergency after JP and others refused to budge on their claims that she had violated constitutional and electoral laws – something that was confirmed by the Allahabad High Court. He was subsequently jailed by Gandhi for his protests. JP guided the formation of the Janata Party that won the elections in 1977.
9. His death was announced before his death : The Indian PM Morarjibhai Desai mistakenly declared him dead (in March 1979), leading to national mourning, while he was still admitted in the hospital. Later, when informed about the incident he smiled.

1. Early Life : Narendra Dev, born on 31st October 1889 in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh was the second eldest son among the four sons of father Baldeva Prasad and mother Jawahar Devi. As a child, Narendra was deeply impressed by Swami Rama Tirtha and Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya who were among the many saints and scholars welcomed by his father. Narendra was only ten when he accompanied his father to a session of Indian National Congress held at Lucknow in 1899. At the age of fifteen Narendra was married and had a son and a daughter. However, the children died soon and his wife after a few years later. His early education came in Sanskrit and scriptures from the pundits that used to visit his house.
2. Education : His formal education, he joined the local high school and proved his brilliance by passing the entrance examination in first division in 1906. For further education he joined the Muir Central College at Allahabad and passed his intermediate, also, in first division. By 1911 he had completed his B.A, by 1913 he had completed his M.A, and completed his L.L.B in 1915. Many prominent leaders like Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Aurobindo Ghosh, Bipin Chandra Pal, and many others had left an inerasable impression on Narendra Dev during his stay at Allahabad. Soon after Bal Gangadhar Tilak had been released from the prison, Narendra met with him and conveyed his eagerness to participate in the Indian Freedom Movement on an active basis.
3. Career : His political career officially initiated when he started a branch of the Home Rule League in 1916. It was about the same time when Jawaharlal Nehru asked him to join Kashi Vidyapeeth in Benares. With Dr. Bhagwan Das as the principal and Sri Prakash and Sampurnanand as his colleagues; he thought of it as a perfect opportunity to combine all his passions: studying, teaching, and active political work. It was in 1922 that his father passed away, Narendra Dev started to accept a small salary of Rs. 150 per month; before that he had refused to work for salary. From Narendra Dev to Acharya Narendra Dev; the transition happened when he was appointed as the Principal of Kashi Vidyapeeth after Dr. Bhagwan Das' retirement from the same.
4. Independence League of India : In 1928, Acharya Narendra Dev joined and worked as a secretary of the Independence League of India. Later in 1929, he led the boycott of Simon Commission in Benares. And later in 1930, he participated in the Civil Disobedient Movement and was imprisoned for a period of three months. Twice in his career Acharya Narendra Dev was elected to the U.P. legislative Assembly but both times he refused to join the cabinet, as the Congress Socialist Party was not in favor of such participation. For the Satyagraha Movement (1940) and the Quit India Movement (1942), Acharya Narendra Dev was arrested yet again and imprisoned for three years. After Gandhi's death, he left the Congress party and formed the Socialist party that later merged with the Kisan Majdoor Praja Party of J.B. Kripalani in 1952 and became the Praja Socialist Party - to which he remained associated till the end.
5. Last years : It was in 1954 that the asthmatic attacks that Acharaya Narendra Dev had been suffering for nearly two decades and got even worse. It was then that his friends persuaded him to take a trip to Europe for treatment. The treatment did provide a relief, but too much strain in the professional lane proved to be of much pain and on 19th February 1956, Acharya Narendra Dev passed away in the city of Erode.

Leading individuals in Indian Independence movement in 1920s, 30s and 40s

1. Early life : Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis was born in a middle class family on October 10, 1910 in Sholapur. A vivacious kid by nature, Dr. Kotnis forever aspired to become a doctor. After completing his graduation in medicine from G. S. Medical College, Bombay, he went on to pursue his post-graduation internship. However, he shelved his post-graduation plans when he got the chance to join the medical aid mission to China. Sensing the crisis there, he willingly volunteered to help the people.
2. Career :  Dr. Kotnis always wanted to travel around the world and practice medicine in different parts of the globe. He started his medical expedition in Vietnam, and then, moved on to Singapore and Brunei. In 1937, the communist General Zhu De requested Jawaharlal Nehru to send Indian physicians to China during the Second Sino-Japanese War to help the soldiers. The President of the Indian National Congress, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose accepted the request and made arrangements to send a team of volunteer doctors. A medical team of five doctors was sent as the part of Indian Medical Mission Team in September 1938. The medical team comprised of M. Atal, M. Cholkar, D. Kotnis, B.K. Basu and D. Mukerji. After the war, all other doctors except Dr. Kotnis, returned back to India. However, Dr. Kotnis decided to stay back and serve at the military base. He initially started his work in Yan'an and then went to the anti-Japanese base area in North China where he worked in the surgical department of the Eighth Route Army General Hospital as the physician-in-charge. Kotnis made China his home and joined the Communist Party of China in July 1942.He also worked as a lecturer for sometime in the Military area at the Dr. Bethune Hygiene School. He took over the post of the first president of the Bethune International Peace Hospital after Dr. Norman Bethune passed away.
3. Contribution : Dr. Kotnis' major contribution was his selfless service to the Chinese soldiers in the battlefield during the Second Sino-Japanese War. He had the heart to stay back in China, even when his colleagues left, just for serving the wounded soldiers during the war. Because of his loyalty, the young Indian doctor became a legendary figure in China.
4. Awards And Accolades : Dwarkanath Kotnis was honored by China with a gold medal during Sino-Japan war of 1938, for saving thousands of Chinese lives.
5. Death : Dr. Kotnis died of a sudden seizure attack in December 1942 at the age of 32 years. It may have been due to over-exertion and infections etc.
6. Legacy : To commemorate his death and his unparalleled contribution to humanity, the Chinese government erected a memorial hall and issued government stamps on the loving memory of his name. Back home, Dr. Kotnis gained popularity posthumously after the publication of his best-selling biography "One Who Did Not Come Back" in 1945. But that is not all. Dwarkanath Kotnis has been commemorated with the Canadian Dr. Bethune in the Martyrs' Memorial Park in Shijiazhuang with the entire south side of the memorial dedicated to Dr. Kotnis.

1. Known as the ‘Patriot of Patriots’ : Netaji Subhash Chandra bose was born on 23 January 1897 in Orissa, Bengal division, was among ninth member of a family of 14 members. Although  Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was opposed to Gandhi ji’s philosophies, Bapu used to call him ‘Patriot of Patriots’. This honor was commendable as Bose really did commit fully to the cause of Indian independence. He is regarded as one of the most patriotic idols to have inspired thousands of young men and women. His political views centred on complete freedom for India whereas other leaders wanted it to happen in phases through a dominion status. He was considered a patriot by some of his rivals in the Congress too. His pursuit of freedom for India was free from any restrictions from whom he would seek the help to do so!
2. Took the help of Enemy’s Enemy : When Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose realized that the British Government would have to be forced hard to leave India, he decided that his enemy’s enemy was his friend. So, he visited Germany and Japan to get their assistance. With the help of Japan he was able to take charge of the Azad Hind Fauj that fought against the Allied forces in South East Asia. Alongwith the Japanese army, they freed the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and came to Manipur. But till that time, Japan had grown weak in the second World War and after its withdrawal from World War, the Azad Hind Fauj had to retreat and disband.
3. Netaji’s escape to Germany : In 1941, with a daring escape from house arrest in India, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose went from Kolkata to Gomo by a car and from there to Peshawar by train. He went to Kabul and then traveled to Germany to seek help for India’s independence from Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. He had certain brief interactions with him, and others in the Nazi party.
4. Netaji’s Family : Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was born in 1897, to Janaki Nath Bose and Prabhabati Bose. Netaji had 13 siblings. He was married to a beautiful Austrian women Emille Schenkl. Her daughter was Anita Bose who became an economist in Germany. 
5. Ranked fourth in the ICS exam : As he completed his graduation, he went to England to appear in the ICS exams to fulfill the promise he had made to his father. As expected, he performed excellently well and stood fourth on the merit list. But he did not wanted to work for the government that he had grown to hate. The Jalianwalla Bagh scene had left a mark on his memory, and in 1921 he  decided to resign from ICS while still undergoing his internship.  Netaji was the editor in chief of the newspaper” Forward”. 
6. President of the INC : By 1938, Bose was a leader of national stature and agreed to accept nomination as Congress President.He wanted unqualified Swaraj (self-governance), including the use of force if needed. Bose attempted to maintain unity in face of Mahatma Gandhi’s opposition, but Gandhi advised him to form his own cabinet. The rift also divided Bose and Nehru. He was elected president of INC in 1938 at Haripura, and later again in 1939 at Tripuri, over Gandhi's preferred candidate Pattabhi Sitaramayya.
7. All India Forward Bloc : The All India Forward Bloc was founded by him, while in the Congress, during 1939 to consolidate the Left leaning in the Party. His elder brother Sarat Chandra Bose and Chitta Basu were important members of it in independent India. It had its stronghold in West Bengal. He traveled around the country, rallying support for his new political project, holding the first All India bloc meeting in Nagpur. In August 1942, the British banned it. Inside India, local activists of the Forward Bloc continued the anti-British activities.
8. Leader of the Indian National Army : The Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) was an armed force formed by Indian nationalist Rash Behari Bose in 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II, with the goal of securing Indian independence from British rule. The Army was made of Indian PoWs of the British-Indian Army captured by Japan in the Malayan campaign and at Singapore. This first INA collapsed and was disbanded, and then Rash Behari Bose handed over INA to Subhas Chandra Bose, after his arrival in Southeast Asia in 1943. The army was declared to be the army of Bose's Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind (the Provisional Government of Free India). Under Bose's leadership, the INA drew ex-prisoners and thousands of civilian volunteers from the Indian expatriate population in Malaya (present-day Malaysia) and Burma. This second INA fought along with the Imperial Japanese Army against the British and Commonwealth forces in the campaigns in Burma, in Imphal and at Kohima, and later against the successful Burma Campaign of the Allies.
9. Death : Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s death remains a mystery till date. Some experts say that he died in a plane crash in Taipei, Taiwan on 18 August, 1945. Some feel that he did not die in that crash. No body was recovered and only some ashes were taken to Japan. Over the years, rumours grew that he didn’t die at all and lived on in Russia and later in India, where he took sanyas and resided in U.P by the name of Bhagwanji or Gumnami Baba. In the consensus of scholarly opinion, Subhas Chandra Bose's death occurred from third-degree burns on 18 August 1945 after his overloaded Japanese plane crashed in Japanese-ruled Formosa (now Taiwan).

 

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