The options brought forward to please the Indians were reforms, which were brought about by the Secretary of State for India and the Viceroy (which also increased his power). The Morley-Minto Reforms were one of the many reforms designed to satisfy the Indians. But the problem with this reform was that it didn’t give the Indians enough political power or real influence in administration. They also tended to keep Hindu’s and Muslims divided. One of the most important problems was that is prevented many Indians to actually vote.
By the First World War the situations in India Changed by having Mohandas Ghandi arrive back from South Africa. He also supported the war against Germany as he also felt it would lead to home rule. In 1915 the Defence of India Act suspended civil liberties for the duration of the war. Still, during the war, the demand for cotton and many more other raw materials had risen rapidly, bringing an increase in prosperity. However, there were outbreaks of violence in Punjab, which grew worse when the British government failed to make any statements of home rule.
Indian involvement in Government during this period was encouraged by trying to give the Indians more political power, without giving them all the power. Also, by the many attempted acts which many Indian’s accepted but were also opposed by the people who were expecting complete home rule.
2. In what ways did the British government attempt to change the government from 1919 to 1939? (15)
The British government’s attempts to change the government were its numerous acts to satisfy the Indian opinion, as this is partially the main purpose of why all these acts were introduced (to satisfy the Indians). The first Government of India act was passed in December 1919 and put into effect The Montagu-Chelmsford Reform which set up a system know as the Dyrachy. To advise the Viceroy an Executive Council was also set up. Then, in 1927, the Simon Commission was selected to evaluate the workings of the Montagu-Chelmsford Reform.
The Rowlatt Acts were intended to extend the Defence of India Act into peacetime. This act would enable the government to arrest and imprison any troublemakers without trial and allowed judges to try offenders without a jury. This was opposed by all Indian members of the Imperial Legislative Council. This act came just after the end of the First World War when many Indians expected self government. But this act clearly shows that the British Government had no intention of relaxing its grips on India.
As a result of the Rowlatt Acts, Ghandi declared a hartal and stoppage of work. Ghandi’s wish to keep non violent were ignored in Amritser, where 5 British men were killed in a riot, and in result all public meetings were banned. However on 13 April, a meeting was held. The Amritser Massacre was a tragic event. Hundreds of British troops shot continuously at unarmed Indian civilians raising the death toll to 2,000 people. The effect of this massacre was that the Indians who were loyal to the British now lost faith and wanted independence.
The Simon Commission didn’t include any Indians which led to mass protests and having congress boycott all of its meetings. Having this act not contain any Indians, would lead them to believe and think that their efforts and needs are not being met, which would still result in many more disagreements between the Indians and the British. But the British were very clever when it came to giving away power because their main priority was to give the Indians as much influence and power without the British in fact giving away all their power, but still they saw the threat of the Indian people. As a result, Nehru was able to persuade Congress to vote for independence and the 21st of January 1930 was now known as Independence Day.
In London the Round Table Conferences were held. Representatives of all British political parties and all political opinion in India were included. The reasons for the Round Table Conferences to be held were because the Dyrachy was not successful and the Simon Commission was a failure. They discussed the franchise, finance and the role of the Indian states but they could not reach any decisions.
The Government of India Act was the result from the Round Table Conferences. For the first time Indians had played a significant part in the government of their Country. Still, the government still had the real control. India was to be divided into eleven provinces with each one having legislative assembly and a provincial government. A governor would be appointed for each province that retained the power to act in an emergency such as protecting the interest of minorities or to maintain law and order. The Viceroy would still be responsible for defence and foreign affairs. But the Viceroy would have to follow the advice of an executive committee who were mostly Indian.
However congress rejected the Government of India Act because congress didn’t feel India was getting a complete break from Britain and did not believe that Britain would give India the complete independence they wanted and needed. Congress also did not want to have to make special provision for minorities, which might limit power in the future.
Furthermore, the Muslim league also rejected the Government of India Act. This was because the Muslims felt as if they were not offered enough power, as most provinces would be controlled by Congress. Also, Muhammad Ali Jinnah expected Congress to collaborate with the Muslim league, but Congress refused to give any posts to them. However, in the next two years support for the Muslim League had grown rapidly, and in 1937 the Muslim League started to campaign for their own state.
From the sources such as Source A, you can see there that the British thought that if they left India, India would crumble “if you take the steel frame out, the whole fabric will collapse”. This could’ve been one of the many other reasons the British didn’t want to leave India. They thought they were the best thing that could ever happen to India. This could also mean that the British could have been blinded by this, which in return makes the British make unfair, and unjust rules. As if the British did everything for themselves and did not look out for the Indians best interest.
3. Why did all the attempts to reform the government of India fail? (20)
All the attempts to reform the government of India failed because the British government did not manage to reach the Indian peoples needs, to a certain extent. Once the British started giving the people more power it was now too little too late. As the British gave the Indians more and more power the Indians by this time new/assumed that they could, in fact, get more power from the government, if not, self rule. However, if the British had made these attempts previous to all the riots and uprisings, the Indians would have accepted the many offers. By then the India people wanted more and thought they could accomplish it. Once the Indians lost faith in the government and had no hope, everyone started to rely and find confidence and reliability with Gandhi, since Gandhi and everyone else shared the same beliefs.
Once it came to coming to agreements, such as to acts, no one managed to come to one. The British give the impression that they do things for themselves. The information taken from the sources, give the impression that the British thought of themselves as somewhat superior and advanced, which make them sound somewhat arrogant. Such as with Source C, Winston Churchill makes it sound as if the British coming to India was the best thing that could ever happen to India.
Gandhi strongly believed in civil obedience, and this was his main priority. Keeping civilised would show a great deal of integrity and decency towards the Indians because if the British had done anything harmful towards the Indians, the British would look somewhat like the terrible and unjust people. Such as, after the Amritser Massacre, this was a strong feature to prove how unfair and unreasonable the British really were, at this time.
During the course of this period, one thing that would’ve stood out the most was the increase in nationalism as everyone had worked together. Such as Source B also says, “India’s most important assets is an almost inexhaustible supply of manpower” which proved how the Indians would stick together.
The Salt March was another one of Gandhi’s campaigns to keep non-violent against the British rule in India. Producing salt was something that the British governed, but having Gandhi taking a twenty four day March to the Gujarat Sea, would not only break the law, but anger and frustrate the British even more.
The Labour government sent the Cabinet Mission to India to report on the situation and recommend a structure for an independent India. It recommended a united India with protection for Muslims. The provinces were to be grouped together so that the Hindu majority and the Muslim majority were combined. Although this Mission was thought of as the best the British government could offer Nehru and Congress still aimed for a united India. The Muslim League also accepted this Mission even though it did not allow an independent Pakistan.
What went wrong with the Cabinet Mission’s plan was that the election for the new Assembly took place, in which Congress won 205 seats and the Muslim League won 73. Then once the results were announced Congress went back on its decision and rejected that plan. After the Congress refused to accept the Cabinet plan, the Muslim League also withdrew support.
Jinnah wanted a separate Pakistan for Muslims, but had been prepared to accept the Cabinet Mission’s proposals of a united India with built in safe guards for Muslims. One of Jinnah’s decision for a peaceful demonstration and gone wrong and turned violent. In Calcutta there was fighting between Hindus and Muslims wish resulted in 5,000 deaths, whilst the British could do nothing (this now increased the chance of civil war). The Viceroy now told Britain that the situation in India was getting out of control.
In conclusion, I do think that the British had given the Indians plenty of chances and opportunities to give them some sort of power, and did fail in its attempts to reform India, but at the same time didn’t (as Indians were given hope and power). But they failed because the Indians had one thing on their mind which was self government, which would also show why they’d rejected many of the acts. Also by how the situation would keep getting worse with the Indians becoming more and more frustrated. Such as how the Indians were always thought of as second best by the quotes from the Sources “If riding a pony, an Indian was expected to dismount and lead the pony” not only is that humiliating for having to do that in your own country but is undeserved. The Indians could not get very high jobs in the hierarchy, and if were given the chance would not be given very secure positions, and only few would be given out.
