INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS AND THE STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM, 1885-1947
Amales Tripathi
(Translated by Amitava Tripathi)
Oxford University Press; 621 pages; Rs 1,495
The English translation of Amales Tripathi's monumental work in Bengali on the Indian National Congress deserves special attention for several reasons. It is not just one more book on the well-documented theme of India's struggles for freedom between 1885 and 1947; it is also a study that deepens the levels of understanding of one of the most powerful anti-imperialist struggles in the history of colonial societies in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Harvard University professor Rupert Emerson concluded in the last chapter of his seminal work, From Empire to Nation: The Rise to Self-Assertion of Asian and African Peoples, that there were only two models of anti-colonial struggles that deserve to be noticed across the continents: those of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi of India and Mao Zedong of China. Only these two acted as real role models for freedom fighters and, in his historical judgement, Emerson asserted that Gandhi's path of struggle for freedom was much more successful than Mao's, which is why the former was immortalised by Nelson Mandela.
So it is fitting that Tripathi says "Gandhi is the nucleus of this study". India witnessed many struggles, which were led by many important leaders who were guided by different ideologies with the common goal of freedom for India from the British. However, only Gandhi and his ideology succeeded in providing Indians with a real road map for attaining independence.
The author analyses with surgical precision the works of historians from the Cambridge School of historiography, the subalternists led by Ranajit Guha, the communists (M N Roy), the moderates such as Dadabhai Naoroji and Mahadev Govind Ranade, the challengers to Gandhi within the Congress, and Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Then he concludes, "…within this plethora of conflicting circumstances, the Congress functioned as a 'truly unifying force' since its main agenda of freedom from British imperialist domination and colonial exploitation transcended all the animosities between individuals, between class and caste." Therefore, it is Gandhian ideology and leadership that triumphed over every challenger and critic from 1885 to 1947.
This study consists of four sections: "The First Phase (1885-1907): From the Founding of the Congress to the Extremist-Moderate Split"; "The Second Phase (1907-1930): From the Morley-Minto Reforms to the Salt March"; "The Third Phase (1930-1943): From the Round Table Conferences to the Quit India Movement"; and "The Fourth Phase (1943-1947): From Wavell to Mountbatten - The Road to Independence and Partition". The narrative is all-inclusive because every competing and conflicting tendency or movement - big or small, sectional or class-oriented - has been properly analysed in the larger historical context of continuity and change.
The British rulers played every trick of the trade to divide and rule over their precious colonial possession. So the nationalists had to handle the "Harijan question" and the "Muslim question" to keep the anti-colonial struggle united. The British were equally determined to weaken this united struggle by making sectarian caste and communal issues intractable. The author has successfully substantiated his claim that Gandhi delegitimised the Hindu caste system by evolving social and ideological approaches to create a solid base for dignity and self-respect for the Dalits. Gandhi countered the colonial rulers' every divisive effort, such as the Communal Award, which was announced by Ramsay MacDonald for separate electorates for the scheduled caste, and the Gandhi-Irwin pact. Gandhi even launched a constructive programme by showing through his own life the untenable nature of "untouchability".
If Indians succeeded in countering British policies on caste, the British, in full collaboration with the Muslim separatist and sectarian leadership led by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, foiled every effort by the nationalists to keep India united. The author critically examines events from 1945 to 1947, when the ugliest form of communalism and the great radicalisation of sections of society were at work so that negotiations for the transfer of power were conducted in an antagonistic atmosphere. Abnormal times and circumstances lead to unexpected and unintended results, and this explains Partition.
An effort has been made to minimise, even ridicule, the anti-imperialist character of Indian nationalism. The author uses just one compelling piece of evidence to expose authors who have written reams demonstrating that the Indian leadership was always inclined to compromise with the British. On whether India should have supported the British in war against Japan, the author quotes Gandhi: "…the presence of the British in India is an invitation to Japan…." Gandhi added that even though "Japan is too much of an aggressor for me", it is not the kind of "calculating imperialist than British have shown itself to be…". Hence, "the British must promise to free India" and, as a condition, India will join the war.
Surprisingly, Tripathi's otherwise meticulously researched study does not contain a single sentence about the presence or involvement of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its powerful anti-imperialist struggles. This omission is significant in the context of present-day India.
