He was a man
of remarkable character and he left a very favourable impression
on the minds of the Indians.
of remarkable character and he left a very favourable impression
on the minds of the Indians.
Cambridge History of India - v4 - Indian Empire
It was under
these circumstances that Dr. Mehr Chand Mahajan, former Chief
Justice of India, was appointed on October 25, 1966 as One-Man
Commission to resolve the boundary disputes between the States
## p. 945 (#989) ############################################
THE MAHAJAN REPORT
945
of Maharashtra, Mysore and Kerala. The Commission had to
do a lot of touring and ultimately it submitted its Report on August
25, 1967 and the same was released to the public on November 4,
1967. In his Report, Dr. Mehr Chand Mahajan recommended
the transfer of certain villages from Mysore to Maharashtra and
vice versa.
He also recommended the incorporation of Kasaragod
in the State of Mysore. Dr. Mahajan favoured neither one party
nor the other. He accepted neither all the claims of Maharashtra
nor those of Mysore. He applied his judicial mind to the facts of
the case and made his recommendations in the light of what he
considered to be in the best interests not only of the people of
Maharashtra, Mysore and Kerala but also of India as a whole.
He condemned all those who stood for linguistic States as an end.
He rightly pointed out that the principle of linguistic States had
been accepted not to create inter-state barriers and tensions but to
promote the welfare of the people of India as a whole. No unilin-
gual State existed for the speakers of a particular language. While
the recommendations of the Mahajan Commission were accepted
by Mysore, those were rejected by Maharashtra. The result is that
the border dispute is continuing. It has already resulted in a lot
of bloodshed.
## p. 946 (#990) ############################################
CHAPTER XXXVIII
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 1919
LORD CHELMSFORD was the Governor-General and Viceroy
of India in 1919 when the Government of India Act, 1919 was
passed by the British Parliament and he continued to occupy that
exalted position up to 1921. It was during his Viceroyalty that
the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy took place at Amritsar. Mahatma
Gandhi also started his Non-Cooperation movement during his
regime although the same continued even during the time of his
successor.
The Muslims of India started the Khilafat movement
to protest against the treatment meted out to Turkey by the Allied
Powers. The movement stood for the maintenance of the integrity
of the Turkish Empire. The Muslims also demanded the establish-
ment of a Muslim State of Palestine.
LORD READING (1921-26)
Lord Chelmsford was succeeded by Lord Reading in 1921 and
he continued to occupy that position up to 1926. Lord Reading
was born in a poor family but he rose to the high position of Lord
Chief Justice of England by dint of hard work. During his Vice-
royalty, there was a lot of opposition to the Government. Both the
Indian National Congress and the Muslim League were dissatisfied
with the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms and as a matter of fact, the
general elections were boycotted by the Congress. Mahatma
Gandhi joined hands with the Khilafat leaders and carried on agi-
tation against the Government. There was the triple boycott of
Pritish Courts, Government Schools and the Reformed Councils.
Mahatma Gandhi was able to collect a crore of rupees for the Non-
co-operation movement. He also started a campaign in favour of
prohibition. The liquor shops were picketed by the volunteers and
the Government suffered losses in the form of revenue from liquor
licences. The Mahatma also started a campaign to remove un-
touchability from society. He also introduced the Charkha or the
hand-spinning wheel to raise the standard of life of the people and
also to harm the cloth industry of England.
When the Prince of Wales landed in Bombay in 1921, there was
complete hartal in the city. Riots also broke out and lasted for
three days. Considerable damage was done to property. 53 per-
sons were killed and about 440 were wounded.
## p. 947 (#991) ############################################
LORD READING
947
There were disturbances in Assam, Bihar, Calcutta, Chittagong,
Karachi, Madras and Dharwar. The Moplahs fell upon the
Hindus in Malabar and thousands of them were either butchered
or forcibly converted to Islam. There was a wave of indignation
among the Hindus against the Moplah rising and the failure of the
Government to protect them.
At Chauri Chaura, 21 policemen and rural watchmen were kill-
ed by an infuriated mob. This was too much for Mahatma Gandhi
who believed in a policy of non-violence. The result was that
Mahatma Gandhi withdrew the Non-co-operation Movement.
After that, he himself was arrested, tried and put in jail.
It was during the regime of Lord Reading that the Swarajist
Party was formed in 1923 under the leadership of C. R. Das in
Bengal, Pt. Motilal Nehru in Upper India and N. C. Kelkar in the
Deccan. This party stood for entry into the Legislatures. In spite
of opposition from Mahatma Gandhi, it had its way. The Swaraj-
ist Party in the Central Assembly gave a lot of trouble to the
Government.
As a result of the Non-Co-operation Movement and the wide-
spread defiance of law, criminal outrages took place in some parts
of the country, particularly in Bengal. In order to meet the situa-
tion, the Bengal Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 1924, was
issued. It provided for the arrest without a warrant of persons
suspected of belonging to criminal organisations. Special Judges
were appointed to deal with them and they were given the power
to try them secretly and punish them. With the help of this Ordi-
nance, a large number of persons were tried and imprisoned. There
was a lot of indignation in the country on account of the summary
procedure adopted in those trials.
On many occasions, the Viceroy was forced to use his power of
certification to sanction laws which were not passed by the Cen-
tral Legislature. In 1922, he certified the Princes' Protection Bill
to prevent the publication of writings which were likely to excite
feelings against the Indian Princes. To balance the 1923-24
Budget, the Viceroy increased the Salt duty by certification.
In 1923, allegations were made against the Maharaja of Nabha
by his own officials and the subjects of the Maharaja of Patiala.
However, before the matter could be investigated, the Maharaja of
Nabha abdicated and the administration of the State was taken over
by the Government.
One Mumtaz Begam, a singing girl, was under the patronage
of the Maharaja of Indore. She left the State with the assistance
of a Muslim Barrister of Bombay named Bawla. An attempt was
made to abduct Mumtaz Begam and Bawla was murdered. Lord
## p. 948 (#992) ############################################
948
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 1919
Reading appointed a commission of enquiry to investigate into the
attempted abduction and murder. The Maharaja of Indore was
implicated in the matter and he eventually abdicated.
In 1925, the Nizam of Hyderabad claimed the Province of Berar.
He also asserted that he stood on the same footing as the British
Government in India. The claim of the Nizam was disallowed and
the Viceroy told him bluntly: “The sovereignty of the British Crown
is supreme in India and therefore no ruler of an Indian State can
justifiably claim to negotiate with the British Government on an
equal footing. Its supremacy is based not only on treaties and
engagements but exists independently of them and quite apart
from its prerogative in matters relating to foreign powers and poli-
cies. It is the right and duty of the British Government, while
scrupulously respecting all treaties and engagements with the Indian
States, to preserve peace and good order. I remind your Exalted
Highness that the ruler of Hyderabad along with other rulers re-
ceived in 1862 a Sanad declaratory of British Government's desire
for perpetuation of his House and Government subject to the conti-
nued loyalty to the Crown; and no succession to the Masnad of
Hyderabad is valid unless it is recognised by His Majesty the King-
Emperor; and that the British Government is the only arbitrator
in a disputed succession. . . . . . . . The varying degrees of internal
sovereignty which the rulers enjoy are all subject to the due exer-
cise by the Paramount Power of this responsibility. ”
It was during his Viceroyalty that the Muddiman Committee was
set up to report on the working of the Government of India Act,
1919 and its Report was also published during his regime.
The Union Parliament of South Africa proposed to pass an Anti-
Asiatic Bill providing for the reservation of certain areas in which
the Asiatics were not to be allowed to acquire land. The Govern-
ment of India took up the matter on behalf of the Indians in South
Africa and succeeded in getting the legislation postponed till a
Round Table Conference of Indian and South African delegates
met to discuss the matter.
There was the Akali agitation in the Punjab during the Viceroy-
alty of Lord Reading. The Akalis demanded that they must have
the management of the Sikh Gurdwaras or holy places under their
control. The Mahants who were in control of Gurdwaras and
were gaining a lot from them, opposed the move. That led to agita-
tion by the Akalis. The Mahant of Nankana Sahib collected a
Pathan guard and some 130 Akalis were killed in a treacherous
affray on 5 March, 1921. Conflicts took place between the Akalis
and the Police, the most important being at Guru Ka Bagh. The
Akalis adopted the policy of passive resistance. They were tortur-
## p. 949 (#993) ############################################
THE SIKH GURDWARAS ACT
949
ed by the Police. All kinds of indignities were inflicted on them.
However, the Akalis continued to send Jathas after Jathas in spite
of a policy of repression followed by the Government and ultimate-
ly they succeeded in their objective.
In 1925 was passed the Sikh Gurdwaras Act which provided
for the better administration of the Sikh Gurdwaras and for
enquiries into matters connected with them. The Act extend-
ed to the whole of the Punjab. It empowered the Provincial Gov-
ernment to declare by means of a notification that a particular
Gurdwara was a Sikh Gurdwara. It is true that objections could
be raised against the Notification but ultimately the matter was
decided by a Sikh Gurdwara Tribunal which consisted of a Presi-
dent and two other members appointed by the Provincial Govern-
ment. In most cases, the Tribunal gave its decision in favour of
the Akalis and the result was that most of the Gurdwaras came
under their control. These Gurdwaras had a lot of landed pro-
perty attached to them and a regular income of crores of rupees
every year.
Provision was also made for the appointment of a
Central Board to control the Sikh Gurdwaras in the Province.
There were to be separate Sikh Gurdwara Committees for the
management of the individual Gurdwaras. The final authority
for the management of the Sikh Gurdwaras vested in the Central
Board whose members were to be elected by the Sikhs in a pres-
cribed manner. Provision was also made for the appointment of
a Judicial Commission consisting of three Sikh Members to be
appointed by the Provincial Government. Detailed provisions
were made regarding the powers and duties of the Sikh Gurdwara
Committees. On the whole, it was a useful measure and it en-
abled the Akalis to reform the Gurdwaras and indirectly to add to
their own strength in the political field.
Under the Government of India Act, 1919, 47 subjects were de-
clared to be Central subjects and 52 subjects were included in the
Provincial List. The distribution of the subjects involved a deficit
for the Central Government and consequently a Committee known
as the Provincial Relations Committee was set up with Lord Meston
as its President to make recommendations as to how the deficit
could be met. The Committee recommended that the provinces
should make contributions to the Government of India so that the
budget could be balanced. It was estimated that the defiçit was
to be about Rs. 10 crores and the provinces were required to pay
according to their capacity. A schedule gave the permanent and
standard ratio at which each province was to be taxed in order to
wipe out the Central deficit. The contributions made by the
various provinces to the Central Government in 1921-22 were
## p. 950 (#994) ############################################
950
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 1919
Madras Rs. 348 lacs, Bombay Rs. 56 lacs, Bengal Rs. 63 lacs,
Punjab Rs. 175 lacs, United Provinces Rs. 240 lacs, Assam Rs. 15
lacs, Burma Rs. 64 lacs and C. P. and Berar Rs. 22 lacs.
When the British Government promised the establishment of
responsible Government in India, the members of the public ser-
vices were upset. Formerly, they used to rule the country and
now they got worried about their position in the future. They
demanded certain safeguards. It was suggested that the members
of the All India Services, with a few exceptions, might be allowed
to retire before they completed the service ordinarily required for
earning pension and they should be given a pension proportionate
to their actual service. About 345 All India service officers retired
by 1924. The Government of India was faced with the problem
that an adequate number of Englishmen and Europeans was not
forthcoming for the All India Services and a Royal Commission on
Superior Civil Services in India was appointed in 1923. It came
to be known as the Lee Commission as Lord Lee was its Chairman.
The Commission made many recommendations. As regards the
Indian Civil Service, the Indian Police Service, the Indian Forest
Service and the Irrigation Branch of the Service of Engineers on
which public security mainly depended, the Secretary of State was
allowed to continue to recruit. His control, with certain safe-
guards, was to be maintained. As regards the Indian Education
Service, the Indian Veterinary Service and the Indian Medical
Service (Civil) which operated mostly in the Transferred field, it
was recommended that the control of the ministers was to be made
effective by closing the recruitment on an All India basis. The offi-
cers already in those services were to be allowed to retain their All-
India status and privileges. However, the new recruits to those servi-
ces were to be appointed in future by the Provincial Governments
and they were to form a part of the Provincial Services. It was made
clear that the change was not to apply to the Indian Medical Service.
Each province was required to employ in its Medical Department a
certain number of officers lent from the Medical Department of
the Army in India. The Commission recommended an increased rate
of Indianisation. For the Indian Civil Service, 10% of the superior
posts were to be filled by the appointment of the provincial service
officers to "listed” posts. Direct recruitment in future was to be
on the basis of equal numbers between Europeans and Indians. It
was estimated that within 15 years, half the recruits to the Indian
Civil Service would be Indians and half Europeans. As regards the
Indian Police Service, recruitment was to be in the proportion of five
Europeans and three Indians, allowing their promotion from provin-
cial services to fill up 20% of the vacancies. It was estimated that
## p. 951 (#995) ############################################
THE LEE COMMISSION
951
by 1949 the personnel of the Police Service would be half Euro-
peans and half Indians. As regards the Indian Forest Service, the
recruitment was to be in the ratio of 75% Indians and 25% Euro-
peans. As regards the Irrigation Branch of the Indian Service of
Engineers, there was to be direct recruitment of Indians and Euro-
peans in equal numbers. As regards the Central Services, the
Commission recommended that in the Political Department 25%
of the total officers to be recruited annually should be Indians.
In the Imperial Customs, not less than half the new entrants should
be the natives of India. In the Superior Telegraph and Wireless
Branch, 25% of the persons should be recruited in England and
the rest in India. As regards State railways, recruitment in India
was to be increased as soon as possible to 75%. 25% new entrants
were to be recruited in England. The Commission also recom-
mended an increase in the emoluments and privileges of the mem-
brs of the civil service. The European members of the services
were to be allowed to remit their overseas pay at the rate of 2s. for
a rupee or to draw the same in London in sterling at that rate,
although the actual rate of exchange was ls. 5d. The European
members of the Superior Civil Services and their wives were to
receive four return passages and one single passage for each child
during service. If any European member of a Civil Service died
while serving in India, his family was to be repatriated at the ex-
pense of the Government of India. The pensions of the civil
servants were considerably increased. Medical attendance by
European officers was to be made available to them. Family pen-
sion funds were to be introduced. All future British recruits to the
All India Services were given the option to retire on proportionate
pension in case they decided not to serve in India. The Commis-
sion also recommended that the Public Service Commission should
be set up immediately.
The Lee Commission had been appointed in 1923 by Lord Peel
who belonged to the Conservative Party. However, the Report of
the Commission appeared when the Labour Party headed by
Ramsay MacDonald was in office. The Report was fiercely
attacked in India as a reactionary document out of tune with the
new era ushered in by the Labour Government. The opposition
was due to racial antagonism and the desire to press home a politi-
cal advantage. It was also due to the fact that many unnecessary
financial concessions were offered to the Services.
The Factory Act of 1911 had limited the working hours of child-
ren and women to 7 and 11 respectively and provided for a com-
pulsory recess for half an hour in the midday in all factories. The
old limits of 9 to 14 for the age of children had been retained but
## p. 952 (#996) ############################################
952
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 1919
arrangements made to get their age properly certified. Particular-
ly in the case of textile industries, the working hours of children
were limited to 6 and of adult males to 12. Many new provisions
were introduced about the health and safety of the industrial
workers. However, unrest in the labour world after 1919 made it
necessary that changes should also be made in the conditions of
labour in India. The Draft Conventions and the Draft Recom-
mendations of the International Labour Conference held at
Washington in 1921 were introduced into the Central Legislature
and passed in 1922. The new act widened the definition of fac-
tory. It abolished the old distinction between textile and non-
textile factory. It raised the minimum age for children for em-
ployment from 9 to 12 and the maximum age from 14 to 15 provided
the children were not employed for more than 6 hours a day with
fixed compulsory rest intervals. The Act restricted the work of all
adults to 11 hours a day and 60 hours a week, with a rest interval
of 1 hour after six hours work and a regular weekly holiday. Pro-
vision was also made for payment for over-time work. The Act
applied only to factories and not to all industrial workers. Cer-
tain changes were made in the Act in 1923 and 1926 to ensure
better working. In 1923 was passed the Workmen Compensation
Act. It provided for compensation for certain kinds of injuries, or
death of industrial workers of various classes. In 1923 was passed
the Boilers Act and in 1925 the Cotton Ginning and Pressing
Factories Act.
The Central Advisory Board of Education created first in 1920
under the Chairmanship of the Educational Commissioner of the
Government of India, was abolished in 1923 as a measure of econo-
my on the recommendation of the Indian Retrenchment Committee
presided over by Lord Inchcape. It was revived after 12 years.
According to the recommendation of the Universities Conference
held at Simla on the initiative of the Government of India in May
1924, an Inter-University Board for India was set up in 1925 and
the same has been doing very useful work since then.
The Bureau of Education in India was abolished in 1923 as a
measure of economy. It was revived after 14 years. It was pri-
marily concerned with the collection and dissemination of litera-
ture relating to educational problems in the various Provinces.
LORD IRWIN (1926-31)
Lord Irwin succeeded Lord Reading in 1926.
He was a man
of remarkable character and he left a very favourable impression
on the minds of the Indians. He is said to have been a keen prac-
## p. 953 (#997) ############################################
LORD IRWIN
953
tising Christian. In spite of the surrounding circumstances, he
maintained his peculiar political austerity. He tried his best to
raise the status of the Indians. Formerly, the Constitution of
India was made for the Indians by the British Parliament without
any participation of the Indians. It was during his regime that
the first Round Table Conference was held in London in 1930 to
discuss the nature of the Constitution which India was to have and
very many distinguished Indians were invited to participate in its
deliberations. This was a big departure from the previous prac-
tice but was in keeping with the spirit of a confidential Despatch
submitted by the Viceroy and his Council to London in 1930. The
recommendation made by the Viceroy was that in the future
Constitution, India should have the status of a partner rather than
a subordinate as had been the case before.
When Lord Irwin came to India, there were Hindu-Muslim riots
all over the country. The immediate causes were minor incidents
such as the playing of music before mosques, slaughter of cows,
pelting of stones by mischievous boys or anti-social elements in
society but the consequences were very serious. During those riots,
houses and shops were looted and burnt. People were murdered.
There were pitched battles in the streets of the cities between gangs
armed with sticks and stones. There was not only loss of life and
property but trade and commerce also suffered. It was estimated
that between 250 and 300 persons were killed and more than 2,500
injured during the riots. The Hindu-Muslim Conference was held
at Simla to create a better atmosphere but it was without any result.
- The efforts of the All India National Conference to find a solution
to the problem also failed and communal riots continued to occur
from time to time.
It was during his regime that the Simon Commission was
appointed in 1927. The Indians protested against its all-White
composition. There were Hartals and boycotts all over the coun-
try. Lathi charges were common. In December 1928, the Indian
National Congress at its Calcutta session passed a resolution asking
the British Government to grant India dominion status within a
year. In October 1929, Lord Irwin made a statement on behalf
of the British Government that the goal of the British Government
in India was to give dominion status to India but that declaration
did not satisfy the Indian leaders and at its Lahore session held in
December 1929, the Congress declared that its goal was full inde-
pendence and not dominion status. January 26, 1930 was declar-
ed as Independence Day. Civil Disobedience Movement was
started by Mahatma Gandhi under his own leadership. Thousands
of men, women and children were arrested and punished. In many
## p. 954 (#998) ############################################
954
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 1919
cases, their properties were confiscated. It was in that atmosphere
that the Simon Commission submitted its Report and the First
Round Table Conference met in London in 1930. Not much could
be accomplished on account of the absence of the representatives
of the Indian National Congress. Through the efforts of Sir Tej
Bahadur Sapru and M. R. Jayakar, the Gandhi-Irwin Pact was
signed on March 5, 1931. While the Government of India agreed
to make certain concessions, the Congress agreed to withdraw the
Civil Disobedience Movement. The boycott of the non-Indian
goods was to be discontinued. Mahatma Gandhi was not to press
for a public inquiry into the allegations against the conduct of the
police in India. The Government of India was to withdraw the
ordinances promulgated in connection with the Civil Disobedience
Movement. Pending prosecutions were to be withdrawn. The
prisoners were to be released and their properties restored. Fines
which had not been realised were to be remitted. Immovable
property taken into possession by the Government was to be return-
ed to their owners.
The Gandhi-Irwin Pact had a mixed reception. The people
of the country welcomed it as a great victory for the Congress.
The Congress was in a stronger position in future to fight against
the Government. However, the agreement was condemned on
the ground that Mahatma Gandhi was not able to save the lives of
Sardar Bhagat Singh and his comrades. The result was that when
Gandhiji went to attend the Karachi session of the Congress soon
after the signing of the agreement, there were black flag demons-
trations against him and there were shouts of “Down with Gandhi"
and “Gandhi truce has sent Bhagat Singh to the gallows”.
There was a lot of indignation over the publication of a book by
Miss Mayo entitled Mother India in which the social system of the
Indians was condemned. It was believed that publication of the
book was inspired by the Government of India with the object of
demonstrating to the world that the people of India were not fit
for self-Government.
In 1927, Rai Sahib Harbilas Sharda introduced a Bill in the
Central Assembly with the object of prohibiting marriages of girls
below the age of 12 and of boys below the age of 15. The Bill was
changed considerably before the same was passed in 1930 as the
Sarda Act. The Act applied to all communities and made mar-
riage contract between boys under 18 and girls under 14 an offence
punishable by law. It is unfortunate that the Act has not been
enforced properly in the country.
In 1927, there was a bitter dispute over the fixation of the Gold
value of the rupee. The Currency Commission had recommended
## p. 955 (#999) ############################################
LORD IRWIN
955
the fixation of the value of the Indian rupee at Is. 6d. That was
the price at which the Indian rupee had settled after many fluctua-
tions. Sir Purshotamdas Thakurdas, a member of the Commis-
sion, wrote a minute of dissent in which he recommended the rate
of is. 4d. Although it was a highly technical currency measure,
there was a lot of hue and cry in the country. The cotton manu-
facturers of Western India claimed that they were fighting for
the Indian Agriculturists. In spite of the heat created, the value
was fixed at 1s. 6d. but it created a lot of bitterness.
There was a lot of terrorist activities in the country. A bomb
was thrown on the train in which Lord Irwin was travelling on 23
December, 1929. Sardar Bhagat Singh and his friends threw
bombs in the Central Assembly. They were captured, tried and
ultimately hanged. An attempt was made by the Government to
burn their dead bodies on the banks of the river Sutlej near Feroze-
pore but the half-burnt bodies were recovered by the people,
brought to Lahore and ultimately cremated on the banks of the
river Ravi. Lakhs of people joined the funeral procession.
In 1929, the Government of India announced the appointment
by His Majesty the King-Emperor of a Royal Commission on Indian
labour with the late Rt. Hon'ble J. H. Whitley as its Chairman, “to
enquire into and report on the existing conditions of labour in
industrial undertakings and plantations in British India; on the
health, efficiency and standard of living of the workers; and on
the relations between the employers and the employed; and to
make recommendations. ” The Royal Commission critically exa-
mined the existing Labour Legislation and Labour conditions in
India and made its recommendations in its Report which was pub-
lished in July, 1931. In pursuance of the recommendations made
by the Royal Commission, the Workmen Compensation Act was
amended in 1933. The Indian Factories' Act of 1934, extended
the provisions of the previous Factories Acts regarding the hours
of work and sanitary and other conditions to industrial labourers.
The Payment of Wages Act, 1936, sought to regulate the pay-
ment of wages to the workers. The C. P. Unregulated Factories
Act of 1937 regulated the labour of women and children and made
provisions for the welfare of labour in the factories to which the
Factories Act of 1934 did not apply. The hours of work were limited
to 10 a day or 50 a week in all perennial factories. Each Province
appointed Factory Inspectors to secure the observance of the Facto-
ries Act.
The Madras Labour Union formed by Shri B. P. Wadia in 1918
is considered to be the first trade union in the country. In 1920,
Shri N. M. Joshi set up the first All India Trade Union Congress.
## p. 956 (#1000) ###########################################
956
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 1919
Trade Unions began to spring up in most of the industrial centres.
In order to regulate their activities, the Trade Union Act was pass-
ed in 1926 and it came into force on 1 June, 1927. Chapter II of
the Act dealt with the registration of the Trade Union. There
was to be a Registrar of Trade Unions for every Province. A
procedure was laid down for their registration. An application
was to be made to the Registrar for the registration of a Trade
Union and that application was to contain certain particulars.
The rules of a Trade Union were required to make provision
for certain things given in Section 6 of the Act. Section 7 gave the
power to the Registrar to call for further particulars. The Regis-
trar was authorised to give a certificate of registration of a Trade
Union and he could also cancel the same in certain cases. Provi-
sion was made for an appeal against the order of the Registrar.
Every registered Trade Union was declared to be a body corporate
by the name under which it was registered and was to have perpe-
tual succession and a common seal with power to acquire and hold
both movable and immovable property and to enter into con-
tracts and was also liable to sue and be sued. Section 15 of the
Act classified the objects on which the general funds of a registered
trade union could be spent. Section 16 authorised the constitu-
tion of a separate fund by a registered Trade Union for political
purposes. Sections 17 and 18 granted certain exemptions to Trade
Unions. Provision was also made for the dissolution of Trade
Unions and also their amalgamation with other trade unions.
LORD WILLINGDON (1931-36)
Lord Irwin was succeeded by Lord Willingdon. Before his ap-
pointment as Governor-General, Lord Willingdon was the Gover-
nor of Bombay and Madras from 1913 to 1924. From 1926 to
1930, he was the Governor-General of Canada. It was during his
Viceroyalty that the Second Round Table Conference met in Lon-
don in 1931. Nothing came out of this Conference as Mr. Jinnah
refused to come to terms with Mahatma Gandhi and the Mahatma
left the Conference in disgust. As soon as he came back to India,
the truce between the Government and the Congress came to an
end. Mahatma Gandhi was arrested and in order to meet the
civil disobedience campaign started by the Congress, the Govern-
ment promulgated four Ordinances. A large number of persons
were arrested and convicted.
There was acute economic distress in the United Provinces. Both
the landlords and cultivators were hard hit. The Government
remitted land revenue to the tune of Rs. 68 lakhs to begin with and
## p. 957 (#1001) ###########################################
LORD WILLINGDON
957
later on increased the same to Rs. 109 lakhs. In spite of this, the
tenants were not satisfied and they refused to pay rents. The result
was that the Government promulgated the United Provinces Emer-
gency Powers Ordinance. A large number of persons including
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru were arrested in this connection towards
the end of 1931.
There was similar trouble in the North-Western Frontier Pro-
vince. Under the leadership of Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, the Red
Shrits started a campaign in favour of non-payment of rents and
taxes. Ordinances were promulgated in this area also and Khan
Abdul Gaffar Khan was arrested.
In August 1932, the British Prime Minister, Mr. Ramsay Mac-
Donald, gave the Communal Award in which it was laid down as
to how many seats were to be given to the various communities in
India. Separate electorates were granted to the Muslims, Indian
Christians, Sikhs and Europeans. Provision was also made for
separate constituencies for the Depressed Classes. The Muslim
League welcomed the Communal Award but the Hindus condemn-
ed it. However, the Congress neither accepted it nor rejected it.
Mahatma Gandhi opposed the setting up of separate constituencies
for the depressed classes and began a fast unto death unless and
until the Depressed Classes were put along with the Hindus. There
were hectic negotiations and ultimately the Poona Pact was signed.
The Poona Pact abolished the separate constituencies of the De-
pressed Classes but reserved seats for them from the quota of the
Hindus.
Towards the end of 1932, the Third Round Table Conference
was held. The Congress members were in the jails and hence the
Conference was boycotted by them. However, the other Indians
attended it and delegates reached an agreement on many points.
Their proposals were published in a White Paper in March, 1933.
The White Paper proposed a federation of 11 Provinces and those
Indian States which were willing to join it on certain conditions.
It provided for a bicameral Federal Legislature to which the Exe-
cutive was to be responsible. However, the Governor-General was
given many special powers which could be exercised by him even
without consulting his ministers. Provincial autonomy was to be
established in the Provinces and ordinarily the Governor was ex-
pected to act according to the wishes of the ministers. The White
Paper proposals were rejected by the people of India as too many
discretionary powers were given to the Governor-General and the
Governors. The people also did not like the federal scheme as pro-
posed in the White Paper.
In 1933, Mahatma Gandhi undertook a second fast. This fast
## p. 958 (#1002) ###########################################
958
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 1919
>
was intended to help the cause of the Harijans. Mahatma Gandhi
intended to shake the conscience of the Hindus towards the un-
touchables in Hindu society. This fast lasted for 21 days.
Civil disobedience movement was suspended for 6 weeks to
begin with but later on it was completely abandoned. In its place,
individual civil disobedience movement to be practised by private
individuals was started. Mahatma Gandhi contemplated a march
from Ahmedabad to the Kaira District but he was arrested and
imprisoned. While the Mahatma was in jail, he started his third
fast and the Government released him after a week as his condi-
tion was found to be dangerous. Many attempts were made to
start the civil disobedience movement but they did not succeed.
In 1934, Mahatma Gandhi put an end to the campaign saying:
“In future no Congressman except myself shall practise Civil Dis-
obedience. "
There was a wave of terrorism in the country during this period.
Within 3 years, 3 District Magistrates of Midnapore alone were
shot dead by the terrorists. On 8 May, 1934, a desperate attempt
was made on the life of Sir John Anderson, Governor of Bengal,
by two young terrorists but luckily he survived. The Governor
showed courage and coolness while facing the assailants.
The Government of India Act was passed in 1935 but only a
part of it came into force on 1 April, 1937.
Earthquakes took place in Bihar and Quetta. There was a ter-
rible loss of life and property. In the case of Bihar, a lot of useful
work was done by societies like the Arya Samaj and Dr. Rajendra
Prasad made a special mention of this fact. In the case of Quetta,
the Earthquake was so terrible that in one night the whole of the
population of Quetta disappeared. Thousands of men, women and
children died under the debris of their houses which shook and
collapsed in that fateful night.
The Indian Press (Emergency Powers) Act, 1931, Foreign Rela-
tions Act, 1932 and Indian States (Protection) Act, 1934 were
passed during the regime of Lord Willingdon. The object of the
Indian Press (Emergency Powers) Act, 1931 was to provide
against the publication of that matter which incited or encouraged
murder or violence. Provision was made for the deposit of security
by the keepers of printing presses. The provincial Government
was given the power to forfeit the security of a press in certain cases.
If a printer applied for a fresh declaration, he could be asked by
a magistrate to deposit a security of the value of not less than
Rs. 1,000 and not more than Rs. 10,000 as the magistrate might
think fit. If, after the deposit of a new security, a newspaper pub-
lished objectionable matter, the provincial Government could for-
## p. 959 (#1003) ###########################################
INDIAN PRESS (EMERGENCY POWERS) ACT
959
feit the new security also. Provisions which applied to keepers of
printing presses applied equally to the publishers of newspapers.
Section 11 penalised the keeping of printing presses and the publish-
ing of newspapers without making the security deposit as required
by the provincial Government or the magistrate. If a press did
not deposit the security but continued to do its work, it could
be forfeited to His Majesty and the declaration of the publi-
sher was liable to be cancelled Any police officer empowered
for that purpose by the provincial Government could seize
any unauthorised news sheets or unauthorised newspapers wher-
ever found and the same could be ordered to be destroyed by a
magistrate. The Government was given the power to seize and
forfeit undeclared presses producing unauthorised news sheets and
newspapers. The penalty for disseminating unauthorised news
sheets and newspapers was imprisonment up to 6 months, with or
without fine. The provincial Government was given the power to
declare certain publications forfeited to His Majesty and also issue
search warrants for the same. The Customs Officers were autho-
rised to detain packages containing certain publications when im-
ported into British India. No unauthorised news sheets or news-
papers could be transmitted by post.
The powers conferred by the Act were undoubtedly sweeping in
their nature and scope. Those were actually used by the Provin-
cial Governments to prohibit the publication of the names and por-
traits of well-known leaders of the Civil Disobedience Movement
as the publication of such pictures tended to encourage the move-
The other restraints included the prohibition of the publi-
cation of Congress propaganda of any kind including messages
from the persons arrested, messages issued or purported to be issued
from persons in jail, exaggerated reports of political events, notices
and advertisements of meetings, processions and other activities
tending to promote Civil Disobedience Movement or any other
matter in furtherance of the same. Under this Act, the Govern-
ment took action against many newspapers. The printers and
publishers of the Bombay Chronicle were called upon to deposit
Rs. 3,000 each for publishing an article by Mr. Horniman. The
printer and publisher of the Anand Bazar Patrika each received a
demand for Rs. 1,000. A security of Rs. 6,000 was demanded from
the Amrit Bazar Patrika. Rs. 6,000 were deposited by The Liberty
of Calcutta. A security of Rs. 6,000 was deposited by the Free
Press Journal and later on forfeited by the Bombay Government.
Similar action was taken against other newspapers. There was
virtually a reign of terror in the country.
these circumstances that Dr. Mehr Chand Mahajan, former Chief
Justice of India, was appointed on October 25, 1966 as One-Man
Commission to resolve the boundary disputes between the States
## p. 945 (#989) ############################################
THE MAHAJAN REPORT
945
of Maharashtra, Mysore and Kerala. The Commission had to
do a lot of touring and ultimately it submitted its Report on August
25, 1967 and the same was released to the public on November 4,
1967. In his Report, Dr. Mehr Chand Mahajan recommended
the transfer of certain villages from Mysore to Maharashtra and
vice versa.
He also recommended the incorporation of Kasaragod
in the State of Mysore. Dr. Mahajan favoured neither one party
nor the other. He accepted neither all the claims of Maharashtra
nor those of Mysore. He applied his judicial mind to the facts of
the case and made his recommendations in the light of what he
considered to be in the best interests not only of the people of
Maharashtra, Mysore and Kerala but also of India as a whole.
He condemned all those who stood for linguistic States as an end.
He rightly pointed out that the principle of linguistic States had
been accepted not to create inter-state barriers and tensions but to
promote the welfare of the people of India as a whole. No unilin-
gual State existed for the speakers of a particular language. While
the recommendations of the Mahajan Commission were accepted
by Mysore, those were rejected by Maharashtra. The result is that
the border dispute is continuing. It has already resulted in a lot
of bloodshed.
## p. 946 (#990) ############################################
CHAPTER XXXVIII
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 1919
LORD CHELMSFORD was the Governor-General and Viceroy
of India in 1919 when the Government of India Act, 1919 was
passed by the British Parliament and he continued to occupy that
exalted position up to 1921. It was during his Viceroyalty that
the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy took place at Amritsar. Mahatma
Gandhi also started his Non-Cooperation movement during his
regime although the same continued even during the time of his
successor.
The Muslims of India started the Khilafat movement
to protest against the treatment meted out to Turkey by the Allied
Powers. The movement stood for the maintenance of the integrity
of the Turkish Empire. The Muslims also demanded the establish-
ment of a Muslim State of Palestine.
LORD READING (1921-26)
Lord Chelmsford was succeeded by Lord Reading in 1921 and
he continued to occupy that position up to 1926. Lord Reading
was born in a poor family but he rose to the high position of Lord
Chief Justice of England by dint of hard work. During his Vice-
royalty, there was a lot of opposition to the Government. Both the
Indian National Congress and the Muslim League were dissatisfied
with the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms and as a matter of fact, the
general elections were boycotted by the Congress. Mahatma
Gandhi joined hands with the Khilafat leaders and carried on agi-
tation against the Government. There was the triple boycott of
Pritish Courts, Government Schools and the Reformed Councils.
Mahatma Gandhi was able to collect a crore of rupees for the Non-
co-operation movement. He also started a campaign in favour of
prohibition. The liquor shops were picketed by the volunteers and
the Government suffered losses in the form of revenue from liquor
licences. The Mahatma also started a campaign to remove un-
touchability from society. He also introduced the Charkha or the
hand-spinning wheel to raise the standard of life of the people and
also to harm the cloth industry of England.
When the Prince of Wales landed in Bombay in 1921, there was
complete hartal in the city. Riots also broke out and lasted for
three days. Considerable damage was done to property. 53 per-
sons were killed and about 440 were wounded.
## p. 947 (#991) ############################################
LORD READING
947
There were disturbances in Assam, Bihar, Calcutta, Chittagong,
Karachi, Madras and Dharwar. The Moplahs fell upon the
Hindus in Malabar and thousands of them were either butchered
or forcibly converted to Islam. There was a wave of indignation
among the Hindus against the Moplah rising and the failure of the
Government to protect them.
At Chauri Chaura, 21 policemen and rural watchmen were kill-
ed by an infuriated mob. This was too much for Mahatma Gandhi
who believed in a policy of non-violence. The result was that
Mahatma Gandhi withdrew the Non-co-operation Movement.
After that, he himself was arrested, tried and put in jail.
It was during the regime of Lord Reading that the Swarajist
Party was formed in 1923 under the leadership of C. R. Das in
Bengal, Pt. Motilal Nehru in Upper India and N. C. Kelkar in the
Deccan. This party stood for entry into the Legislatures. In spite
of opposition from Mahatma Gandhi, it had its way. The Swaraj-
ist Party in the Central Assembly gave a lot of trouble to the
Government.
As a result of the Non-Co-operation Movement and the wide-
spread defiance of law, criminal outrages took place in some parts
of the country, particularly in Bengal. In order to meet the situa-
tion, the Bengal Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 1924, was
issued. It provided for the arrest without a warrant of persons
suspected of belonging to criminal organisations. Special Judges
were appointed to deal with them and they were given the power
to try them secretly and punish them. With the help of this Ordi-
nance, a large number of persons were tried and imprisoned. There
was a lot of indignation in the country on account of the summary
procedure adopted in those trials.
On many occasions, the Viceroy was forced to use his power of
certification to sanction laws which were not passed by the Cen-
tral Legislature. In 1922, he certified the Princes' Protection Bill
to prevent the publication of writings which were likely to excite
feelings against the Indian Princes. To balance the 1923-24
Budget, the Viceroy increased the Salt duty by certification.
In 1923, allegations were made against the Maharaja of Nabha
by his own officials and the subjects of the Maharaja of Patiala.
However, before the matter could be investigated, the Maharaja of
Nabha abdicated and the administration of the State was taken over
by the Government.
One Mumtaz Begam, a singing girl, was under the patronage
of the Maharaja of Indore. She left the State with the assistance
of a Muslim Barrister of Bombay named Bawla. An attempt was
made to abduct Mumtaz Begam and Bawla was murdered. Lord
## p. 948 (#992) ############################################
948
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 1919
Reading appointed a commission of enquiry to investigate into the
attempted abduction and murder. The Maharaja of Indore was
implicated in the matter and he eventually abdicated.
In 1925, the Nizam of Hyderabad claimed the Province of Berar.
He also asserted that he stood on the same footing as the British
Government in India. The claim of the Nizam was disallowed and
the Viceroy told him bluntly: “The sovereignty of the British Crown
is supreme in India and therefore no ruler of an Indian State can
justifiably claim to negotiate with the British Government on an
equal footing. Its supremacy is based not only on treaties and
engagements but exists independently of them and quite apart
from its prerogative in matters relating to foreign powers and poli-
cies. It is the right and duty of the British Government, while
scrupulously respecting all treaties and engagements with the Indian
States, to preserve peace and good order. I remind your Exalted
Highness that the ruler of Hyderabad along with other rulers re-
ceived in 1862 a Sanad declaratory of British Government's desire
for perpetuation of his House and Government subject to the conti-
nued loyalty to the Crown; and no succession to the Masnad of
Hyderabad is valid unless it is recognised by His Majesty the King-
Emperor; and that the British Government is the only arbitrator
in a disputed succession. . . . . . . . The varying degrees of internal
sovereignty which the rulers enjoy are all subject to the due exer-
cise by the Paramount Power of this responsibility. ”
It was during his Viceroyalty that the Muddiman Committee was
set up to report on the working of the Government of India Act,
1919 and its Report was also published during his regime.
The Union Parliament of South Africa proposed to pass an Anti-
Asiatic Bill providing for the reservation of certain areas in which
the Asiatics were not to be allowed to acquire land. The Govern-
ment of India took up the matter on behalf of the Indians in South
Africa and succeeded in getting the legislation postponed till a
Round Table Conference of Indian and South African delegates
met to discuss the matter.
There was the Akali agitation in the Punjab during the Viceroy-
alty of Lord Reading. The Akalis demanded that they must have
the management of the Sikh Gurdwaras or holy places under their
control. The Mahants who were in control of Gurdwaras and
were gaining a lot from them, opposed the move. That led to agita-
tion by the Akalis. The Mahant of Nankana Sahib collected a
Pathan guard and some 130 Akalis were killed in a treacherous
affray on 5 March, 1921. Conflicts took place between the Akalis
and the Police, the most important being at Guru Ka Bagh. The
Akalis adopted the policy of passive resistance. They were tortur-
## p. 949 (#993) ############################################
THE SIKH GURDWARAS ACT
949
ed by the Police. All kinds of indignities were inflicted on them.
However, the Akalis continued to send Jathas after Jathas in spite
of a policy of repression followed by the Government and ultimate-
ly they succeeded in their objective.
In 1925 was passed the Sikh Gurdwaras Act which provided
for the better administration of the Sikh Gurdwaras and for
enquiries into matters connected with them. The Act extend-
ed to the whole of the Punjab. It empowered the Provincial Gov-
ernment to declare by means of a notification that a particular
Gurdwara was a Sikh Gurdwara. It is true that objections could
be raised against the Notification but ultimately the matter was
decided by a Sikh Gurdwara Tribunal which consisted of a Presi-
dent and two other members appointed by the Provincial Govern-
ment. In most cases, the Tribunal gave its decision in favour of
the Akalis and the result was that most of the Gurdwaras came
under their control. These Gurdwaras had a lot of landed pro-
perty attached to them and a regular income of crores of rupees
every year.
Provision was also made for the appointment of a
Central Board to control the Sikh Gurdwaras in the Province.
There were to be separate Sikh Gurdwara Committees for the
management of the individual Gurdwaras. The final authority
for the management of the Sikh Gurdwaras vested in the Central
Board whose members were to be elected by the Sikhs in a pres-
cribed manner. Provision was also made for the appointment of
a Judicial Commission consisting of three Sikh Members to be
appointed by the Provincial Government. Detailed provisions
were made regarding the powers and duties of the Sikh Gurdwara
Committees. On the whole, it was a useful measure and it en-
abled the Akalis to reform the Gurdwaras and indirectly to add to
their own strength in the political field.
Under the Government of India Act, 1919, 47 subjects were de-
clared to be Central subjects and 52 subjects were included in the
Provincial List. The distribution of the subjects involved a deficit
for the Central Government and consequently a Committee known
as the Provincial Relations Committee was set up with Lord Meston
as its President to make recommendations as to how the deficit
could be met. The Committee recommended that the provinces
should make contributions to the Government of India so that the
budget could be balanced. It was estimated that the defiçit was
to be about Rs. 10 crores and the provinces were required to pay
according to their capacity. A schedule gave the permanent and
standard ratio at which each province was to be taxed in order to
wipe out the Central deficit. The contributions made by the
various provinces to the Central Government in 1921-22 were
## p. 950 (#994) ############################################
950
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 1919
Madras Rs. 348 lacs, Bombay Rs. 56 lacs, Bengal Rs. 63 lacs,
Punjab Rs. 175 lacs, United Provinces Rs. 240 lacs, Assam Rs. 15
lacs, Burma Rs. 64 lacs and C. P. and Berar Rs. 22 lacs.
When the British Government promised the establishment of
responsible Government in India, the members of the public ser-
vices were upset. Formerly, they used to rule the country and
now they got worried about their position in the future. They
demanded certain safeguards. It was suggested that the members
of the All India Services, with a few exceptions, might be allowed
to retire before they completed the service ordinarily required for
earning pension and they should be given a pension proportionate
to their actual service. About 345 All India service officers retired
by 1924. The Government of India was faced with the problem
that an adequate number of Englishmen and Europeans was not
forthcoming for the All India Services and a Royal Commission on
Superior Civil Services in India was appointed in 1923. It came
to be known as the Lee Commission as Lord Lee was its Chairman.
The Commission made many recommendations. As regards the
Indian Civil Service, the Indian Police Service, the Indian Forest
Service and the Irrigation Branch of the Service of Engineers on
which public security mainly depended, the Secretary of State was
allowed to continue to recruit. His control, with certain safe-
guards, was to be maintained. As regards the Indian Education
Service, the Indian Veterinary Service and the Indian Medical
Service (Civil) which operated mostly in the Transferred field, it
was recommended that the control of the ministers was to be made
effective by closing the recruitment on an All India basis. The offi-
cers already in those services were to be allowed to retain their All-
India status and privileges. However, the new recruits to those servi-
ces were to be appointed in future by the Provincial Governments
and they were to form a part of the Provincial Services. It was made
clear that the change was not to apply to the Indian Medical Service.
Each province was required to employ in its Medical Department a
certain number of officers lent from the Medical Department of
the Army in India. The Commission recommended an increased rate
of Indianisation. For the Indian Civil Service, 10% of the superior
posts were to be filled by the appointment of the provincial service
officers to "listed” posts. Direct recruitment in future was to be
on the basis of equal numbers between Europeans and Indians. It
was estimated that within 15 years, half the recruits to the Indian
Civil Service would be Indians and half Europeans. As regards the
Indian Police Service, recruitment was to be in the proportion of five
Europeans and three Indians, allowing their promotion from provin-
cial services to fill up 20% of the vacancies. It was estimated that
## p. 951 (#995) ############################################
THE LEE COMMISSION
951
by 1949 the personnel of the Police Service would be half Euro-
peans and half Indians. As regards the Indian Forest Service, the
recruitment was to be in the ratio of 75% Indians and 25% Euro-
peans. As regards the Irrigation Branch of the Indian Service of
Engineers, there was to be direct recruitment of Indians and Euro-
peans in equal numbers. As regards the Central Services, the
Commission recommended that in the Political Department 25%
of the total officers to be recruited annually should be Indians.
In the Imperial Customs, not less than half the new entrants should
be the natives of India. In the Superior Telegraph and Wireless
Branch, 25% of the persons should be recruited in England and
the rest in India. As regards State railways, recruitment in India
was to be increased as soon as possible to 75%. 25% new entrants
were to be recruited in England. The Commission also recom-
mended an increase in the emoluments and privileges of the mem-
brs of the civil service. The European members of the services
were to be allowed to remit their overseas pay at the rate of 2s. for
a rupee or to draw the same in London in sterling at that rate,
although the actual rate of exchange was ls. 5d. The European
members of the Superior Civil Services and their wives were to
receive four return passages and one single passage for each child
during service. If any European member of a Civil Service died
while serving in India, his family was to be repatriated at the ex-
pense of the Government of India. The pensions of the civil
servants were considerably increased. Medical attendance by
European officers was to be made available to them. Family pen-
sion funds were to be introduced. All future British recruits to the
All India Services were given the option to retire on proportionate
pension in case they decided not to serve in India. The Commis-
sion also recommended that the Public Service Commission should
be set up immediately.
The Lee Commission had been appointed in 1923 by Lord Peel
who belonged to the Conservative Party. However, the Report of
the Commission appeared when the Labour Party headed by
Ramsay MacDonald was in office. The Report was fiercely
attacked in India as a reactionary document out of tune with the
new era ushered in by the Labour Government. The opposition
was due to racial antagonism and the desire to press home a politi-
cal advantage. It was also due to the fact that many unnecessary
financial concessions were offered to the Services.
The Factory Act of 1911 had limited the working hours of child-
ren and women to 7 and 11 respectively and provided for a com-
pulsory recess for half an hour in the midday in all factories. The
old limits of 9 to 14 for the age of children had been retained but
## p. 952 (#996) ############################################
952
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 1919
arrangements made to get their age properly certified. Particular-
ly in the case of textile industries, the working hours of children
were limited to 6 and of adult males to 12. Many new provisions
were introduced about the health and safety of the industrial
workers. However, unrest in the labour world after 1919 made it
necessary that changes should also be made in the conditions of
labour in India. The Draft Conventions and the Draft Recom-
mendations of the International Labour Conference held at
Washington in 1921 were introduced into the Central Legislature
and passed in 1922. The new act widened the definition of fac-
tory. It abolished the old distinction between textile and non-
textile factory. It raised the minimum age for children for em-
ployment from 9 to 12 and the maximum age from 14 to 15 provided
the children were not employed for more than 6 hours a day with
fixed compulsory rest intervals. The Act restricted the work of all
adults to 11 hours a day and 60 hours a week, with a rest interval
of 1 hour after six hours work and a regular weekly holiday. Pro-
vision was also made for payment for over-time work. The Act
applied only to factories and not to all industrial workers. Cer-
tain changes were made in the Act in 1923 and 1926 to ensure
better working. In 1923 was passed the Workmen Compensation
Act. It provided for compensation for certain kinds of injuries, or
death of industrial workers of various classes. In 1923 was passed
the Boilers Act and in 1925 the Cotton Ginning and Pressing
Factories Act.
The Central Advisory Board of Education created first in 1920
under the Chairmanship of the Educational Commissioner of the
Government of India, was abolished in 1923 as a measure of econo-
my on the recommendation of the Indian Retrenchment Committee
presided over by Lord Inchcape. It was revived after 12 years.
According to the recommendation of the Universities Conference
held at Simla on the initiative of the Government of India in May
1924, an Inter-University Board for India was set up in 1925 and
the same has been doing very useful work since then.
The Bureau of Education in India was abolished in 1923 as a
measure of economy. It was revived after 14 years. It was pri-
marily concerned with the collection and dissemination of litera-
ture relating to educational problems in the various Provinces.
LORD IRWIN (1926-31)
Lord Irwin succeeded Lord Reading in 1926.
He was a man
of remarkable character and he left a very favourable impression
on the minds of the Indians. He is said to have been a keen prac-
## p. 953 (#997) ############################################
LORD IRWIN
953
tising Christian. In spite of the surrounding circumstances, he
maintained his peculiar political austerity. He tried his best to
raise the status of the Indians. Formerly, the Constitution of
India was made for the Indians by the British Parliament without
any participation of the Indians. It was during his regime that
the first Round Table Conference was held in London in 1930 to
discuss the nature of the Constitution which India was to have and
very many distinguished Indians were invited to participate in its
deliberations. This was a big departure from the previous prac-
tice but was in keeping with the spirit of a confidential Despatch
submitted by the Viceroy and his Council to London in 1930. The
recommendation made by the Viceroy was that in the future
Constitution, India should have the status of a partner rather than
a subordinate as had been the case before.
When Lord Irwin came to India, there were Hindu-Muslim riots
all over the country. The immediate causes were minor incidents
such as the playing of music before mosques, slaughter of cows,
pelting of stones by mischievous boys or anti-social elements in
society but the consequences were very serious. During those riots,
houses and shops were looted and burnt. People were murdered.
There were pitched battles in the streets of the cities between gangs
armed with sticks and stones. There was not only loss of life and
property but trade and commerce also suffered. It was estimated
that between 250 and 300 persons were killed and more than 2,500
injured during the riots. The Hindu-Muslim Conference was held
at Simla to create a better atmosphere but it was without any result.
- The efforts of the All India National Conference to find a solution
to the problem also failed and communal riots continued to occur
from time to time.
It was during his regime that the Simon Commission was
appointed in 1927. The Indians protested against its all-White
composition. There were Hartals and boycotts all over the coun-
try. Lathi charges were common. In December 1928, the Indian
National Congress at its Calcutta session passed a resolution asking
the British Government to grant India dominion status within a
year. In October 1929, Lord Irwin made a statement on behalf
of the British Government that the goal of the British Government
in India was to give dominion status to India but that declaration
did not satisfy the Indian leaders and at its Lahore session held in
December 1929, the Congress declared that its goal was full inde-
pendence and not dominion status. January 26, 1930 was declar-
ed as Independence Day. Civil Disobedience Movement was
started by Mahatma Gandhi under his own leadership. Thousands
of men, women and children were arrested and punished. In many
## p. 954 (#998) ############################################
954
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 1919
cases, their properties were confiscated. It was in that atmosphere
that the Simon Commission submitted its Report and the First
Round Table Conference met in London in 1930. Not much could
be accomplished on account of the absence of the representatives
of the Indian National Congress. Through the efforts of Sir Tej
Bahadur Sapru and M. R. Jayakar, the Gandhi-Irwin Pact was
signed on March 5, 1931. While the Government of India agreed
to make certain concessions, the Congress agreed to withdraw the
Civil Disobedience Movement. The boycott of the non-Indian
goods was to be discontinued. Mahatma Gandhi was not to press
for a public inquiry into the allegations against the conduct of the
police in India. The Government of India was to withdraw the
ordinances promulgated in connection with the Civil Disobedience
Movement. Pending prosecutions were to be withdrawn. The
prisoners were to be released and their properties restored. Fines
which had not been realised were to be remitted. Immovable
property taken into possession by the Government was to be return-
ed to their owners.
The Gandhi-Irwin Pact had a mixed reception. The people
of the country welcomed it as a great victory for the Congress.
The Congress was in a stronger position in future to fight against
the Government. However, the agreement was condemned on
the ground that Mahatma Gandhi was not able to save the lives of
Sardar Bhagat Singh and his comrades. The result was that when
Gandhiji went to attend the Karachi session of the Congress soon
after the signing of the agreement, there were black flag demons-
trations against him and there were shouts of “Down with Gandhi"
and “Gandhi truce has sent Bhagat Singh to the gallows”.
There was a lot of indignation over the publication of a book by
Miss Mayo entitled Mother India in which the social system of the
Indians was condemned. It was believed that publication of the
book was inspired by the Government of India with the object of
demonstrating to the world that the people of India were not fit
for self-Government.
In 1927, Rai Sahib Harbilas Sharda introduced a Bill in the
Central Assembly with the object of prohibiting marriages of girls
below the age of 12 and of boys below the age of 15. The Bill was
changed considerably before the same was passed in 1930 as the
Sarda Act. The Act applied to all communities and made mar-
riage contract between boys under 18 and girls under 14 an offence
punishable by law. It is unfortunate that the Act has not been
enforced properly in the country.
In 1927, there was a bitter dispute over the fixation of the Gold
value of the rupee. The Currency Commission had recommended
## p. 955 (#999) ############################################
LORD IRWIN
955
the fixation of the value of the Indian rupee at Is. 6d. That was
the price at which the Indian rupee had settled after many fluctua-
tions. Sir Purshotamdas Thakurdas, a member of the Commis-
sion, wrote a minute of dissent in which he recommended the rate
of is. 4d. Although it was a highly technical currency measure,
there was a lot of hue and cry in the country. The cotton manu-
facturers of Western India claimed that they were fighting for
the Indian Agriculturists. In spite of the heat created, the value
was fixed at 1s. 6d. but it created a lot of bitterness.
There was a lot of terrorist activities in the country. A bomb
was thrown on the train in which Lord Irwin was travelling on 23
December, 1929. Sardar Bhagat Singh and his friends threw
bombs in the Central Assembly. They were captured, tried and
ultimately hanged. An attempt was made by the Government to
burn their dead bodies on the banks of the river Sutlej near Feroze-
pore but the half-burnt bodies were recovered by the people,
brought to Lahore and ultimately cremated on the banks of the
river Ravi. Lakhs of people joined the funeral procession.
In 1929, the Government of India announced the appointment
by His Majesty the King-Emperor of a Royal Commission on Indian
labour with the late Rt. Hon'ble J. H. Whitley as its Chairman, “to
enquire into and report on the existing conditions of labour in
industrial undertakings and plantations in British India; on the
health, efficiency and standard of living of the workers; and on
the relations between the employers and the employed; and to
make recommendations. ” The Royal Commission critically exa-
mined the existing Labour Legislation and Labour conditions in
India and made its recommendations in its Report which was pub-
lished in July, 1931. In pursuance of the recommendations made
by the Royal Commission, the Workmen Compensation Act was
amended in 1933. The Indian Factories' Act of 1934, extended
the provisions of the previous Factories Acts regarding the hours
of work and sanitary and other conditions to industrial labourers.
The Payment of Wages Act, 1936, sought to regulate the pay-
ment of wages to the workers. The C. P. Unregulated Factories
Act of 1937 regulated the labour of women and children and made
provisions for the welfare of labour in the factories to which the
Factories Act of 1934 did not apply. The hours of work were limited
to 10 a day or 50 a week in all perennial factories. Each Province
appointed Factory Inspectors to secure the observance of the Facto-
ries Act.
The Madras Labour Union formed by Shri B. P. Wadia in 1918
is considered to be the first trade union in the country. In 1920,
Shri N. M. Joshi set up the first All India Trade Union Congress.
## p. 956 (#1000) ###########################################
956
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 1919
Trade Unions began to spring up in most of the industrial centres.
In order to regulate their activities, the Trade Union Act was pass-
ed in 1926 and it came into force on 1 June, 1927. Chapter II of
the Act dealt with the registration of the Trade Union. There
was to be a Registrar of Trade Unions for every Province. A
procedure was laid down for their registration. An application
was to be made to the Registrar for the registration of a Trade
Union and that application was to contain certain particulars.
The rules of a Trade Union were required to make provision
for certain things given in Section 6 of the Act. Section 7 gave the
power to the Registrar to call for further particulars. The Regis-
trar was authorised to give a certificate of registration of a Trade
Union and he could also cancel the same in certain cases. Provi-
sion was made for an appeal against the order of the Registrar.
Every registered Trade Union was declared to be a body corporate
by the name under which it was registered and was to have perpe-
tual succession and a common seal with power to acquire and hold
both movable and immovable property and to enter into con-
tracts and was also liable to sue and be sued. Section 15 of the
Act classified the objects on which the general funds of a registered
trade union could be spent. Section 16 authorised the constitu-
tion of a separate fund by a registered Trade Union for political
purposes. Sections 17 and 18 granted certain exemptions to Trade
Unions. Provision was also made for the dissolution of Trade
Unions and also their amalgamation with other trade unions.
LORD WILLINGDON (1931-36)
Lord Irwin was succeeded by Lord Willingdon. Before his ap-
pointment as Governor-General, Lord Willingdon was the Gover-
nor of Bombay and Madras from 1913 to 1924. From 1926 to
1930, he was the Governor-General of Canada. It was during his
Viceroyalty that the Second Round Table Conference met in Lon-
don in 1931. Nothing came out of this Conference as Mr. Jinnah
refused to come to terms with Mahatma Gandhi and the Mahatma
left the Conference in disgust. As soon as he came back to India,
the truce between the Government and the Congress came to an
end. Mahatma Gandhi was arrested and in order to meet the
civil disobedience campaign started by the Congress, the Govern-
ment promulgated four Ordinances. A large number of persons
were arrested and convicted.
There was acute economic distress in the United Provinces. Both
the landlords and cultivators were hard hit. The Government
remitted land revenue to the tune of Rs. 68 lakhs to begin with and
## p. 957 (#1001) ###########################################
LORD WILLINGDON
957
later on increased the same to Rs. 109 lakhs. In spite of this, the
tenants were not satisfied and they refused to pay rents. The result
was that the Government promulgated the United Provinces Emer-
gency Powers Ordinance. A large number of persons including
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru were arrested in this connection towards
the end of 1931.
There was similar trouble in the North-Western Frontier Pro-
vince. Under the leadership of Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, the Red
Shrits started a campaign in favour of non-payment of rents and
taxes. Ordinances were promulgated in this area also and Khan
Abdul Gaffar Khan was arrested.
In August 1932, the British Prime Minister, Mr. Ramsay Mac-
Donald, gave the Communal Award in which it was laid down as
to how many seats were to be given to the various communities in
India. Separate electorates were granted to the Muslims, Indian
Christians, Sikhs and Europeans. Provision was also made for
separate constituencies for the Depressed Classes. The Muslim
League welcomed the Communal Award but the Hindus condemn-
ed it. However, the Congress neither accepted it nor rejected it.
Mahatma Gandhi opposed the setting up of separate constituencies
for the depressed classes and began a fast unto death unless and
until the Depressed Classes were put along with the Hindus. There
were hectic negotiations and ultimately the Poona Pact was signed.
The Poona Pact abolished the separate constituencies of the De-
pressed Classes but reserved seats for them from the quota of the
Hindus.
Towards the end of 1932, the Third Round Table Conference
was held. The Congress members were in the jails and hence the
Conference was boycotted by them. However, the other Indians
attended it and delegates reached an agreement on many points.
Their proposals were published in a White Paper in March, 1933.
The White Paper proposed a federation of 11 Provinces and those
Indian States which were willing to join it on certain conditions.
It provided for a bicameral Federal Legislature to which the Exe-
cutive was to be responsible. However, the Governor-General was
given many special powers which could be exercised by him even
without consulting his ministers. Provincial autonomy was to be
established in the Provinces and ordinarily the Governor was ex-
pected to act according to the wishes of the ministers. The White
Paper proposals were rejected by the people of India as too many
discretionary powers were given to the Governor-General and the
Governors. The people also did not like the federal scheme as pro-
posed in the White Paper.
In 1933, Mahatma Gandhi undertook a second fast. This fast
## p. 958 (#1002) ###########################################
958
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 1919
>
was intended to help the cause of the Harijans. Mahatma Gandhi
intended to shake the conscience of the Hindus towards the un-
touchables in Hindu society. This fast lasted for 21 days.
Civil disobedience movement was suspended for 6 weeks to
begin with but later on it was completely abandoned. In its place,
individual civil disobedience movement to be practised by private
individuals was started. Mahatma Gandhi contemplated a march
from Ahmedabad to the Kaira District but he was arrested and
imprisoned. While the Mahatma was in jail, he started his third
fast and the Government released him after a week as his condi-
tion was found to be dangerous. Many attempts were made to
start the civil disobedience movement but they did not succeed.
In 1934, Mahatma Gandhi put an end to the campaign saying:
“In future no Congressman except myself shall practise Civil Dis-
obedience. "
There was a wave of terrorism in the country during this period.
Within 3 years, 3 District Magistrates of Midnapore alone were
shot dead by the terrorists. On 8 May, 1934, a desperate attempt
was made on the life of Sir John Anderson, Governor of Bengal,
by two young terrorists but luckily he survived. The Governor
showed courage and coolness while facing the assailants.
The Government of India Act was passed in 1935 but only a
part of it came into force on 1 April, 1937.
Earthquakes took place in Bihar and Quetta. There was a ter-
rible loss of life and property. In the case of Bihar, a lot of useful
work was done by societies like the Arya Samaj and Dr. Rajendra
Prasad made a special mention of this fact. In the case of Quetta,
the Earthquake was so terrible that in one night the whole of the
population of Quetta disappeared. Thousands of men, women and
children died under the debris of their houses which shook and
collapsed in that fateful night.
The Indian Press (Emergency Powers) Act, 1931, Foreign Rela-
tions Act, 1932 and Indian States (Protection) Act, 1934 were
passed during the regime of Lord Willingdon. The object of the
Indian Press (Emergency Powers) Act, 1931 was to provide
against the publication of that matter which incited or encouraged
murder or violence. Provision was made for the deposit of security
by the keepers of printing presses. The provincial Government
was given the power to forfeit the security of a press in certain cases.
If a printer applied for a fresh declaration, he could be asked by
a magistrate to deposit a security of the value of not less than
Rs. 1,000 and not more than Rs. 10,000 as the magistrate might
think fit. If, after the deposit of a new security, a newspaper pub-
lished objectionable matter, the provincial Government could for-
## p. 959 (#1003) ###########################################
INDIAN PRESS (EMERGENCY POWERS) ACT
959
feit the new security also. Provisions which applied to keepers of
printing presses applied equally to the publishers of newspapers.
Section 11 penalised the keeping of printing presses and the publish-
ing of newspapers without making the security deposit as required
by the provincial Government or the magistrate. If a press did
not deposit the security but continued to do its work, it could
be forfeited to His Majesty and the declaration of the publi-
sher was liable to be cancelled Any police officer empowered
for that purpose by the provincial Government could seize
any unauthorised news sheets or unauthorised newspapers wher-
ever found and the same could be ordered to be destroyed by a
magistrate. The Government was given the power to seize and
forfeit undeclared presses producing unauthorised news sheets and
newspapers. The penalty for disseminating unauthorised news
sheets and newspapers was imprisonment up to 6 months, with or
without fine. The provincial Government was given the power to
declare certain publications forfeited to His Majesty and also issue
search warrants for the same. The Customs Officers were autho-
rised to detain packages containing certain publications when im-
ported into British India. No unauthorised news sheets or news-
papers could be transmitted by post.
The powers conferred by the Act were undoubtedly sweeping in
their nature and scope. Those were actually used by the Provin-
cial Governments to prohibit the publication of the names and por-
traits of well-known leaders of the Civil Disobedience Movement
as the publication of such pictures tended to encourage the move-
The other restraints included the prohibition of the publi-
cation of Congress propaganda of any kind including messages
from the persons arrested, messages issued or purported to be issued
from persons in jail, exaggerated reports of political events, notices
and advertisements of meetings, processions and other activities
tending to promote Civil Disobedience Movement or any other
matter in furtherance of the same. Under this Act, the Govern-
ment took action against many newspapers. The printers and
publishers of the Bombay Chronicle were called upon to deposit
Rs. 3,000 each for publishing an article by Mr. Horniman. The
printer and publisher of the Anand Bazar Patrika each received a
demand for Rs. 1,000. A security of Rs. 6,000 was demanded from
the Amrit Bazar Patrika. Rs. 6,000 were deposited by The Liberty
of Calcutta. A security of Rs. 6,000 was deposited by the Free
Press Journal and later on forfeited by the Bombay Government.
Similar action was taken against other newspapers. There was
virtually a reign of terror in the country.
