Okayama Economic Review
Published by the Economic Association of Okayama University

Growth of Indian Nationalism and Germination of Left Wings within the National Congress of India

Puzari, Rekha Rani Sarma
Mazane, Kazumi publons researchmap
Published Date
2001-06-10
Abstract
This paper unfolds the saga of the nationalist upsurge and the germination of the left wings within the National Congress of India during the first Non−Cooperation Movement. As a background to our present study we can say that India was not a single country at the time of entry of the British to India. It was divided into many separate kingdoms and the vast portion of it was ruled by the Mughals. Taking advantage of the weakness of the Mughal emperors the British entered the country and established their trade monopoly and gradually established their rule in India. Riding on the back of the British rule modern ideas peeped into India from the west. It resulted in the growth of nationalist ideas among the newly educated Indians and opened their eyes to the evils of the British rule, which instigated them to fight against the aliens. The first form of this type of resistance was the revolt of 1857. The British suppressed the revolt no doubt but it was the first struggle of the people of India for their independence. The National Congress was established in 1885 which could be termed as the first all India political organization. The tragedy of Jalliwanala Bagh and the publication of the Turkish peace terms brought Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi to the Indian political scene. He took the Khilafat issue as an instrument to create an anti−British sentiment among the Indian people and thereby started the first non−cooperation movement in India. Gandhiji gave the call for launching the non−cooperation movement on August 1, 1920 in the form of satyagraha means non−violence and truthfulness. The mass awakening in all over India compelled the British Government to take repressive mearures. Though the non−violence was the main principle of Gandhiji’s mass civil disobedience movement a violence took place in Chauri−Chaura in the United Province and Gandhiji suspended the movenment. It disappointed a young nationalist group including Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose who wanted to give the movement a radical colour owing to the influence of scientific socialism of Marx. As a result a new group was formed within the Congress termed as Left Wings. The ideologies of the two groups were different. When the Right Wing of the Congress led by Gandhiji demanded dominion status for the country the Left Wing stood for complete independence. Gradually the Left Wing divided into two groups : Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Congress Socialist Party (CSP) with the same objective of complete independence under the banner of the National Congress.
Note
論説 (Article)
ISSN
0386-3069
NCID
AN00032897
NAID
JaLCDOI