11 November 2022

MAINS QUESTIONS

Q1. What effects did the start of World War 2 have on India’s fight for independence? Discuss. (250 words)

Paper & Topic: GS I – National Movement

Introduction:

• Without consulting India, Britain declares war on Germany on September 3, 1939, and states that India is supporting the struggle. Despite the strong hostility to fascism and Nazism maintained by Indian nationalists and leaders, the British response exposed their duplicity. Despite the fact that British forces fought for liberal values like democracy, Indians were barred from participating in it.

 Body:

 The outbreak of World War II and its end:

• In comparison to the British record, the Congress’ opposition to fascism, nazism, militarism, and imperialism had been much stronger. The Indians’ readiness to aid in the war effort, meanwhile, was subject to two restrictions:
• A constituent assembly should be called to decide on the political system of a free India after the war.
• The central government should be set up right away in some fashion.
• Viceroy Linlithgow turned down the request. The Congress argued that these circumstances were required to persuade the people to support war.

Responses to the conflict and the British government’s position:

Various viewpoints were expressed during the CWC Wardha Meeting in September 1939:

• Gandhi called for unwavering support for the Allies and drew a comparison between the Nazi regime’s totalitarian rule and the democracies of Western Europe.
• Because both sides were vying for control of or the defence of colonial territory, Subhash Bose and the socialists claimed that the conflict was fundamentally imperialist.
• Therefore, choosing to back one of the two parties was not necessary.
• Instead, the predicament ought to be viewed as a chance to launch a civil disobedience movement and swiftly seize freedom.
• The main differences between democracy and fascism were stated by Nehru.
• He was equally certain, though, that imperialist superpowers Britain and France were to responsible for the conflict, which was the product of growing internal capitalism-related disputes since the end of World War I.
• So, until India won freedom, he resisted Indian engagement. To exploit Britain’s predicament, however, should not lead to the initiation of a direct conflict.
• Government response: The government gave an entirely unfavourable answer. Linlithgow attempted to use the Muslim League and the princes against the Congress in his speech on October 17, 1939.
• It became clear that the British Government had no intention of loosening its hold on the Congress during the war or afterward and was ready to consider it as an enemy. The government refrained from outlining Britain’s military goals in addition to asserting that the country was rebuffing aggression. In addition, it was stated that “representatives of different communities, parties and interests in India, as well as the Indian rulers,” would be consulted as part of future agreements.
• In October 1939, Congress ministers quit due to the Second World War and government response.
• Around the end of 1940, Gandhi was once more asked to assume command by the Congress.
• Within his broad strategic perspective, Gandhi now began to take actions that would spark a widespread uprising.
• He made the choice to have a few chosen individuals in each hamlet launch a small-scale satyagraha.

Conclusion:

• The British had already realised how pointless it would be to continue to rule over India before the start of World War II. Great Britain had used up all of its financial resources by the end of the war and was either unable or unwilling to support her colonies. Netaji’s Indian National Army nearly cost British India its independence war before the Second World War even started.

Q2. The Northeast’s involvement in the war for Indian independence is a tale of valor and tenacity that extends back to the 19th century. Discuss. (250 words)  

 Paper & Topic: GS I – National Movement

Introduction:

• “Martyrdom is not the end; it is only the beginning.” The best example of how accurate the late Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s statements were is the contributions made by people in the North-east to the fight for Indian freedom. The Northeast became embroiled in India’s freedom war when the hill people and a sizeable number of peasants revolted against the British in the 19th century. This story is about bravery and boldness. This region supported the political changes in the rest of the nation that led to independence in 1947.
• As part of the nation’s 70th anniversary of independence, the central government honoured ten Northeastern freedom fighters, including three women who are mostly unknown to the rest of the nation.

Body:

• Since 1826, British economic colonisation of North East India has been ongoing, as has the gradual consolidation of conquest. People became more aware of colonial control’s exploitative nature as a result of its initial emphasis on taxation. Exploitation increased after the following discoveries of tea, coal, and petroleum.
• Farmers’ movements, tribal uprisings, and civil uprisings were the main manifestations of the general public’s resistance in North East India. Since the beginning of the 19th century, tribal people in North East India have engaged in violent uprisings against foreign rule.

 Various conflicts:

Ahom Uprising:

• Before the British started to take over in 1826 with the conquest of Assam, the region was under Burmese rule for ten years.
• Up until that point, the area had been mostly free of the control of the Delhi Sultanate or any other foreign power.
• Particularly Assam faced numerous invasions but managed to repel them.
• Thus, the Assamese people’s desire of independence could be seen in the initial insurrection against British authority by a group of ex-nobles led by Gomdhar Konwar.
• They failed, and as a result Gomdhar and his accomplices were imprisoned in 1828.
• Piyali Borphukan, one of his friends, was hanged.

Khasi Revolt:

• The hill tribes fiercely resisted British penetration into the hills in the interim.
• From 1829 until 1833, the U Tirat Sing-led Khasis engaged the British in ferocious combat.
• However, the British ultimately won, and Tirat Sing was put in the Dhaka Prison.
• The hill tribes, particularly the Singphos, Khamtis, Nagas, and Garos, violently resisted the British government’s expansionist tactics in the hills between the 1830s and 1860s, costing the latter considerable casualties.
• The effects of 1857 were also felt in Assam, where Maniram Dewan, the first Indian tea planter, played a crucial role in the schemes to push the British out of Assam. Dewan first worked with the British to create the region’s tea industry before splitting up later.
• Due to the failure of their plans, Maniram and Piyali Barua were put to death in 1858.
• They were locked up together with many of their close friends and allies, most notably Bahadur Gaonburha and Farmud Ali.

The peasants’ uprising in Phulagauri:

• A new phase of peasant agitation in central Assam began with the peasant uprising in Phulaguri in 1861 against the oppressive agricultural policies of the British authority.
• Many tribal and non-tribal peasants marched to the district office to hand the Deputy Commissioners a petition outlining their problems (DC).
• The DC, however, mistreated them and turned down the peasants’ request.
• The enraged peasants assembled at multiple customary raij mels (people’s assemblies) to discuss their choices moving forward.
• The enraged peasants killed Assistant Commissioner Lt. Singer by attacking the police with their lathis.
• The army assaulted the armed peasants the following day, but they were unable to defend themselves. 39 peasants were slain, numerous more were injured, and 41 were put in prison.
• Peasants from different castes, particularly those from the Koch and the Kaibarta (fishermen) group, took part in the Phulaguri outburst despite the fact that the majority of them belonged to the Tiwa and Kachari tribes.

Conflicts in Assam

• After the Phulaguri insurrection, the British authorities used the raij-mels to obscenely increase land income, to which the peasantry in the regions of Darrang and Kamrup opposed.
• These resentments culminated in the bloody peasant riots of 1892–1894 in several locations in the neighbouring Kamrup and Darrang districts, which the colonial government referred to as the “Assam Riots.” Land revenue has grown by roughly 80%.
• The popular peasant movement of the era, which started with the Phulaguri rebellion, came to a conclusion with the uprising at Patharughat in the Darrang district, which saw a series of mels when peasants expressed their dissatisfaction toward the government and pledged not to pay the higher land revenue.
• The Assamese peasant uprisings were put down by the brutal suppression of the people at Patharughat. The Sarbajanik Sabha, an organisation that supported petitioning the colonial administration rather than dealing with it directly to address the concerns of the local community, was then formed by the elites of the middle class in Assam.

Other uprisings:

• To subjugate tribes like the Abors, now known as Adis, the Akas, now known as Hrussos, and others, the British launched repeated expeditions into the highlands of what is now Arunachal Pradesh.
• Despite their best attempts, the British were able to outgun and out-tactic them. Prince Tikendrajit Singh and others vehemently fought British attempts to meddle in the monarchy of Manipur’s affairs during the beginning of the 1891s.
• Following the murders of several high-ranking British officials, this occurred.
• The Manipuri force was then defeated by the British after they conducted a significant military operation.
• Thanks to people like Rani Gaidinliu (Nagaland), Kanakalata Baruah (Assam), Kushal Konwar (Assam), Moje Riba (Arunachal Pradesh), and Trilochan Pokhrel, North East Indians made major contributions prior to India’s independence (Sikkim). These courageous people put up a heroic fight against British Imperialism.

Conclusion:

• The inspirational stories of tenacity and unyielding spirit have been lost to history and are only told in lectures, failing to inspire later generations. Millions of people in the rest of India are not even aware of the noble sacrifice made by these people from the north-east who gave their life in defence of their country against British imperialism. Sadly, the Indian people have not yet acknowledged the valiant leadership displayed by the lads and daughters of India’s northeastern states throughout the country’s struggle of independence against the British. Some of the legendary figures sacrificed everything to fiercely oppose British imperialism.