Twenty-Eight Months of Congress Rule: Governance, Reforms, and Resignation (1937-1939)

Indian National Congress formed governments in 8 out of 11 provinces in British India and ruled from February 1937 to October 1939. Those were Madras, Bombay, Central Provinces, Orissa, Bihar, United Provinces, and later NWFP and Assam. The Congress Working Committee accepted the office under the act of 1935. The Congress was now to function both as a government in the provinces and as the opposition vis-a-vis the Central government where effective state power lay. It was a historically unique situation to bring about social reforms through the effective use of legislature and administration in provinces and at the same time carry on their struggle for independence and prepare the people for the next stage of mass struggle.

Work under Congress Ministries

Impact of Congress Ministries: The formation of Ministries by Congress changed the entire psychological atmosphere in the country. 

• There was great enthusiasm among people, along with an increase in the prestige of Congress. 
• Congress got an opportunity to demonstrate that it could not only lead people into mass struggle but could also use State power for their benefit. 
• Limitations of Congress Ministries: However, the Congress ministries had some basic limitations regarding power and financial resources. 
• • Also, they could not, through their administration, change the basic imperialist character of the system or introduce a radical era. 
  • Even then, Congress tried to give the people a glimpse of the future Swaraj in their tenure of two years and four months by introducing reforms, taking ameliorative measures, and improving the condition of the people.

Civil Liberties

The Congress had an old commitment towards defense and extension of civil liberties, which was achieved in their tenure as follows,

1. All emergency powers acquired by the provincial governments during 1932, through Public Safety Acts, etc were repealed.
2. Ban on, previously declared illegal, political organizations, like Hindustan Seva Dal and Youth Leagues, and on political books and journals were lifted.
3. Press restrictions were removed.
4. Newspapers were taken out of black lists and securities were refunded
5. Confiscated arms were returned and forfeited arms licenses were restored.
6. Police powers were curbed and CID stopped shadowing politicians.
7. Political prisoners and detainees were released and deportation and interment orders were revoked. For example, many of the revolutionaries involved in Kakori and other conspiracy cases were released. 
8. The difference between Congress provinces and non-congress provinces of Bengal and Punjab was most apparent. In the latter, civil liberties continued to be curbed and revolutionary prisoners were kept in jails for years without any trial.
9. In Bombay, confiscated land was restored to its original owners, which was taken during the Civil Disobedience Movement.
10. Pensions of officials associated with the Civil Disobedience Movement were restored.

However, there were certain blemishes in the successful performance of congress ministries. One of which was the arrest of Yusuf Maherally, a socialist arrested by the Madras government for inflammatory speeches, but later released. Also, K.M. Munshi, one of the right-wing Congress ministers and the Home Minister of Bombay, used the CID to watch the Communists and other left-wing Congressmen.

Agrarian Reforms

The Congress was committed by its election manifesto and the election campaign to a policy of agrarian reform through reform in the land tenure system, rent reduction, land revenue, and the burden of debt. However, the Congress could not attempt a complete overhaul of the agrarian structure by completely abolishing the zamindari system. The following were the  constraints in doing so:

• As per the constitutional structure of the 1935 Act, the provincial ministries didn’t have enough powers.
• There was an extreme lack of financial resources as the lion’s share was appropriated by the Government of India.
• The existing administrative structure couldn’t be touched, whose sanctity was guarded by the Viceroy and Governor’s power.
• The strategy of class adjustment, as Zamindars etc., had to be conciliated and neutralized.
• There was a time constraint as the logic of Congress politics was based on confrontation rather than cooperation with colonialism. Also, war clouds became apparent in Europe from 1938 onwards.
• Presence of a reactionary second chamber, in the form of legislative councils, dominated by landlords, capitalists and moneylenders, who were elected on a very narrow franchise. It has to be conciliated for their support in necessary legislation. For example, the Bihar government negotiated a compromise with the Zamindars on its tenancy bills.
• Finally, the agrarian structure was too complex and complicated in various parts of the country, with a lack of information about things like land rights, etc.

Despite these constraints, the agrarian policy of Congress Ministers went a long way towards promoting the interests of the peasantry. The Congress ministries managed to legislate on issues dealing with questions of tenancy rights, land reforms, forest grazing fees, rent arrears, security of tenure, rents of the tenants and the problem of rural indebtedness. To enumerate the achievements and legislations:

• In UP a tenancy act was passed in October 1939 which gave full hereditary rights to statutory tenants of Agra and Oudh, while taking away the landlord’s right to prevent the growth of occupancy.
• All illegal exactions like nazrana (forced gifts) and beggar (forced unpaid labour) were abolished.
• In UP, occupancy rights were granted to under-ryots if they had cultivated the land for 12 years.
• The ceiling on the landlord’s share was not to exceed 9/20 of produce in case of share-cropping
• The only right that the landlord retained was the right to get his rent which was reduced significantly.
• In Orissa, a tenancy bill was passed in May 1938 granting the right of free transfer of occupancy holdings, reducing the interest on arrears of rent from 12.5 to 6 per cent and abolishing all illegal levies on tenants.
• Except for U.P, and Assam, the congress Ministries also passed a series of stringent debtors’ relief acts which provided for regulation of moneylenders’ business – like cancellation or drastic reduction of accumulated interest ranging from 6.25% in Madras to 9% in Bombay and Bihar.

Nature of Agrarian Legislation

Provincial Variations in Agrarian Legislation:  Agrarian legislation by these Ministries differed from province to province depending on different agrarian relations, the mass base of Congress, the class composition, and the outlook of provincial Congress organization and leadership. 

• Like, it was more radical and quick in Bihar vis-a-vis UP. It improved and secured the status of millions of tenants in Zamindari areas. 
• However, most of the benefits went to the statutory and occupancy tenants, while sub-tenants and agricultural laborers did not gain much.
• Madras Agrarian Reform Proposal: In Madras, a committee led by T. Prakasam (1872-1957), who served as the Revenue Minister, proposed that in areas covered by the Permanent Zamindari Settlement, the ryot (cultivator) rather than the zamindar should be considered the rightful owner of the land. 
• • Consequently, rental rates established in 1802 when the Settlement was initially instituted should be reinstated. 
• Impact of Rent Reduction Proposal: This adjustment would have resulted in a significant reduction of rents, approximately two-thirds lower, effectively dismantling the Zamindari system. 
  • C. Rajagopalachari, the Premier, expressed full support for this recommendation and dismissed the idea of compensating the zamindars. 
  • The Legislative Assembly adopted a resolution in January 1939 to endorse these proposals, but the Ministry resigned before a bill could be formulated.
• Congress Ministries’ Resignation: The Congress Ministries resigned in protest because the then Viceroy Lord Linlithgow (1936-1944) action of declared India to be belligerent in World War II without even consulting the Indian people.

Conclusion

Congress’s rule from February 1937 to October 1939 marked a significant yet complex chapter in British India’s history. Despite limitations imposed by colonial constraints and financial restrictions, Congress ministries achieved notable reforms in civil liberties and agrarian policies. Their tenure highlighted both their ability to effect meaningful change and the challenges of navigating colonial politics. The resignation of Congress ministries over India’s involvement in World War II underscored the continuing struggle for complete self-governance and independence.

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