A declaration for independence
December 31, 2023
The Indian National Congress (INC) struggled in the 1920s, trying to figure out their strategy for dealing with the British. In August 1928, a proposal by Motilal Nehru framed the debate. “The Nehru Report was a major achievement both in vision and in constitutional drafting,” concluded Gandhian scholar Judith Brown.1 It saw India as a part of the British Empire, with guaranteed religious liberty, a strong national government, and Dominion Status like Canada and Australia. Because Hindus were a super-majority nationwide, it reserved seats in the legislature for minorities; in exchange, the separate electorates that Muslims currently had were eliminated. Gandhi supported the report, calling for “mutual respect, [and] a little mutual trust.”
When the INC met in December 1928, Motilal Nehru served as president (Gandhi had refused the nomination). There was sufficient support for the Report, but what leverage did the people of India have to generate British cooperation? Gandhi proposed giving them two years—until the end of 1930—to agree to Dominion Status for India. If they refused, the INC would launch a new nonviolent non-cooperation movement nationwide, which would include a refusal to pay taxes. (There’d recently been a successful satyagraha campaign along those lines.)
A rift opened up in the Congress. Led by a younger generation, including Nehru’s 39-year-old son Jawaharlal, they wanted immediate independence. Offering to accept Dominion Status (for two years!) was unacceptable.
Gandhi cautioned against becoming worked up over the difference between Dominion Status and independence—he said it was a “non-issue”—and proposed a compromise: give the British one year to peacefully accept the terms, and if they declined, Congress would endorse immediate independence. The compromise passed in committee by a large margin, and was upheld by a smaller one in the full Congress.
During the next year, Gandhi encouraged calm, to demonstrate the offer to the British was in good faith. With all quiet on the political front, he continued to advocate for building internal strength: spinning, sobriety, and opposition to the unjust treatment of Dalits. In the final days of December, the British Viceroy invited key Indian leaders to meet with him, but could not assure them Dominion Status was on the horizon.
It was a short meeting.
On December 31, 1929, “Jawaharlal [Nehru] hoisted the Congress tricolour. … [Congress] pledged to struggle for Complete Independence.”2 The torch had been passed; the younger Nehru was president of the Congress that year. More public ceremonies would follow on January 26, and before winter ended, Gandhi’s Salt March would begin.
Can you think of a situation where you offered a compromise, only good for a limited time?
Gandhi—Prisoner of Hope (Judith Brown, 1989) pp. 218
Gandhi: The Man, His People, and the Empire (Rajmohan Gandhi, 2008) pp. 301