India and WW1

Indian National Congress

• 1885

• wanted constructive resolutions with cooperation with the raj

• met up every year until WW1

who was represented in the Indian National Congress

• mostly high-caste Hindus- lawyers, doctors, landowners

• people who made positive relationships with the British

• only 2 Muslims attended the first congress- 3 years later this rose to 83 delegates

Indian involvement in WW1

• outbreak of war was met with instant loyalty

• 27 of the largest princely states immediately put forward their imperial service troops for the viceroy’s disposal

• the Indian Army already had 161,000

how many Indians enlisted in combatants in WW1

• 827,000

how many Indian Soldiers died in WW1

• 64,000

how many were in the average Indian battalion and how did this change

• 764 fighting men

• by November 1914 this went down to 385

Indian troops in Europe

• were in the Battle of Ypres

• provided half the allied forces at Neuve Chapelle

Indian army in the Middle East

• 2 infantry divisions were withdrawn from France and sent to the Middle East

• some argue this was because of low morale

• could also be because it would be easier to send supplies and reinforcements from India

the problem of religion in WW1

• after Turkey entered the War, Muslims believed Britain was now at war with a Muslim Power

• most Muslim soldiers agreed that the War was still lawful, although there were some desertions

• there were at least 3 mutinies from Muslim troops usually when they thought they were going to be sent to fight against the Turks

impact of ww1 of Britain in India

• by march 1915 there was not single regular British battalion let in India

• this would have made a mutiny very hard to maintain

Impact of WW1 on Indians

• increased self esteem

• Indian politicians could now argue that Indians should be given a greater say in Indian affairs

• the allies frequently spoke of the importance of democracy and self determination

how much did Indian revenue contribute to the war

• £146 million

how much did revenue demand change due to military expenditure in India throughout the war

• 16% in 1916-1917

• 14% in 1917-1918

• 10% in 1918-1919

• many people felt this through increased taxation

how did prices of goods change in the war

• prices of food rose by 93%

• prices of Indians goods rose by 60%

• imported goods rose by 190%

positive economic impacts of WW1

• some manufacturing industries, such as cotton, iron, steel, sugar, engineering and chemicals expanded to replace goods normally imported

• shareholders saw dividends increase

• In Ahmedabad, one cotton mill owner reported a trebling of profits

political effects of WW1

• boost of confidence

• by 1915, congress was speaking openly about self-government and changes in attitude

• the Muslim League were going to bury their differences

• Muslims had been worried by the annulment of the partition of Bengal and thought this meant the British would not treat them as a separate entity so they tried to find some sort of accommodation with Hindus

The Lucknow Act 1916

• an agreement between the Congress and the Muslim League 

• Muslims would have a fixed proportion of seats in an Indian Parliament and extra seats in areas where they were the majority

• Muslims felt that they were able to be themselves able to work with the Hindu dominated Congress

• Gokhale died and this opened the way for extremist Tilak to re-enter Congress

• attitude of congress reflected the Viceroy’s Imperial Legislative Council

What was one of the first resolutions passed after the Lucknow Act

• wanted to urge the British government to issue the proclamation stating the British would confer self government to India

Home Rule League

• aimed to stimulate public opinion and organise public pressue for home rule in India

• one was founded by Tilak and operated in Western India

• Other was operated by Besant and spread throughout the rest of the country

• used newspapers, rallies, preachers and songs to try and reach the masses

how many Indians joined the home rule league after a year

• over 60,000

what was the reactions of the traditional assemblies towards the home rule league

• alarmed by the outspoken nature of the league

• the leaders were banned from several provinces

• students were forbidden to attend their meetings

• Annie Besant was kept prisoner (interned) in 1917

causes of Rowlatt Act and what it said

• was a lot of worry about revolutionary conspiracies

• the report isolated Bengal, Bombay and h Punjab as centers of revolutionary activity

• recommended wartime controls- imprisonment without trial, trial by judges, censorship, house arrest

reactions to the Rowlatt Act

• Montagu did not want to sign the Rowlett Act and informed Chelmsford that it was offensive

• The Viceroy went ahead with the Act

• All 22 Indian members of the Indian Legislative council opposed the Act but were outvoted

• Jinnah and several colleagues resigned

consequences of the Rowlatt Act

• was repealed i 1922

• The British were seen as duplicitous

• made the promises made in the Morely-Minto reforms seem meaningless

what were the causes of the Amritsar Massacre

• in march and April 1919, leading nationalists Dr Kitchlew and Dr Pal organised hartals in protests of the Rowlett Acts- large turnout

• British arrested 2 men- lead to rioting and anti-European attacks- 3 Europeans were killed

• A young British mission Dr Marcia Sherwood was beaten by Indian youth but was saved

• governor of Michael O’Dwyer was convinced the riots were part of a planned uprising and sent Brigadier rex Dyer to go with his men to Amritsar

what happened at Amritsar

• Dyer had 1000 soldiers, 2/3 were British and 2 armoured cars equipped with machine gun

• they faced threats from the Indians in the Streets

• Indians were preparing for Baisakhi Day- the beginning of one of the most important religious festivals in the Punjab

• 2 proclamations were made by Dyer- meetings and assemblies were forbidden and any damage of property would be harshly punished; no inhabitant was permitted to go out of the city without obtaining a pass

where did the Amritsar take place

how many people were at the meeting

• Jallianwala Bagh

• 15,000-50,000

what was being discussed at the Amritsar meeting

• a resolution for the repeal of the Rowlett Acts

• another expressed sympathy for the dead and bereaved in the riots

at Amritsar, how many rounds of ammunition were fired

• 1650 in 15 minutes

how many people were killed and wounded

• 400 were killed 

• 1500 were wounded

the immediate aftermath of the Amritsar

• Dyer got confirmation and confidence from his superior General Beynon and O’Dwyer

• Dyer declared martial law- aimed at humiliating the Indians

• any Indian who passed a European had to salaam, third-class train tickets were withdrawn, Indians had to crawl where Maria Sherwood was left for dead

• Montagu heard what happened and was very concerned

The Hunter Committee

• enquiry into events

• Hunter was booed on arrival

• martial law was lifted

• the report censured Dyer

• the three Indian members of the committee condemned Dyer and O’Dwyer

• Dyer later had to resign and left England

• Dyer was censured by the HoC but not the HoL

the Indian view of Amritsar

• The Punjab Sub-committee of the INC set up

• it examined 1700 witness and published 650 statemens

• report strongly criticized the way India was governed

long term impacts of Amritsar Massacre

• millions of Indians were turned against the British Raj

• Nehru warned delegates at the Amritsar Congress in 1919 that any form of reform was mockery

• Montagu-Chelmsford reforms were passed

Montagu-Chelmsford reforms