Yojana Summary : August 2022

1.   Partition Literature

Topics covered from the Syllabus:

Context: The history of Indian literature after the arrival of British in India has seen many ups and downs, including attempts by the British to restrict publications which were sympathetic to the cause of freedom struggle. At the same time, another body of literature has been developed due to multiple partitions in the Indian subcontinent.

History of Literature during British Raj

• History of Press in British India: Bengal Gazette, by James Augustus Hickey, was the first weekly newspaper published in India. It was first published on 29 January 1780. However, its publication had to be stopped after a couple of years, due to the reactionary policies of the then Governor General of India, Warren Hastings.
• Policies of British authorities against Press: In general, Britishers tried to suppress the expansion of Indian press as they understood its ability to influence public opinion. The British introduced various laws to discourage press in India like Censorship of Press Act, 1799, Licensing Regulations Act, 1823, Press Act of 1835 (which was also known as Metcalfe Act) and Licensing Act of 1857.
• Atrocities against journalists: Many Indian journalists suffered for lending support to the cause of Indian freedom struggle. For e.g., Tilak was sent to Mandalay under Regulation III of 1818. It is believed that Mirza Bedar Bakht, who was the editor of Payam-e-Azadi, was publicly hanged for his support to the revolt of 1857. Even the readers, from whose houses Payam-e-Azadi was found, were punished.
• Sedition: Section 124A was introduced by the British after revolt of 1857. It further included Clause 153A (causing disaffection among classes) and 295A (promoting hatred between communities) in its ambit. It was used by the British to suppress the ideas of freedom struggle. Unfortunately, the Act still continues to be a part of statute books in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
• Other laws concerning Press: The British tightened their grip over Press by introducing various laws like the Official Secrets Act, 1898, Indian Post Office Act and Indian Customs Act. Finally, the Indian Press Act it was introduced as all-encompassing legislation governing Press in India.

Global Partition Literature

• Partition Literature: Partition literature refers to the literature produced at the time of the partition of India. Due to contemporary circumstances, it is laced with religious and social strife. It is also replete with instances of the holocaust and sectarian violence. Therefore, sometimes it is also referred to as holocaust literature for Refugee literature.
• Cause of Imperialist Policies: Partition in various parts of the world was majorly due to imperialist policies of Western world. For e.g., the partition of Israel and Palestine, partition of Germany and partition of Korea. This is amply visible in the partition literature.

Examples of partition literature: Some noteworthy works included in partition literature are

• Partition of Palestine and Israel: Men in the Sun by Palestinian writer Ghasan Kanfani (1962), Anton Shamma’s Hebrew Novel Arabesques (1988), Picnic Grounds: A Novel in Fragments by Israeli writer Oz Shelach (2003) and AB Yehoshua’s The Lover (1977).
• Partition of India: It includes Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie. Recently, International Booker Prize has been awarded to Geetanjali Shree’s Hindi novel Ret Samadhi (Tomb of Sand), which is also based on the theme of Indian partition.
• Separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan: The soldier in the attic (1987) and Khoabnama (1996) by Akhtaruzzaman Ilias.
• Korean Partition: Kim Won-il’s novel Spirit of Darkness (1973) and Pak Wan-suh’s novel The Naked Tree (1970)
• Other Works: Reading in the Dark, based on separation of Ireland and England, by Irish author Seamus Deane and books by Yugoslavian writer Debravka Ugresie on Yugoslavian partition, including The Museum of Unconditional Surrender (1998) and The Ministry of Pain (2004).

Partition in India

• Partition literature in Indian context: The history of partition in India starts from 1905, when Bengal was divided. Later, two more partitions were seen in 1947 and 1971, when Pakistan and Bangladesh were separated respectively. The ensuing riots, loot and the terror regime led to literature based on the psychological pain associated with these events.
• Partition of India in 1947: The partition holocaust led to the killing of more than a million people and the displacement of another 15 million. Almost 3.5 million people went missing. Authors and writers have composed vivid descriptions of events associated with ‘the Great Calcutta Killings’, Noakhali riots and so on.

• Major works: The major novels and stories associated with Indian partition are Thanda Gosht, Khol Do, Dog of Titwal and Toba Tek Singh by Saadat Hasan Manto, the Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh, Peshawar Express by Krishan Chander, Jhutha Sach by Yashpal, Aadha Gaon by Rahi Masoom Raza, Kitne Pakistan by Kamleshwar, Basti by Intizar Hussain and Tamas by Bhisham Sahni.
• Significance of the Literature: Even a casual reading of the above literature demonstrates the immense trauma which the writer has experienced personally. For e.g., in ‘A Gujarat here, a Gujarat there’, Krishna Sobti writes about the immense psychological trauma she faced due to her being witness to her childhood friend’s murder.

• Separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan: The 1971 liberation war in Bangladesh was a result of second grade treatment to the people of Bangladesh and the language Bangla by the rulers of West Pakistan. Incidentally, India played a major role in the fight for independence of Bangladeshi people, which is appreciated by the people of Bangladesh even today.

• Major works: Some important creations associated with separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan are Meghe Dhaka Tara, Komal Gandhar and Subarnlataby Ritwik Ghatak, Chinnamul by Nemai Ghosh, Jalpaihati by Jibanananda Das, Palanka by Narendranath Mitra, Pitamahi by Santa Sen, Aagunpakhi by Hasan Azizul Haque, Arjun by Sunil Gangopadhyay and Ghunpoka by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay.
• Creations by Indian English writers: English writers in India and NRIs have also taken a keen interest in the partition of Bangladesh. Some of these works are Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri, Ice Candy Man by Bapsi Sidhwa, the Shadow Lines by Amitav Ghosh, What the Body Remembers by Shauna Singh Baldwin and A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry.

Approaches to Partition Literature

• Biographical accounts: It includes non-fiction narratives by various authors including Awake Hindustan! by Doctor Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Pakistan or Partition of India by Dr B R Ambedkar, Divide and Quit by Penderel Moon, Freedom at Midnight by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, The Marginal Men by Praful Chakraborty and India Wins Freedom by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
• Feminist approach: During partition, women also suffered assault and humiliation, which has given rise to literature from a woman’s perspective. It includes The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition of India by Urvashi Butalia, Border and Boundaries by Ritu Menon, Trauma and the Triumph by Jasodara Bagchi, Bengal Divided by Jaya Chatterjee, the Sole Spokesman and the Pity of Partition by Ayesha Jalal.
• Collective approach: It includes collections of short stories and poems, as well as, translations of various creations. For e.g., Bhed Bibhed by Manbendra Bandopadhyay includes the translation of Bengali and Indian short stories. Similarly, Raktmanir Hare by Debes Ray is a Bengali translation of short stories in various Indian languages. Other collections include Bengal Partition stories by Bashabi Fraser and Stories about the Partition of India Vol I, II and III.

Conclusion

• Till date, partition literature remains one of the most read and most demanded genres in India and the world. The need of the hour is to encourage such writings and compilations by encouraging budding authors and providing incentives to the publishing houses for further development of such literature. It is important that stories of witnesses find space before they are lost forever.

Practice Question

• Discuss the impact of the partitions of 1905, 1947 and 1971 on the development of literature in the Indian subcontinent, while highlighting the various approaches to partition literature.

UPSC PYQs

• The 1857 Uprising was the culmination of big and small local rebellions that had occurred in the preceding hundred years of British rule. Elucidate. (GS1 – 2019)

Topics covered from the syllabus:

Context: India, being a land of diversity, saw contributions from all parts of the country in the struggle towards freedom. The authors of Hindi, as well as, Urdu literature, came together to create words related to freedom struggle. Even the remote sections, like tribals and people from Northeast, were instrumental in spreading the fire of Independence movement.

Revolt of Central Indian Tribals

• Conflict between Tribals and British: After the Battle of Buxar in 1764, British rule started to expand in India. In the process, British came into conflict with the tribals of Central India, especially the area around the present-day Chhattisgarh state. The major conflict issues between Britishers and tribals were interference in religion, especially ban on human sacrifice, increase in rent and rent-seeking, ban on production of liquor and restrictions on entry of tribals in forest areas.
• Halba Rebellion: It was a fight between Halba tribe, led by Raja of Bastar, Ajmer Singh and British. The British were joined by the younger brother of Raja Ajmer Singh and the King of Jeypore. At first, the British were unsuccessful in their attempts against the tribe. However, they killed Ajmer Singh by deceit, with the help of his younger brother. Halba rebellion is considered one of the first tribal revolt against British.
• Kol and Bargarh Mutiny: Halba rebellion was followed by Kol mutiny in 1831 and Bargarh Revolt in 1833. The reason for both mutinies was forcible occupation of tribal land and British attempts to annex these areas. Bargarh revolt was led by its ruler, Ajit Singh, who was martyred during the course of mutiny.
• Bastar and Dantewada revolts: Similarly, mutinies in Tarapur region of Bastar and Dantevada took place in 1842. While the cause of former was the refusal of its ruler to comply with British instructions, the latter was caused by British attempts to interfere with the tribal custom of human sacrifice. Both these rebellions were mercilessly suppressed by the British army.
• Revolt by Narayan Singh: Narayan Singh was the tribal landlord of Sonakhan in Raipur. In the year 1857, a drought led to widespread poverty as well as hunger in the people of the region. After the cries for help to British fell on deaf ears, Narayan Singh looted the godowns of money lenders and traders, and distributed the proceeds among the people. In the resulting scuffle with the British, Narayan Singh was captured and publicly hanged, making him the first martyr in Chhattisgarh.
• Bhoomkal of Bastar: Bhoomkal refers to the rebellion of Muria tribe against the British in 1910, under the leadership of Gundadhur. The armed rebellion comprised of attacks on government buildings and officials. The rebellion was suppressed with the help of British army.
• Nonviolent movements of tribals: Under Gandhian influence, tribals took to non-violent means and protests to put forward their demands of autonomy and non-interference in their practices by the outsiders. Such movements included Tana Bhagat movement of 1916 as well as Jungle Satyagraha of 1922. Jungle Satyagraha was launched in Dhamtari district of Chhattisgarh. The major causes were low wages paid to the tribals by Forest Department of British government and ban on wood cutting for personal consumption.

Freedom Songs from the Northeast

• Origin of Freedom Struggle in Northeast: Burmese had invaded Assam and Manipur region in 1817, 1819 and 1821. However, in the Treaty of Yandabo, Burmese renunciated their rights over Assam and Manipur, which became British protectorates. Initially, the British had said that they would leave Assam and Manipur as soon as they are free from the threat of Burmese invasion. However, on discovering petroleum and tea plantations in Assam, the British decided to remain there permanently.
• Oral literature: The issue with Northeast region was lack of literacy, which meant that most of the poems, short stories and ballads had to travel through word of mouth. Again, since not many of these works were written down, they have been lost forever.
• Movements in the region: The first freedom movement in Assam started in 1828 under the leadership of Gomdhar Konwar. Another movement started in 1830, under the leadership of Piyoli Phukan and Jiuram Dulia Barua. Both these movements were crushed by the British and the leaders were punished by imprisonment or death.
• Revolt of 1857: Despite its distance from Delhi, which was the epicentre of revolt, Assam participated in the 1857 revolt under the leadership of Maniram Dewan. Maniram Dewan was captured and publicly hanged by the British. However, his courage and bravery have earned him various ballads in the region. In fact, part of a ballad ‘Maniram Dewanar Malita’ was sung by Bhupen Hazarika in an Assamese film in 1963.
• Phulaguri Dhewa: Phulaguri Dhewa was the first peasant uprising of India, which took place in 1861, in Nagaon district of Assam. Many peasants were captured by the British and sent to Andaman for imprisonment. Upon their return, the Prisoners composed songs describing the Uprising.
• Doli Puran: Similarly, Patharuaghat massacre in 1894 led to the composition of various folk songs, one of the most significant of these is ‘Doli Puran’, which has been composed by Narottam Das. In this, ‘doli’ refers to the lumps of dry mud which people hurled towards police, in retaliation of the bayonet attack by police on the people.
• Assam Association: It was an organisation which worked for creating collective political consciousness among the people of Assam. It was also the precursor of the provincial Congress. In its 1916 annual session, a song composed by Ambikagiri Raichoudhary was sung. In 1917, Ambikagiri composed E-je agni beena taan (tune of the veena of Fire).

• Ambikagiri Raichoudhary’s contribution to Freedom Struggle: Ambikagiri also so composed a song which became the opening chorus at 41st annual session of Congress in 1926. In fact, due to the Nationalist content in his Creations, Ambikagiri’s book ‘Shatadha’ was banned by the British government in 1924.

• Major works: Another popular nationalist poet of the period 1920-40 was Nabin Chandra Bordoloi, who composed ‘Aabhaan’ (Invocation). Similarly, Jyoti Prasad Agarwala was an Assamese poet, filmmaker and political leader, who composed many Creations that inspired people towards the cause of freedom struggle, one of them being a play called ‘Labhita’, which was centred around the Quit India movmement.

• Prominent Authors: ‘Swadhinata Sangramar Geet’ by Jiba Kanta Gogoi and ‘Swadhinata Sangramar Asmiya Geet aur Kabita’ by Nirmal Prabha Bardoloi are collection of Assamese nationalist poems. Other prominent poets of the contemporary period from Assam were Umesh Chandra Dev Choudhary, Parvati Prasad Baruva, Nalini Bala Devi, Padmadhar Chaliha, Ganesh Gogoi, Prasannalal Chouhary, Kamalakanta Bhattacharya, Sankar Barua, Anandiram Das and Bishnu Prasad Rabha.
• Khongjom Parva: As mentioned earlier, other Northeastern states we are not able to contribute towards written literature due to a lack of literacy. However, ‘Khongjom Parva’ from Manipur deserves special mention. It was composed by Leinou and was centred around Anglo-Manipuri War of 1981. It has inspired Manipuri soldiers and people towards the cause of patriotism.

Hindi Literature

• Approaches towards freedom struggle: Various approaches have emerged towards the freedom struggle in Indian literature and political system. Authors like Jaishankar Prasad, Bhartendu Harishchandra, Balkrishna Bhatt, Ramchandra Shukla, Acharya Hazari Prasad Dwivedi and Ram Vilas Sharma represent Traditional Nationalism. They encouraged and prepared the people for struggle against the British Raj.

• Other approaches: The political approaches towards freedom struggle included Revolutionary socialism of Bhagat Singh, radical nationalism of Subhash Chandra Bose and subaltern perspective of Dr Ambedkar, among others. However, Indian authors brought fresh perspectives towards the struggle for freedom. For e.g., Premchand viewed the freedom struggle from a rural perspective. On the other hand, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore called the caste perspective as hypothetical consciousness.

• Phases of Hindi Literature: The creation of Hindi literature is divided into multiple phases for a better understanding of the structure of Indian nationalism. These phases are as follows:

• Aftermath of 1857 Revolt: After the revolt of 1857, British retaliated with Press Act, 1857 and Arms Act, 1857. Under former, various books were banned from Publication, which included Hindi Pradeep by Balkrishna Bhatt, Soz-e-Watan by Premchand and Desher Katha by Sakharam Ganesh Desukar. These books were confiscated due to the deep seeds of nationalism which they had sown into the national consciousness.
• Retaliation of Hindi Literature: Poets like Bhartendu Harishchandra started a movement against legal steps taken by British to suppress Indian nationalism. The creations of this period include Swapn by Mahesh Narayan. However, to escape British prosecution, the poets disguised criticism under religious garb. This has been sometimes misunderstood as rise of religious consciousness.
• Rise of Congress and a new intellectual class: This phase has been depicted in novels like Karwat and Peediyan by Amritlal Nagar. It shows the effect of middle-class intelligentsia and English education on the path towards freedom struggle. At the same time, there was a rise in Dalit consciousness in the society, majorly e due to the efforts of Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule. This is shown in Angrez Daku, a book by Radhamohan Gokul, which was later banned by the British.
• Partition of Bengal: The partition of Bengal sent shock waves through the population and led to rise of anger among the people. This was manifested in Swadeshi movement, which was depicted in Gitanjali. Gitanjali was written by Rabindranath Tagore, who was an exponent of Cultural Nationalism. It also led to the rise of peasant nationalism, which was later capitalised by Mahatma Gandhi.
• Arrival of Gandhiji: Arrival of Gandhiji was a watershed Movement in the Indian National struggle for freedom. Gandhiji was a Pan-Indian leader, who brought together multiple classes like peasants, workers, lawyers, journalists and women. He was popular in each and every corner of India. For e.g., when Mahatma Gandhi visited Silchar in 1927, Haipou Jadonang, a poet from Kacha Naga ethnicity wrote a song in his honour.
• Quit India Movement: Under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, the people of India fought for freedom and won in 1947. The mass aspirations of people from Gandhiji were such that sometimes poets imagined him to be the leader of an army, which used violent means to snatch independence from the British. This is visible in Shahid Amin’s ‘Smriti aur itihas: Chauri Chaura’.

Urdu Literature

• Significance of Urdu poetry: Urdu poets have contributed significantly to the freedom struggle in India. In fact, the slogan of Indian independence ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ was also borrowed from Urdu. Similarly, the song ‘Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna’ was also written in Urdu by Bismil Azimabadi, although it is often attributed to Ram Prasad Bismil.
• Urdu literature before 1857: Urdu poets were active much before the first war of Indian independence in 1857. They wrote about the deceit of Bengal rulers by British in the Battle of Plassey and mourned the death of Tipu Sultan in the battle of Serirangapatnam in 1799. In fact, Urdu poetry was one of the first to stir the feeling of nationalism in the country.

• Shahr Aashob: The literal meaning of Shahr Aashob is ‘urban unrest’. It was a compilation of Poems by Shah Hatim, Ashraf Alif Fughan, Mohammad Rafi Sauda and Mir Taqi Mir. It reflected the fall in human values as a result of arrival of British in India. The poets especially lamented the prevalence of corruption, decline in rule of law and loss of human values in the general population.

• Revolt of 1857: Urdu poets not only contributed with their poems, but also fought hand-in-hand with the Rebels in the first war of Indian independence in 1857. Poet Aziz Moradabadi and Ruswa Badauni fought with general Bhakt Khan against the British in Delhi. At the same time, poets like Rasikh Dehlvi, Ghazanfar Sayeed, Aziz Dehalvi, Suroor Gurganvi, Hadi Sambhai and Ismail Fauq composed works to encourage the troops fighting against the British.
• Pre-Gandhian era: Many Urdu writers like Munshi Sajjad Hussain, Altaf Hussain Hali, Mirza Machhu Beg, Ratan Nath Sharshar and Tribhuvan Nath Sapru contributed to the cause of freedom struggle through their literary works. Similarly, poets like Hasart Mohani, Chakbast, Zafar Ali Khan and Maulana Shibli were active in their criticism of British during the Swadeshi and Khilafat movement.
• Progressive Writers’ Movement: It was a movement which was started in 1936 to criticize the British occupation of India and to bring the socio-economic problems faced by the people of India into the agenda of government. Poets like Ahsan Jazbi, Makhdoom Mohiuddin, Kaifi Azmi, Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Jan Nisar Akhtar were an important part of this movement. Most of the writers of this movement discarded the Two-Nation theory of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

• Major Works: Some important publications of the era include ‘Urdu Akhbaar’ by Maulvi Mohammad Baqar and ‘Payam-e-Azadi’ by Azimullah Khan. Even, Munshi Premchand was an ardent Gandhian and a follower of Progressive Writers’ Movement. His first compilation of short stories called ‘Soz-e-Watan’ was banned by the British, and its copies were confiscated and burnt.

Conclusion

• It is visible that literature in all Indian languages, including Hindi and Urdu, was created to spread consciousness about the Independence Movement among the people of India. At the same time, remote regions like Northeast and hitherto untouched sections participated in the cause of national freedom. However, their contributions need further documentation, to raise the level of awareness in the people of the country.

Practice Question

• Trace the spread of nationalist ideas in different regions of the country, while comparing it with the limited spread of nationalist consciousness during the Revolt of 1857.

UPSC PYQs

• Since the decade of the 1920s, the national movement acquired various ideological strands and thereby expanded its social base. Discuss. (GS1 – 2020)

Topics covered from the syllabus:

Context: This section is a compilation of other dimensions of National Movement in August edition of Yojana, which are important for UPSC exam.

Cinema as Vanguard of National Movement

• History of Cinema in India: Indian theatre owes its origin to Bharata Muni’s Natya Shastra, which is considered as first treatise in the history of Indian performing arts. However, modern Indian theatre was started in Calcutta by a Russian Indologist GS Lebedev. Similarly, the credit for writing first original Bengali play ‘Sharmishtha’ goes to Madhusudan Dutt, while Deenbandhu Mitra’s Nil Darpan is considered the first Swadeshi play.

• Nil Darpan: Neel Darpan depicted the exploitation of Indigo farmers in Bengal and was considered the philosophical basis of indigo revolt. The play was written in 1859 and was staged by Girish Chandra Ghosh in 1872. In fact, it was the first commercial-stage play by Ghosh, after he had established the National theatre.
• Contribution of Rabindranath Tagore: Major focus of Rabindranath Tagore was on spirituality and individualism. At the same time, he was also an exponent of Cultural Nationalism. His creations include Chitrangada, Dakghar, Gitanjali, Raktakarabi and Raja.
• Power of Cinema: The power of Cinema to influence people was acknowledged by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in 1939 Faridpur session, where he asked the exponents of Indian cinema to form a film collective and use it for the spread of nationalist ideas through Indian cinema.

• Retaliation by British authorities: British were quick to judge the growing popularity of Indian cinema and its impact on nationalism in the country. To stem the tide, they brought in Dramatic Performances Act, 1876. The Act was oppressive in nature and had the provisions to ban any play which was considered seditious, obscene, defamatory or scandalous in nature.

• Reaction by Indian playwrights: Due to British operation, the repeat of Nil Darpan’s popularity was no longer possible. However, demonstrating the genius and creativity of Indian bards, Indian theatre switched to the indirect depiction of British oppression through mythological characters.

• Partition of Bengal: The division of Bengal led to a revival of Nationalist theatre in India. Plays in this category include Jagran by Haraath Bose, Shabash Bangali by Amrita Lal Basu, Siraj-ud-daula by Girish Ghosh and Padmini by Kshirod Prasad Vidyavinod. In fact, a day of mourning was observed with no show in reaction to the partition of Bengal.

• Jatra: Jatra is the folk theatre of Bengal. It draws heavily from mythology. Exponents of Jatra, particularly charan Kabi Mukunda Das, use the popularity of Jatra to portray British as Evil. Mukund Das was even imprisoned for a song deemed seditious by the British. His songs were popular among nationalists during the freedom struggle.

• Censorship by British: The British again introduced India’s Cinematograph Act in 1918, to quell the nationalist sentiment rising through cinema. The aim of the Act was to introduce censorship of content in Indian theatre, which was inimical to freedom of expression and creativity. Moreover, the authorities abused the exponents of Indian theatre by subjecting them to imprisonment it and heavy fines.

• Lack of funds: Indian theatre also suffered from a lack of financial capital as producing cinema is an expensive affair. It suffered major setbacks due to the World Wars, famine of Bengal, as well as, the expensive raw material imports from western countries. Also, due to its imports of raw material and its dependence on technology, the Indian theatre always felt intimidated by the west.

• Depiction of societal issues: Indian theatre was always replete with intellectuals who showcased the contemporary societal issues through their plays. This includes silent films like Bilet Ferat in 1921, the shift of capital from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911 and depiction of the destruction caused by the famine of 1942-43.

• Advent of Talkies: The scene of Indian theatre changed with the introduction of voice, starting with Alam Ara in 1931. It enhanced the influence of cinema on the people and was used creatively by Indian bards to spread the Nationalist sentiment in the country. For e.g., the movie Chattagram Astragar Lunthan had Chittagong armoury raid of 1930 by Surya Sen as its main theme.

• Shift of cinema towards Mumbai: The shift of capital from Calcutta to Delhi was a major reason in drifting of Indian cinema from Calcutta to Mumbai. Also, the dependence of British merchants on English authorities for contracts and dealings, led to them being unable to finance movies based on freedom struggle. This was also a reason Bengali cinema lost its place as the Vanguard of Indian Cinema.

Contemporary Writings by Women

• The Question of Gender: British rule led to the rise of many issues in India, one of them being the role of women in Indian society. The traditional Indian society was characterized by a subjugated role of women, where they did not find a say in important decisions of the household and was confined within the four walls. However, the chance influence of Western education and observation of Western society by Indian scholars lead to the demand for empowerment of women.
• Spread of education: Two events played a major role in deciding the path towards women education and empowerment. First was the spread of education among women of higher society. It included women from Elite families like Muhammadi Begum, Nazar Sajjad Hyder and Abbasi Begum.

• Some important works: As mentioned earlier, elite Muslim women made literary contributions to the freedom struggle. This includes autobiography of Begum Sultan Jahan of Bhopal, Azadi ki Chhaon Mein by Begam Anees Kidwai and from Purdah to Parliament by Begum Qudsia Aizaz Rasool.

• Involvement in Freedom Struggle: Second was the involvement of women in the freedom struggle. Starting from Swadeshi movement, women played a major role in the national movement towards the independence of the country. They joined the men in organising protests, picketing and, in the process, demonstrated exemplary solidarity with the leaders of freedom struggle.

• Contributions: Kadambini Ganguly from Calcutta University was the first woman graduate of India. She was also the first woman to speak at a congress session, where she joined as a delegate in 1890 session. In 1901, a song written by Sarala Devi Chaudharani, was sung in chorus at the congress session. Kumudini Mitra (daughter of K K Mitra) to the help of suprabhat, a Bengali magazine, to further the cause of freedom struggle. Similarly, Hardevi was the editor of Hindi magazine Bharat Bhagini.
• Participation in Congress Movements: The cause of women participation in the freedom struggle receive a major philip in 1917, when Annie Besant chaired the Congress session. It was further helped by the chairmanship of Sarojini Naidu in 1925. Mrs Ramsay McDonald paid glowing tribute to the participation of women in freedom struggle, by saying that Independence could not have been won without female assistance.

Gandhian Influence

• Direct contribution of Gandhiji: Upon his return from South Africa, Mahatma Gandhi established two important institutions the first one was Sabarmati Ashram and the second was Gujarat Vidyapeeth. While the former was an institution that hosted freedom fighters in the British era, the latter contributed to the freedom struggle by grooming several writers and authors.
• Gujarati literature: As expected, many important works were contributed by Gujarati authors and writers, which were inspired by either the revolt of 1857, Gandhian thought or Indian freedom struggle against the British imperialism. These include Bharelo Agni by Ramanlal Desai and Padar na Tirath by Jayanti Dalal. In fact, Gujarati literature under British rule has been divided into three eras: Sudharak Yug (reformist era), Pandit Yug (scholar era) and Gandhi Yug (Gandhian Era).
• Alma Matter: Gujarat Vidyapeeth has produced many great authors and writers like Umashankar Joshi, Sundaram, Kakasaheb Kalelkar, Pandit Sukhlalji and Muni Jinvijayji. These authors have produced many literary works and are considered exponents of literature influenced by Gandhian thoughts. These poets and authors also underwent jail time during the freedom struggle.

• Some important works: Umashankar Joshi has written a play a collection called Sapna Bhara (the stacks of snake). Zaverchand Meghani has written a poetry collection by the name of Sindhudo. He was referred to as ‘Rashtriya Shayar’ by Mahatma Gandhi. Similarly, Mangal Pandey is a play by Jayanti Khatri and Aagadi is by CC Mehta.

• Indirect influence of Gandhiji: Apart from his contribution to grooming multiple authors, Gandhiji was also the source of inspiration for many writers and poets. His movements and actions against British rule inspired many authors to produce some brilliant works.

Practice Question

• Discuss the history of cinema, in the context of its contribution towards India’s Independence movement. Also, highlight the steps taken by British authorities to stem the tide of Nationalist ideas in Indian cinema.
• Do you think that the rise of gender question during the freedom struggle was a chance event, created by the spread of modern English education in the country? Give reasons for your answer.
• Discuss the role of Gandhiji in influencing the literature in the country, especially Gujarati literature, during the freedom struggle.

UPSC PYQs

• Many voices had strengthened and enriched the nationalist movement during the Gandhian phase. Elaborate. (GS1 – 2019)
• Throw light on the significance of the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi in the present times. (GS1 – 2018)
• The women’s questions arose in modern India as a part of the 19th century social reform movement. What were the major issues and debates concerning women in that period? (GS1 – 2017)
• Discuss the role of women in the freedom struggle especially during the Gandhian phase. (GS1 – 2016)
• Defying the barriers of age, gender and religion, the Indian women became the torch bearer during the struggle for freedom in India. Discuss. (GS1 – 2013)