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Mobilization in a Mass Movement: Congress ‘Propaganda’ in the United Provinces (India), 1930—34

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

G. Pandey
G. Pandey
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
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Extract

From 1919 to 1922 the Indian National Congress carried out its first country-wide programme of mass agitations against the British. For the next six or seven years the party concentrated on the electoral arena. By fits and starts, it also carried on a programme of so-called ‘constructive’ work among the mass of the people. This helped to maintain some of the popular contacts earlier established. Elections, and the bitter communal conflicts that were a feature of the mid-1920s, at least in the United Provinces (U.P.), forged other links.

Type
Articles
Information
Modern Asian Studies , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , March 1975 , pp. 205 - 226
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1975

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References

1 Sapru, T. B. to Lord Irwin, Allahabad, 19 September 1930, Halifax Collection, Vol. 25, India Office Library, London [I.O.L.].Google Scholar

2 That was how a young British civilian in the U.P. put it. Hume, A. P., letter to his parents, Roorkee, 28 August 1930. Andrew Parke Hume Collection, Vol. III, Pt I, I.O.L.Google Scholar

3 The press in this paper refers to periodical newspapers and journals, as well as non-periodical pamphlets, leaflets and notices—including all public notices, even if non-printed.Google Scholar

4 Historians have begun to distinguish between different levels of politics, and also to suggest why appeals were made from one level to another. A recent example is John, Gallagher, Gordon Johnson and Anil Seal (eds.), Locality Province and Nation: Essays on Indian Politics 1870–1940 (C.U.P., 1973), many essays which see the constitution, and government as providing the links between different levels. But no attempt has yet been made to establish how the relationship between these levels was worked out.Google Scholar The problems of communication, noticed by Rudé in connection with European protest movements in the eighteenth century—see George, Rudé, Paris and London in the Eighteenth Century: Studies in Popular Protest (Collins: London, 1970), p. 292— have remained largely untackled in Indian history.Google Scholar

5 The major sources were two large collections of political pamphlets and leaflets, confiscated by the Government of the time, now held at the National Archives of India, New Delhi (N.A.I.) and the I.O.L.; a couple of Hindi newspapers and a host of literary and caste journals published in the 1930s. I have also used English language newspapers, Government correspondence and proceedings, Intelligence Department records, and collections of private papers held at various archives.Google Scholar

6 This was taken as the test for literacy, and only men and women over 5 years of age were considered. The figures for urban areas cover only the 23 cities of the U.P., Census of India, 1931. United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, Vol. XVIII, Pt 1, Report (Allahabad, Superintendent, Printing and Stationery, U.P., 1933), Ch. IX.Google Scholar

7 Barns, Margarita, The Indian Press: A History of the Growth of Public Opinion in India (George Allen & Unwin, London, 1940), p. 373.Google Scholar

8 The importance of periodicals has been judged by their circulation and ascribed political standing. A majority of those listed here were included in the list of important periodicals included in: Indian Statutory Commission, Vol. IX, Memorandum submitted by the Government of the United Provinces to the Indian Statutory Commission. H.M.S.O. (London, 1930), p. 209.Google Scholar

9 All this is even truer of the non-periodical press. See below.Google Scholar

10 Indian Statutory Commission, Vol. IX, p. 213.Google Scholar

11 See Brennan, L., ‘Political Leadership in Budaun, 1920–28’. (University of Sussex, seminar paper, April 1972) for the way in which Raghubir Sahai, a district Congress leader, used the press to maintain his position and harass the district administration.Google Scholar

12 Interviews: Katju, S. N. and A. Pandey (Allahabad, 25 June 1972), Salig Ram Jaiswal (Delhi, 3 September 1972).Google Scholar

13 See Abhyudaya (N.A.I.), Aj and journals such as Brahmin-sarvasva, Shri Sanatan Dharma, Abhaya and Prabha. (Kashi Nagri Pracharni Sabha, Benares).Google Scholar

14 See Suntharalingam, R., ‘The “Hindu” and the Genesis of Nationalist Politics in South India, 1878–1885’, in South Asia, No. 2. (08 1972);Google Scholar Bayly, C. A., ‘The Development of Political Organisation in the Allahabad Locality, 1880–1925’ (Oxford D.Phil. thesis, 1970), p. 224,Google Scholar for the role of Kavi Vachan Sudha, Hindi Pradip and Abhyudaya at the turn of the century in articulating Hindu revivalism and covertly spreading nationalist sentiment; and Robinson, F. C. R., ‘The Emergence of Muslim Politics in India: The Politics of the U.P. Muslims', 1860–1923’ (Mss Cambridge), Ch. V, pp. 14ff, regarding Mohammad Ali's Newspaper The Comrade and the influence it attained. Robinson writes: ‘From 1909, the political newspaper was… the major means through which (the politician) carried on a dialogue with his supporters, his opponents and the Government…’, p. 14.Google Scholar

15 Both Aj and Abhyudaya, and also The Leader, regularly published excerpts from Gandhi's writings in Navjivan and Young India. This was particularly significant in view of the importance Gandhi himself attached to publications.Google Scholar

16 District officer after district officer in the U.P. reported that all educated opinion followed newspaper opinion on this issue. See U.P. Confidential Dept. File 86/1932, Secretariat Record Room, Lucknow [S.R.R.].Google Scholar

17 See weekly ‘Police Abstract of Intelligence’, C.I.D. Office, Lucknow, dated 18 September 1926. The following section is based on these weekly reports.Google Scholar

18 These figures are of seizures after October 1931, i.e. in the second phase of civil disobedience. I have not found detailed figures of seizures in the earlier phase.Google Scholar Sec. 16(I) of Act XXIII of 1931 authorised any police officer, or other person thus empowered by the Local Government, to seize any unauthorised news-sheet or newspaper, wherever found.Google Scholar Sec. 18(I) provided that ‘Whoever makes, sells, distributes, publishes or publicly exhibits or keeps for sale, distribution or publication, any unauthorised news-sheet or newspaper, shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to six months, or with fine, fine, or with both’.Google Scholar Source: U.P. Police Dept. File 1589/1931, Secretariat Record Room, Lucknow.Google Scholar

19 ‘Police Abstract’, 23 June 1934.Google Scholar

20 The special measures by which Government sought to control the press were: The Indian Press Ordinance, 27 April–26 October 1930; The Press and Unauthorised Newsheets and Newspapers Ordinance, 23 December 1930–22 June 1931; The Indian Press (Emergency Powers) Act from 9 October 1931; and an amendment to this by the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1932. The Press Law of 1932, which enabled Government to prohibit the publication of certain news items in the papers of any province it felt necessary; The Foreign Relations Act of 1932; and The Indian States (Protection) Act of 1934 added further curbs.Google Scholar

21 Many unauthorised newspapers and journals also appeared at this time. They closely resembled the non-periodical literature of the period in tone and content. An example was Satyagraha Samachar, issued by the Allahabad Satyagraha Committee from April to August 1930. Initially printed, and several pages in length, it was from the middle of May cyclostyled and also reduced to one or two pages. Declared a daily, it came out at very irregular intervals in its later months. (For the original, see U.P. Police Dept. File 106/1930, U.P. State Archives, Lucknow). Police raids and confiscations in the 1930s revealed that some of the non-periodical literature was coming out of established nationalist presses. But a good deal of it was produced through small, hand presses which could be moved from place to place. See statements regarding action taken under the Press Ordinances and Acts in U.P. Police Dept. File 1012/1930 and U.P. Police Dept. File 1589/1931, S.R.R. More recently in India, the Naxalites employed similar methods to produce Deshabrati and Liberation, similarly baffling the Government about the location of the press.Google Scholar

22 See ‘Fortnightly Reports’ for the U.P., first half of November and first half of December 1930, Govt. of India, Home-Poll. File 18/1930; and ‘Review of the tone of the press before the Indian Press (Emergency Powers) Act came into force’ in U.P. Police Dept. File 1589/1931, S.R.R.Google Scholar

23 P. P. Hin. B.416, I.O.L.Google Scholar

24 Intelligence reports of mass meetings and processions in the 1930s indicate the abundance, and importance, of political poems and songs. And of course, the tradition of singing and reading aloud to large audiences continues in India today. Thus, the Government puts out songs on family planning. Thus, the Jana Sangh demonstration over Bangla Desh, in Delhi in August 1970, comes to life when one group in the procession breaks out into song. See also Ralph, Russell, ‘Leadership in the All-India Progressive Writers Movement, 1935–1947’ (Seminar paper, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, 9 March 1972), for the way in which progressive poets and writers read aloud to audiences in the late 1930s and the 1940s. I am indebted to Dr Peter Reeves for drawing my attention to this paper.Google Scholar

25 Hin, Cf. P.P.. B.40, 210, 212–15, I.O.L.; Pamphlets No. 200, 370, 431, 512, 514, 576, 620, 935, 1127, etc., N.A.I.Google Scholar

26 Pamphlets No. 112, 1031, etc., N.A.I.Google Scholar

27 Hin, Cf. P. P.. B.179, 395, I.O.L.; Pamphlets No. 1141, 1151, 1156, 1163, 1186, etc., N.A.I. mx P. Hin. B.179, 395, I.O.L.; Pamphlets No. 1141, 1151, 1156, 1163, 1186, etc., N.A.I.Google Scholar

28 Pamphlets No. 1284 and 553, N.A.I.Google Scholar

29 Traditional Hindu, Sikh and Muslim greetings. Pamphlet No. 235, N.A.I.Google Scholar

30 In the ‘Azad Bharat Tract’, Pamphlet No. 576, N.A.I., the song mentions Shivaji, Maharana Pratap, Abbas Tyabji, Tara Singh and numerous others.Google Scholar

31 Pamphlet No. 316, N.A.I.Google Scholar

32 Pamphlet No. 285, N.A.I.Google Scholar

33 I am grateful to Dr Tapan Raychaudhuri for this information, a memory of his days in a small town in Bengal. Congressmen of old in the U.P. also recount the singing of political songs and the distribution of leaflets at fairs and other public gatherings. Interviews: Mahabir, Prasad Shukla, Allahabad, 3 January 1973; Sheomurti Singh, Allahabad, 4 January 1973; Jagan Prasad Rawat who referred to the use of bhajans, ala and dola (various styles of singing) in propaganda in Agra, Lucknow, 15 January 1973, etc.Google Scholar

34 ‘Police Abstract’, 5 July 1930 ff.Google Scholar

35 ‘Bharat men daman-chakra’, P.P.Hin. B. 132, I.O.L.Google Scholar

36 Pamphlet No. 831, N.A.I.Google Scholar

37 Pamphlet No. 191, N.A.I.Google Scholar

38 Pamphlet No. 203, N.A.I.Google Scholar

39 Pamphlet No. 285, N.A.I.Google Scholar

40 The printed price was 2 paise. Pamphlet No. 457, N.A.I.Google Scholar

41 Muzaffar Hasan, Allahabad Congress leader, in interview, Allahabad 3 January 1973.Google Scholar

42 See The Leader, Aj and Abhyudaya for November and December 1931.Google Scholar

43 Abhyudaya, 18 November 1931. This issue was confiscated by the Government and is found among the proscribed pamphlets held at the N.A.I. Pamphlet No. 990Google Scholar

44 ‘Police Abstract’, 12 December 1931.Google Scholar

45 Govt. of India, Home-Poll. 13/21/1931, N.A.I., D.O. No. 1906/Z, from J. M. Clay, Chief Secretary to the U.P. Govt., dated 11 December 1931.Google Scholar

46 Govt. of India, Home-Poll. 33/36/1931, N.A.I., Express Letter No. 1964/Z, U.P.A.O., Lucknow, to India, Home, New Delhi, dated Lucknow 24 December 1931.Google Scholar

47 Aj, 11 December 1931.Google Scholar

48 Even Azamgarh, a district not particularly noted for its part in civil disobedience, had its quota of ‘no rent’ leaflets at the beginning of 1931. See ‘Police Abstract’, 31 January 1931.Google Scholar

49 All-India Congress Committee Papers, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi, File G-140/1931, Pt V, Printed Hindi leaflet signed by Narmada Prasad, Shiv Murti and Lal Bahadur, Secretaries of the D.C.C., Allahabad (n.d.).Google Scholar

50 A copy of the leaflet is found in Abhyudaya, 18 November 1931, Pamphlet No. 990, N.A.I. There is a translation of it in Govt. of India, Home-Poll. 33/36/1931, N.A.I.Google Scholar

51 This translation of this ‘specimen leaflet’ is given in Fortnightly Report for the U.P., 1st half of February 1932, Govt. of India, Home-Poll. 18/1932. The promises made were, of course, too facile; the ejected tenants of 1931–32 are landless labourers today, and the Ramrajya of the peasants is as far away as China.Google Scholar

52 Translation given in Govt. of India, Home-Poll. 33/36/1931, N.A.I.Google Scholar

53 Leaflet entitled ‘Rae Bareli ke kisanon ko sūchna’, in the jail records of 1920–42, Rae Bareli District Collectorate. Significantly, another leaflet was printed together with this one, the substance of which was the same but which was in polished Hindustani—addressed, presumably, to the people of Rae Bareli town.Google Scholar

54 A fuller discussion will be found in my thesis, ‘Nationalist Politics in the U.P., 1926–1937’.Google Scholar

55 The issuing of Government notices in Allahabad has been mentioned above. Examples from other districts are found in ‘Fortnightly Report for the U.P.’, 1st half of January 1931, Govt. of India Home-Poll. File 18/1931, N.A.I., and D.O. No. 157, District Magistrate, Etah to Chief Secretary, U.P., dated 12 June 1932, U.P. General Administration Department, File 283/1930, S.R.R. Periodicals were also used, e.g. Kisanopkarak (Partabgarh), a Government publication directed at peasants. (Files at Kashi Nagri Pracharni Sabha, Benares).Google Scholar See also Reeves, P. D., ‘The Politics of Order. “Anti-non-cooperation” in the United Provinces’, Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. XXV, No. 2 (02 1966), for earlier examples of Government and aman sabha propaganda.Google Scholar

56 Peasants in Saharanpur district were reported as saying, in 1930; ‘Pahar ke sath kaun lar sakta?’ (Who can fight a mountain). Hume's letter to his parents, Roorkee, 20 July 1930, A. P. Hume Collection, Vol. III, Pt I, I.O.L.Google Scholar

57 This is supported by the examples of recent revolutionary situations. In the Cultural Revolution in China, and in Paris in 1968, posters played a prominent part.Google Scholar

58 Baba Ramchaudra, the kisan leader in Oudh in the 1920s, was famed for this technique.Google Scholar

59 See Pamphlet No. 744, N.A.I., which urges the unity of Himuipa (i.e. Hindus), Muslims, Isais (Christians) and Parsees. The Gita is a religious book of the Hindus.Google Scholar

60 George Rudé describes this as a characteristic of the crowd, and movement, in ‘pre-industrial’ society. See his chapter on ‘The “pre-industrial” crowd’ in Paris and London in the Eighteenth Century. But examples such as Paris 1968 would suggest that it is true at later stages as well.Google Scholar

61 Gwyn, A. Williams, Artisans and San-Culottes: Popular Movements in France and Britain during the French Revolution. (W. W. Norton and Co.: New York, 1969), pp. 4–5.Google Scholar