India: The Road To Independence

1932 Poona Pact

- Pact between INC and untouchables - Untouchables wouldn't get minority status but could have some provisions e.g reserved seats - Untouchables felt bullied

1919-23 Khilafat Movement

- Pan Islamic movement in defence of the Ottoman Calipate - Gave Muslim nationalists unity, identity, and purpose

1928 All Parties Convention

- Passed The Nehru Report - INC ML divisions

1946 Indian Elections

- Polarisation of support - INC won 8/11 ML won 2/11

1932 Third Round Table Conference

- No INC - No Labour - Tory opposition - Collapsed due to internal disputes

1947 Independence and Partition

- 14/15 August at midnight - Nehru gave 'stroke of the midnight hour' speech - Still lack of clarity, communal conflict, and British unwillingness to intervene = violence broke out

1947 Independence of India Act

- 18 July 1947 - Gave only a month before partition to prepare - Chaos began to spread and tensions within negotiations (e.g over Governor General role) exacerbated

1919-22 Civil Disobedience

- 1920 Gandhi became INC leader - Civil disobedience unanimously approved - Mainly based on Swadeshi boycotts eg. of British schools and goods - Ended when violence broke out in Chauri Chaura in 1922 and Gandhi was arrested

1909 Indian Councils Act / Morley Minto Reforms

- Added small amount of elected members to legislative councils - Granted Muslims separate electorates - Modestly extended franchise - Only impacted wealthy / moderate / educated Indians

1916 Lucknow Pact

- Agreement between INC and ML - Set out political objectives and pressured the Raj - Included separate electorates and reserved seats - Unified ML and INC, and moderate and radical

1931 Gandhi-Irwin Pact

- Agreement that INC would suspend civil disobedience, supporters would be released, and Gandhi would attend the second RTC

1947-48 Communal Violence

- Approx 1 million deaths - 10 million migrations in summer 1947 - Massacres, rapes, gangs, etc - Ethnic cleansing in Punjab - Border conflict in Kashmir

1917 Montagu Declaration

- Attempt to set out clear British policy - Called for increasing Indian association with government and development of self governing institutions - Published in 1918 Montagu-Chelmsford Report

1937-39 Development of ML

- Became more religious and opposed to INC - Oppressed by INC = Hindu Raj - Thousands more supporters joined and smaller Muslim groups fused with it - Publicity and protest

1932 Communal Award

- British granted certain groups (e.g Muslims, Sikhs, Untouchables, Christians) as minorities, thus entitling them to separate electorates - INC hated, Gandhi declared a fast unto death

1946 May Statement

- Cabinet Mission announced the creation of a constituent assembly and interim government - Trouble emerged over minority selection - When INC manipulated negotiations ML withdrew and negotiations broke down

1946 Simla Conference

- Cabinet Mission met INC and ML and proposed federalism with provincial opt out - Fallback to create Pakistan - INC rejected both options

1942-4 Bengal Famine

- Caused by distribution failures, inflation, loss of imports, and weather - Exacerbated by Churchill's dismissal and diversion of foodstuffs away to troops - New viceroy Wavell attempted to help by requesting grain but little success - Damaged Raj reputatiton

1857 Indian Mutiny

- Caused by religious insensitivity and annexation of Indian states by EIC - Led to creation of the Raj in 1858 and a sense of separation and fear between British and Indian

1919 Hunter Committee

- Concluded that Amritsar Massacre was unjustified - As did Punjab Sub-Committee of the INC

1927 Simon Commission

- Conservative led parliamentary delegation - Investigated 1919 Act - Unpopular and unrepresentative

1919 Government of India Act

- Created dyarchy (unequal power division) - Extended franchise but mainly wealthy men and only 1% of women - Legislative Councils enlarged and given free speech - More representation eg. on Imperial Executive Council - Embedded separate electorates - But didn't make up for Amritsar Massacre

1942 Cripps Mission

- Delegation sent by Churchill to secure full Indian cooperation - Issued Draft Declaration on the Constitution of India - Raj had control until post war - Dominion status would include right of provinces to opt out - ML supported but INC rejected and attitudes hardened

1905 Partition of Bengal

- Divide and Rule tactic - No Indian consultation - Led to crisis on religious lines and Swadeshi campaigns - Repealed 1911

1935-37 Development of INC

- Divided over leadership and aims - Opposed ML not Raj

1946 Muslim Direct Action / Great Calcutta Killings

- Due to failure of May Statement - Jinnah outraged, wanted to show ML could use civil disobedience - Peaceful March in Calcutta turned violent, 6000 killed in communal conflict - ML reputation damaged, INC hardened tone

1919 Rowlatt Act

- Extended Defence of India Act - All 22 Indians on the central Legislative Council opposed it but were overruled - Showed lack of regard for Montagu Declaration, WW1 contribution, and Indian opinion

1944 Indian National Army Invasion

- Formed by Bose in Japan in 1942 - Made of Indian POWs - Invaded India in 1944 - Massive failure, 10% deserted

1939 Forward Bloc Party

- Formed by radical nationalist and former INC leader Subhas Chandra Bose - Called for militant action in 1940

1942 Quit India Campaign

- Gandhi called for civil disobedience and 'mass struggle' - But INC couldn't control campaign or violence - Less popular and less successful - Raj had anticipated it = Linlithgow had emergency powers and cracked down on INC

1931 Second Round Table Conference

- Gandhi was sole INC rep - Divisions over minority rights and representation - Failed

1930 Salt Satyagraha / Civil Disobedience

- Gandhi's campaign against the salt tax = universal and symbolic issue - 400km Salt March - Sparked direct action - Decentralised and local - Strain on Raj - But by 1931 Raj had regained control and the INC were strained

1920s Development of INC

- Grew = had 2 million by 1928 - Back to Basics - More inclusive and regional - Congress Working Committee set up

1947 Boundary Commission

- Had five weeks from July to August to draw new borders - Leaks, rumours, pressure from interest groups - Princely states bullied into joining - Little provisions made for partition, British army was already withdrawing - Fuelled fear and violence (e.g in Ferozepur)

1919 Amritsar Massacre

- Hartals and riots took place through the spring, culminating on 10th April - General Dyer headed up a show of force - On April 13th a peaceful protest was attacked by Dyer and his men and 400 killed - Martial law was imposed in Amritsar eg. Crawling Order

1928 Nehru Report

- INC document - Recommended dominon status and federation - No minority provisions

1930 First Round Table Conference

- INC excluded - Decided on dominion status and federalism with full representation - Optimistic

1929 Lahore Congress

- INC passed Purna Swaraj resolution

1937 Indian Elections

- INC victorious - ML rep fragmented = only 1/4 of reserved seats - INC refused to cooperate with viceroy and opposed ML - Muslims felt they were in a 'Hindu Raj'

1933-34 Individual Civil Disobedience

- In response to Raj failures and divisions - Decentralised from INC

1920s Development of ML

- Increasing sense of separation - Muslim movements such as Tanzeem and Taglibh - By end of 1920s INC and ML had split

1939 WW2 begins

- India dragged in with no consultation - All INC ministers ordered to resign, lost positions of power - ML power enhanced = 'Muslim India's Day of Independence'

1940 August Offer

- Jinnah and Linlithgow negotiated - Placed ML at the centre of constitutional negotiations - No settlement would be adopted without Muslim consent - INC opposed and called civil disobedience

1928 Fourteen Points

- Jinnah's counterproposal to the Nehru Report - More minority provisions e.g separate electorates, majority provinces - Rejected

1929 Irwin Declaration

- Labour won election and authorised Viceroy Irwin to declare this - Named dominon status as the 'logical outcome' of British policy - Called RTCs

1947 Mountbatten proposes the Mountbatten / Menon Plan

- Last minute new plan as chaos swept India - India and Pakistan would be partitioned as dominions - Provinces would decide which to join - Princes had option to join - Accepted and announced in June

1940 Lahore Resolution

- ML passed resolution calling for Muslim majority areas to be grouped into a separate independent state - Jinnah proposed hostage theory - INC called it 'baffling'

1916-17 Home Rule Leagues

- Movement seeking domestic self government - Led by Annie Besant and Bal Tilak, both arrested in 1917 - Spread agitation more effectively than INC and swung support in favour of Home Rule - First mass movement

1947 Mountbatten proposes the Balkan Plan

- Proposed decisions taken at provincial level - Nehru rejected, saw as recipe for anarchy

1946 Interim Government takes control

- Shifted power to Indian nationalists - Nehru was PM - In October Wavell persuaded ML to join, but INC would only concede Jinnah the position of finance minister

1935 Government of India Act

- Split India into 11 provinces - Abolished dyarchy - Expanded electorate - Separate electorates continued - Burma partitioned

1914 WW1 begins

- Strengthened loyalty to Raj - But also increased nationalist strength (though no movement against it) - 1.5 million Indian soldiers fought, made a big contribution

1946 Cabinet Mission

- Three man mission sent to resolve the deadlock and maintain unity - Stayed for three months, meeting Hindus and Muslims

1941 Atlantic Charter

- US and UK claim to share common principles - Dedicates to promoting liberty and self government

1945 Labour Election

- Under Attlee - Labour Congress Axis realised - Attlee formed India Committee which called for elections

1885 Indian National Congress

- Wanted greater Indian influence in government - Forum for discussion, mainly wealthy Hindu men - By 1914 had 100'000 members

1906 Muslim League

- Wanted rights and representation for Muslims - Small and mainly wealthy educated men

1915 Defence of India Act

- Wartime provisions to suppress revolutionary activity - Seen as dictatorial and repressive

1945 Simla Conference

- Wavell called conference to discuss a settlement - Baded on Cripps mission but with proportional representation in the executive council - Deadlock in choosing minority members led to stalemate and failure