Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The first demand for complete independence from Britain was raised in the forum of the Indian National Congress (Congress) in 1921 by Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Swami Kumaranand. But the mainstream nationalist forces, the Moderates, and the Indian capitalist class supporting them, were willing to accept self- government within the Empire. The reforms demanded by the Congress were not conceded by imperialism and subsequent attempts at contesting elections and wrecking the system from within, proposed by a section, did not work out. Gandhi's strategy of constructive work paid some long-term dividends in terms of building organizations, but little more. The unilateral withdrawal of struggles in 1922 by Gandhi had angered the All India Khilafat Committee representing a large number of Muslims. Meanwhile, new forces began to rise. Socialist and communist movements developed. The influence of the Russian Revolution was also felt in circles beyond the emerging communists. The formation of the All India Trade Union Congress saw the rise of organized labor militancy. Conflicts between the bourgeoisie and the imperialist rulers had increased in the early decades of the twentieth century, but fear of popular radicalism had restrained the bourgeoisie. The rise of Gandhi had resolved this problem to a certain extent, for the Gandhian techniques involved a completely controlled mass movement ... log in or subscribe to read full text