Title of the Thesis

INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS IN PUNJAB

(1885-1947)
CHAPTER - I
-

CHAPTER II
-

EMERGENCE OF INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS AND

HISTORIOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS
Factors responsible for its establishment
Particularly various societies and associations which
ultimately gave birth to INC
LEFTIST MOVEMENT AND INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS
Formation of Leftist group in the INC
How the Leftist Ideology Emerged
Various leaders of the leftist ideology and their activities
within the Congress.

CHAPTER-III POLITICS OF COLLABORATION

Leaders with different ideologies and political ideas.
How they collaborated in their ideas and activities.
What was their response and reactions to the national
movement/freedom struggle launched by the Indian
National Congress.
CHAPTER IV
-

CHAPTER - V
-

VARIOUS MOVEMENTS IN PUNJAB AND THE INDIAN

NATIONAL CONGRESS
Gadhar Movement, Reaction towards Rowlett Act, 1918,
Jallianwala Bagh, Non-cooperation Movement, Civil
Disobedience Movement, Individual Satyagraha, Quit
India Movement and other related revolutionary
activities in Punjab. Reaction and response of the People
of Punjab to all these events and their impact on the
province of Punjab.
POLITICS IN PUNJAB: RESPONSE AND REACTIONS
The reaction of the various political parties in Punjab to
the constitutional development- particularly towards the
act of 1909, 1919 and 1935, especially the communal
issues and the participation of the political parties like
the Unionist Party, the Communist Party, the Akali's etc.
towards the above mentioned issues.
Activities and contribution of the various political parties
have been highlighted and how these political parties
were involved in the National Movement and its various
struggles launched from time to time.

CHAPTER - VI
-

CHAPTER - VII
-

The impact and participation of the various political

parties in the different events related to the freedom
struggle led by the INC in Punjab.
How Punjab became a leading province in this freedom
struggle?
ROLE OF PUNJAB IN THE NATIONAL FREEDOM STRUGGLE
The people of Punjab and the province itself took an
active and keen participation in the various movementsmentioned above has been highlighted.
What was the impact of Punjab's role in the freedom
struggle, on the people of other regions of the country?
What was the reaction of the then government towards
the involvement of the political parties and people of
Punjab in the ongoing freedom struggle.
INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS IN PUNJAB (1905-1947)
The significance of the role of Punjab and the relation
between the Indian National Congress and the Punjab,
particularly the Sikhs of the Punjab have been critically
examined and highlighted.
How many political groups existed which took active
part in the freedom struggle have also been traced out
and a concrete contribution of Punjab in relation with the
Indian National Congress have also been studied?

CONCLUSION
The Punjab being the last of the provinces to be annexed to the
British Indian Empire, the political awakening late started here.
Western education was also introduced late which resulted in a very
slow growth of political consciousness. In the Punjab there were
three "well-matched" communities, the Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs,
who were more concerned about their separate entities.
Muslims considered that Congress was dominated by the
Hindus, so they were indifferent towards it. The Sikhs led by the
Chief Khalsa Diwan, pro-government were not enthusiastic in the
beginning to join the Congress. It was Gurdwara Reform Movement
which turned tide in the Sikh politics. The Congress fully lent its
support to the Akalis during the trouble to reform their shrines. Thus
Akalis became spear head for spreading the Congress ideology
among the Sikhs.
Another factor that impeded the progress of the Congress
movement in the province was that while Gandhi's ideals and
programs had appeal for rural masses, the Congress in Punjab was
mostly confined to urban Hindus who could hardly appreciate their
purport and importance.
But despite all this, the Congress played an important role in
the politics of Punjab, because in this period the Congress passed
the resolution of complete independence. A program of Civil
Disobedience Movement was launched to support this resolution. In
the beginning, the major program of Civil Disobedience Movement
was confined to the mere violation of salt laws but the province had
practically no natural facilities for manufacturing salt. There were
Kheura salt mines in the Jhelum district but it was populated
predominantly by the Muslims who were, by and large, keeping
themselves aloof from the movement. Therefore, the Movement was

confined to picketing of liquor shops, prohibition and burning of

foreign cloth.
The Round Table Conferences were, however, very significant
as far as the Punjab problem was concerned. The Muslims having a
majority of the population demanded a statutory majority in the
legislature. The Hindus formed the largest minority in Punjab.
Hindus asserted for joint electorates. They too felt that their security
lay in the strong centre where they were sure to be in majority. The
Sikhs did not form absolute majority in any of the districts of Punjab.
The dilemma of the Sikh leadership was to safeguard their interest
without a lever which the Muslims and the Hindus had. The Sikhs,
therefore, opposed statutory majority of the Muslims in the
legislature. It was at the Round Table Conferences that the Indian
politicians and freedom fighters realized that without solving the
problem of Punjab, no solution of communal problem was possible.
The problem of Punjab was closely linked with India's freedom and
constitutional advancement. At the second Round Table Conference
Gandhi made efforts to solve the problem but he failed. The main
problem

of

Punjab

was

the

communal

deadlock

regarding

representation.
Since, there was no settlement the British Government
presented

the

Communal

Award

in

1932.

Mahatma

Gandhi

undertook a fast unto death against the Communal Award, because

the Award separated Scheduled Castes from the Hindu community
which was against the ideology of Gandhi who considered Harijans a
part of the Hindu society. Ultimately Gandhi and the Harijan leader
Dr. Ambedkar singed the Poona Pact and agreed to modify the
Communal Award. The Congress refused to participate in the Third
Round Table Conference. It ultimately led to the passing of the
Government of India Act 1935.

Like other political parties, the Akalis boycotted the Simon

Commission. They, however, differed with the Nehru Report which
had not given separate representation to the Sikhs, though this
principle had been accepted for the Muslims. In protest they did not
join the Lahore Session of the Congress. When the majority of the
Akalis under Master Tara Singh's leadership participated in the Civil
Disobedience Movement, one section of the Akalis under Baba
Kharak Singh did not participate in the movement because of noninclusion of the Sikh color in the flag of the Indian National Congress.
However, the Akalis opposed the Congress for its neutral attitude
towards the Communal Award.
The elections were held under the Government of India Act of
1935. Barring few provinces including the Punjab, the Congress
succeeded in gaining a majority in the rest of the country. In Punjab
the Unionist Party formed the Government.
Lahore was one of the ideological centers, which came into
existence in various parts of the country, in early 1920's. M.R. Khan,
Shammsuddin Hussan and Ghulam Hussan took a leading part in the
formation of the Communist Party in Lahore. In the beginning their
work was primarily confined to requirement of members into their
circles and dissemination of the communist literature obtained. From
abroad, Ghulam Hussan came into contact with the Bolshevist
Centre, when he visited Kabul. After his return to Lahore, he started
a communist newspaper Inqilab. The motive behind it was to
promote communism in Punjab and to obtain hold in the labour and
Kisan, Organization of Lahore. However, the Lahore group which had
started crystallizing around the Inqilab collapsed soon because of
the arrest of its founder in June 1923. The work of communist
propaganda had been undertaken by the Ghadrites at the time of
third international organization. The Ghadr group was convinced that
the British rule would only be over thrown with the help of arms and

there was no other way to do so. In March 1921, the Ghadr group
published, a pamphlet Inqilab-i-Hind, which clearly started its
ideology.
It was through Rattan Singh that the Punjab Ghadrites were
maintaining contacts with the third International Organization. And,
he himself was collaborating with the communist international. At
this stage a batch of five Ghadrites left for Russia to be trained in
Communists propaganda, who maintained contacts with the Kabul
centre, which was definitely of Communist learning. In reality, the
Kirti Kisan movement was merged in the communists, who always
thought in terms of helping the agrarian movement. Similarly, the
other political associations had always shown and were out to show
their sympathies with the agrarian movement which showed that all
these groups were having left learning to some extent and also had
close contacts with the Communists. For example; even before its
birth three Peshawar conspiracy cases (1921-22) were instituted
against the revolutionary workers having communist ideology. To get
a permanent hold and to propagate their ideas among the paper
Jang-i-Azadi, soon after this the agrarian movement gathered
momentum. Then those who held communist leanings, wanted to
start agrarian movement enemas under the communists banner.
Similarly the tenants of the states received a sufficient backing from
the communist leadership. The so called Kisan conferences were
being organized by the tenants in league with the so called
communists in the states. Similarly, the communists tried to take
the tenants and small landholders in the organization. The Kisan
Sabhas were at first mistaken for communist organization. To speak
of any influences of the communist ideology over peasants at this
date was ridiculous. With their conservative tradition bound and
superstitious out look were anti-revolutionary petit-bourgeois and
unsuitable raw material for a revolution. But later on, as stated

above, the communists were real leaders of the Punjab Kirti Kisan
Movement in the Punjab states as well.
It was, however, this group which exposed ruthlessly the
dreadful reality of imperialism. It also advocated that total liberty
could not be attained without eradicating it from social and
economic fields. It equally exposed the stooges and the allied forces
of Imperialism, rajwara-shahi, jagirdari and capitalism and made
their extinction an essential objective of freedom struggle. The
communist leadership also laid emphasis on the special role of
workers and peasants in the freedom struggle and along with
organizing and marshaling them for the protection of their interests
and rights, it too made them conscious and active to make
maximum contribution in the national freedom struggle.
In numerous revolutionary struggles, this group was in the
forefront. Its role in the Ghadr Lehar, the Babbar Akali Lehar the
Naujawan Bharat Sabha, the Pepsu Muzaras movement was
prominent. As seen earliest, the young terrorist revolutionaries also
established contact with the small communist groups which were
sprouting up all over the country. Particularly in Punjab but also in
Kanpur and Allahabad, they maintained close contact with the
communists. During the years 1928-30, the communist terrorist
revolutionaries worked together in the Naujawan Bharat Sabha. And
we have already noted that one of the major objectives of the
Sabha, as laid down in its rules and regulations, was the
organization of the workers and peasants. The Naujawan Bharat
Sabha, also decided to open branches in villages in order to
emphasize the value of work in the rural areas and the communists
were always supporting them.
Ghadr party has been taken up to the extent it contributed to
the formation and growth of the Kirti Kisan Party owed much to the
Ghadr because the idea of the formation of the Kirti Kisan Party

originated with the Ghadr Group. Its founders Bhai Santokh Singh
and Bhai Rattan Singh definitely came to India for organizing
workers and peasants. Particularly Bhai Santokh Singh who had
stayed back in India got in touch which the radical socialist minded
workers at Amritsar, Lahore and Dhariwal. Bhag Singh and Rattan
Singh were other important members of this organization. Almost all
the leaders of Ghadr Group and the Kirti Kisan Party had received
training in Communist propaganda. In single word they worked in
India under the influence of socialism and communism. The
leadership of Ghadr Group, Kirti Kisan Party, Naujawan Bharat
Sabha, Babbar Akalis derived inspiration and courage from the
communist ideas and ideology. They not only propagated the leftist
ideas and programs but also succeeded in involving masses at large
in the freedom struggle. These groups with leftist ideas fought
against, capitalism, imperialism, feudalism and exploitation. They
also denounced communal approach of the leading political parties
like Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha. These political parties helped
indirectly the cause of National Independence which had been taken
up by the Indian National Congress. The importance of these
political groups with leftist ideas worked in the rural areas. They took
up their problems and demands and fought for their genuine
grievances. They even forced the Indian National Congress to
include the demand of the masses particularly the peasants and
workers in its agenda as well as the resolution it used to pass every
year in its annual session.
During fourteen years of its existence as a part of the Indian
National Congress, the Congress Socialists made bold attempts to
interpret Marxism in India terms, to impart socio-economic contents
to the policies and program of the Congress, to mobilize peasant and
working classes for making a national movement a truly mass
movement.

The Congress Socialists emphasized the humanist foundations

of socialism. They looked upon Marx as a savior of the oppressed
and a champion of the downtrodden, who was inspired by humanist
real of suffering for the redemption of the exploited and tormented
humanity. Having great faith in Marxism, they believed that
humanist affiliations had made Marxism a dynamic philosophy of the
present and it could build a new social order based on democracy
co-operation, economic equality and social justice. They gave a new
and

convincing

explanation

of

Marxism.

For

them

Marxism

envisioned classless society wherein masses would no longer be

treated as stocks and stones and all form of exploitation would
cease. To them, socialism did not mean gross materialism; they also
did not conceive it as a cultural movement. The aim of the
movement was to end not only mans economic prostration and
social stagnation, but also its cultural decadence. They affirmed that
socialism sought to invest man with lofty virtues like valour, self
reliance and a sense of pride, besides ending his sorry economic
plight. Therefore, socialism was not merely a problem of bread and
butter but a cultural movement. Scientific socialism, they believed,
was not mere reformism, it aimed at establishing a new order in
which means of production, distribution and exchange would be
owned by the community as a whole rather than by a class. The
policy of reformism militated against scientific socialism.
The Congress Socialists were skeptical of the efficacy of nonviolence. They refused to adhere to the Gandhian concept of
Ahmisa. They frankly admitted before Gandhiji in 1945 that they
could not subscribe to Gandhian view in non-violence. But it does
not mean that they did not believe in the purity of means. They were
of the view that means and aims were inter-dependent.
The Congress Socialists emphasized the need of an economic
ideology for mobilizing mass action. This poses a serious academic

problem viz., relationship between socialism and nationalism the two

apparently

contradictory

movements.

But

socialist

leaders

successfully harmonized nationalist liberation struggle and the

agitation for the emancipation of the workers. They were convinced
that socialism could not be built without the conquest of power.
Therefore, they looked upon the freedom struggle as a prelude to
socialism and it should be socialist constant endeavor to influence
the national movement in the direction of socialism. They urged the
Indian communists to shed the dogmatic attitude and were of the
view that it would be suicidal to cut themselves off from the national
movement. They tried to put the impress of a vital and vigorous
anti-imperialist program on the national movement as typified by
Congress.
But no socialist movement could succeed in India without the
solid support of the masses, particularly peasantry and workers. The
Congress socialists were of the view that they should try to broaden
the social basis of their movement by bringing into their fold workers
and peasants. But they urged the necessity of having separate
peasant

organizations.

The

Congress

being

multi-class

organization the peasants could not fully assert them in the national
organization. They keenly felt the need of giving peasants a
preliminary training in an organization of his own class so that he
could play a more independent role. They however pointed out the
danger occurring from peasants, which could ferment unhealthy
struggle between the urban and rural classes. However, socialists
advocated a radical scheme of agrarian reconstruction to rescue the
peasantry from appalling poverty. They stressed the need of
organizing and strengthening co-operative societies as to bring the
bulk of the peasants into line with the social reconstruction. They
advocated a radical transformation of the land system and urged the
abolition of the mass of the middle men between the actual titters of

the soil and the state. They favored some sort of democratic village
government introducing the commonwealth in the village. Thus,
they elaborated and gave content to what is today termed as
Sarvodaya.
The Congress Socialists held that the economic freedom for the
masses was not possible without the common ownership of the
means of production, but this end, they emphasized, should be
achieved with minimum loss of personal freedom. They advocated
the adoption of democratic techniques to counteract the autocratic
powers of bureaucracy which it would assume in the wake of
planning. They were conscious that the problem of achieving both
economic security and liberty bristled with difficulties.
The

Congress

Socialists

were

strongly

in

favour

of

industrialization of India, but key industries they stressed should be

nationalized, while other industries should be run under state
supervision and control. They also urged to scrap the feudal
economy. They, however, allowed growth of cottage industries and
some other industries under local bodies and corporation and
cooperative societies. They proposed that the workers must as a
class had control in the management of industry. They held that the
dictatorship of the proletariat was not indispensable. Socialists came
to believe that socialism could be established through a democratic
system process gradually, if the two parties (Socialists and
Communists) agreed to a common program.
The Congress Socialists exhorted their countrymen to rise
above narrow caste, racial, religious, provincial and communal
consideration. The institutional form of religion meant to them a
bastion

of

reactionary

forces.

They

were

also

opposed

to

regimentation of thought and stressed the need for critical analysis

and outlook based on a broad humanism and rooted in the great
ideals of social justice, freedom, and equality.

In brief, we can say that these socialists contribution to the

socialist movement in India was threefold. In the first place, they
helped to make socialism an integral part of the national struggle for
freedom and thus saved it from the obvious pitfalls of pseudointernationalism. In the second place, they gave due importance to
agrarian

reforms

in

their

subsequent

policy

statements

and

programs for they were sure that without the solid support of
peasantry the socialist movement could not succeed. And lastly,
they synthesized nationalism, Socialism and secularism. At last we
can say that ideas and efforts of socialists imparted a fresh
dimension to the Congress and created hope and confidence among
the masses.
The political groups under review believed in violence and
revolutionary activities. They opposed Gandhian view of nonviolence. However, they believed, in the purity of means. Let it be
stated that these groups emphasized the need of an economic
ideology for mobilizing and organizing mass action. Above all, the
leaderships of these groups held that without obtaining power,
emancipation of the workers, peasants and other sections of the
downtrodden could not be achieved.
The most important point worth-mentioning is that these
political groups felt convinced that without the support of peasantry,
workers and common masses independence could neither be
achieved nor socialist movement could be carried out successfully.
At the every outset, these groups brought leftist 'literature from
abroad and distributed it, among their countrymen. Finally we may
say that they contributed towards the achievement of countries goal
i.e. independence. They also made the Congress a great success
and shaped it as an organization of the common people. All the
movements during the struggle of independence became strong and
successful because of the efforts of the various political groups

which were not only working within the Congress rather making the
Congress a truly nation-wide political organization. Thus the credit of
independence goes not only to the Indian National Congress rather,
its other factions to deserve admiration for their work, patience and
ultimate contribution in the freedom struggle of the country.
Punjab's role is not only praise worthy rather it were Punjab and the
Punjabis who were responsible for this great achievement to a great
extent.

During

the course

of this

study I visited

various

educational institutions such as National Archives of India, Janpat

Road, New Delhi; NMML, Teen Murti, New Delhi, Sapru House Library,
New Delhi, National Library, Alipur, Kolkata. Various Central Libraries
of the state of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, etc. and also I have
seen the transcripts of various statements given by the freedom
fighters, preserved in the Department of Punjab Historical Studies,
Punjabi University, Patiala; in the reference section of Nehru
Museum and Library as well as in the reference section of National
Archives of India. Above all the AICC files are preserved in the
NMML, Teen Murti, New Delhi and also the diaries of certain freedom
fighters and National Leaders which are available in the reference
section of National Archives have been consulted. Comparative
approach has been followed and efforts remained to consult almost
all the documents pertaining to my subject of research.