Sectional Movements and Partition

What to remember

• Nationalism was not one single stream. Peasants, women, tribals, workers and religious communities each carried their own grievances. Some joined the national movement; others pursued separate aims.
• Communalism grew from colonial policy and from competing politics. Separate electorates, the census, and the "divide and rule" approach hardened identities, until the Partition of 1947 became its tragic result.
• Partition brought the largest forced migration in modern history. Rehabilitation of refugees, recovery of abducted women and the rebuilding of lives became the first big tasks of free India.

Peasant movements

Colonial rule raised land revenue, created moneylender debt and weakened the old village economy. Peasant protest passed through three broad phases.

Early revolts (before 1900): Local and often violent. They aimed at the immediate oppressor: landlord, planter or moneylender.

Between the wars: Peasants began to join organised politics. The Kisan Sabha movement grew in Awadh, Bihar and elsewhere. The All India Kisan Sabha was formed in 1936 with Swami Sahajanand Saraswati as its first president and N. G. Ranga as a leading organiser. Ranga, from the Andhra region, is closely linked with the Andhra peasant movement.

Later struggles: Telangana armed struggle (1946-51) against feudal landlords and the Nizam's rule; Tebhaga in Bengal (share-croppers demanded two-thirds of the crop); Punnapra-Vayalar in Travancore.

Gandhian peasant campaigns were often non-violent and led by the Congress:

• Champaran (1917): against the compulsory indigo cultivation (tinkathia system).
• Kheda (1918): revenue remission after crop failure.
• Bardoli (1928): against an enhanced land revenue; led by Vallabhbhai Patel, who earned the title "Sardar".

In Andhra, the Palnadu forest satyagraha, the Pedanandipadu no-tax campaign (1921) and the Ryot associations of the Telugu districts are well-known regional examples. The Rampa rebellion is treated under tribal movements.

Women's movements

Early reform in the nineteenth century was led by men on behalf of women (sati abolition, widow remarriage, education). In Andhra, Kandukuri Veeresalingam worked for widow remarriage and women's education.

From the early twentieth century, women formed their own organisations:

• Women's India Association (1917), All India Women's Conference (1927), National Council of Women in India (1925).
• Women took part in Non-Cooperation, Salt Satyagraha, picketing of liquor and foreign cloth shops, and Quit India.
• Leaders: Sarojini Naidu (first Indian woman president of the Congress, 1925), Kasturba Gandhi, Aruna Asaf Ali, Durgabai Deshmukh (Andhra), Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Matangini Hazra.
• Durgabai Deshmukh founded the Andhra Mahila Sabha (1937) in Madras.

The movement also pressed for voting rights, education and legal reform. After independence, many of these demands entered the Constitution.

Tribal movements

Tribal communities lost forest rights, faced outsiders (dikus), moneylenders and new forest laws. Their movements were often led by a charismatic leader and had a religious or millenarian flavour.

Alluri Sitarama Raju led the Rampa rebellion using guerrilla tactics against the police. He is called "Manyam Veerudu" (hero of the forest). The Madras Forest Act of 1882 and restriction on podu (shifting) cultivation were major grievances. He was killed in 1924.

Workers' movements

Modern industry (textiles, jute, railways, mines, plantations) created a working class. Early efforts were welfare-based and led by social reformers.

• Early leaders: Sasipada Banerjee (Working Men's Club, Bengal, 1870), later N. M. Lokhande (Bombay Mill Hands Association, 1890).
• AITUC founded in 1920 (Bombay) with Lala Lajpat Rai as the first president. Later the Left, Congress and other groups formed separate unions.
• Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association (1918), led by Mahatma Gandhi with Anasuya Sarabhai, followed the principle of arbitration.
• The Trade Disputes Act (1929) and Trade Unions Act (1926) were colonial responses. The 1926 Act gave legal status to unions.
• The Bombay textile strikes of 1928 and 1934 were large; the Naval Mutiny (1946) showed unrest even in the armed forces.

Communalism

Communalism means promoting the political interests of one religious community against another. It is different from religiosity.

Causes (colonial and Indian):

• Colonial interpretation of history as "Hindu period / Muslim period".
• Separate electorates (Morley-Minto Reforms 1909), extended to other groups by the Communal Award (1932).
• The Partition of Bengal (1905) and its reversal in 1911.
• Rise of organisations: Muslim League (1906), Hindu Mahasabha (1915), later the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (1925).
• Economic competition for jobs and education.

Key stages:

The Poona Pact (1932) gave reserved seats to the Depressed Classes within the general electorate, replacing separate electorates for them.

The road to Partition

• August Offer (1940) and the Cripps Mission (1942) both offered constitutional change but did not satisfy the League and Congress together.
• Gandhi-Jinnah talks (1944) failed. The Rajagopalachari (C. R.) formula (1944) accepted a plebiscite in Muslim majority areas after the war, but Jinnah did not accept it.
• Cabinet Mission (1946) proposed a three-tier federation with groups of provinces. Both sides first accepted, then disagreed over grouping.
• Interim Government (1946) under Nehru; the League joined late, and worked as an opposition within it.
• Attlee's statement (February 1947) announced withdrawal of British power by June 1948.
• Mountbatten Plan (3 June 1947) proposed partition with dominion status. The date of transfer was advanced to 15 August 1947.
• Indian Independence Act, 1947 created two dominions, India and Pakistan; ended British paramountcy over the princely states; set up the Boundary Commission under Cyril Radcliffe.
• The Punjab and Bengal were divided; the Sylhet district of Assam voted in a referendum; the North-West Frontier Province also held a referendum.

Partition and its consequences

The announcement of the Radcliffe Line (made public on 17 August 1947) was followed by severe violence, especially in Punjab and Bengal. Millions of people crossed borders in both directions. Many lost their lives; a large number of women were abducted.

Main consequences:

• 1. Mass migration and refugee crisis in Punjab, Delhi, Bengal.
• 2. Communal riots, and the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi (January 1948).
• 3. Division of assets, army, railways and the civil service.
• 4. The Kashmir issue and a lasting India-Pakistan dispute.
• 5. Economic loss: jute-growing areas went to East Pakistan, mills stayed in India.

Rehabilitation

• A Ministry of Relief and Rehabilitation was set up in 1947.
• Camps (such as Kurukshetra) housed refugees; later, colonies and townships were built (for example, in Delhi suburbs).
• Evacuee Property laws governed the property left behind. Land and shops were allotted as compensation.
• Displaced persons from West Pakistan were settled mainly in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. Those from East Bengal came in a longer, continuing stream to West Bengal, Assam, Tripura.
• The Abducted Persons (Recovery and Restoration) Act, 1949 was passed to recover and restore women across the border. Social workers and officials such as Mridula Sarabhai took part.
• Many refugees became entrepreneurs and entered trade, transport and farming.

Exam traps

• 1. Kheda vs Champaran vs Bardoli: Champaran = indigo; Kheda = revenue remission after famine; Bardoli = enhanced revenue, Patel.
• 2. Tebhaga vs Telangana: Tebhaga was in Bengal, for share-croppers' two-thirds share; Telangana was an armed struggle in the Nizam's state.
• 3. Santhal Hul vs Munda Ulgulan: Santhal 1855 (Sidhu-Kanhu); Munda 1899-1900 (Birsa).
• 4. Rampa rebellion is in Andhra (Alluri Sitarama Raju); Komaram Bheem is a Gond leader in Telangana.
• 5. Communal Award vs Poona Pact: Award gave separate electorates; the Pact modified it for the Depressed Classes.
• 6. Muslim League (1906) vs Hindu Mahasabha (1915): do not swap dates.
• 7. Cabinet Mission vs Cripps Mission: Cripps 1942, Cabinet Mission 1946.
• 8. Radcliffe headed the Boundary Commission; Mountbatten gave the Plan.

One-liners

• 1. All India Kisan Sabha was formed in 1936.
• 2. Swami Sahajanand Saraswati was its first president.
• 3. Sardar Patel led the Bardoli campaign.
• 4. Alluri Sitarama Raju is known as Manyam Veerudu.
• 5. AITUC was founded in 1920; the first president was Lala Lajpat Rai.
• 6. The Trade Unions Act was passed in 1926.
• 7. Sarojini Naidu presided over the Congress in 1925.
• 8. The Lucknow Pact was signed in 1916.
• 9. The Lahore resolution of the Muslim League was in 1940.
• 10. Direct Action Day was observed in 1946.
• 11. The Mountbatten Plan is dated 3 June 1947.
• 12. The Indian Independence Act came into force on 15 August 1947 (transfer of power).

Practice questions

1. The Champaran satyagraha of 1917 was launched against which practice?

   1. Forced sale of grain at fixed prices
   2. Enhanced land revenue in a prosperous taluka
   3. Ban on salt making on the coast
   4. Compulsory indigo cultivation under the tinkathia system
   Answer

   D. Compulsory indigo cultivation under the tinkathia system

   Champaran peasants were forced to grow indigo on part of their land.

2. Who led the Bardoli campaign of 1928?

   1. Jawaharlal Nehru
   2. Rajendra Prasad
   3. Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
   4. Vallabhbhai Patel
   Answer

   D. Vallabhbhai Patel

   Patel led the no-revenue campaign and was called Sardar.

3. The All India Kisan Sabha was formed in which year?

   1. 1936
   2. 1928
   3. 1942
   4. 1920
   Answer

   A. 1936

   It was formed at Lucknow in 1936 with Swami Sahajanand as president.

4. Who was the first president of the All India Kisan Sabha?

   1. Birsa Munda
   2. N. G. Ranga
   3. Lala Lajpat Rai
   4. Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
   Answer

   D. Swami Sahajanand Saraswati

   Sahajanand Saraswati was its first president; Ranga was a leading organiser.

5. The Rampa rebellion of 1922-24 was led by

   1. Alluri Sitarama Raju
   2. Komaram Bheem
   3. Sidhu and Kanhu
   4. Birsa Munda
   Answer

   A. Alluri Sitarama Raju

   Raju led tribals of the Godavari Agency against forest restrictions.

6. Birsa Munda led the movement called

   1. Rampa
   2. Tebhaga
   3. Hul
   4. Ulgulan
   Answer

   D. Ulgulan

   Ulgulan (great tumult) of 1899-1900 was in Chotanagpur.

7. The Santhal Hul of 1855 was led by

   1. Birsa and Kanhu
   2. Raju and Bheem
   3. Govind Guru and Sidhu
   4. Sidhu and Kanhu
   Answer

   D. Sidhu and Kanhu

   Sidhu and Kanhu led the Santhals against moneylenders and revenue demands.

8. Where was the All India Trade Union Congress founded in 1920?

   1. Bombay
   2. Madras
   3. Calcutta
   4. Lahore
   Answer

   A. Bombay

   AITUC was founded at Bombay with Lala Lajpat Rai as president.

9. Who was the first president of AITUC?

   1. N. M. Joshi
   2. Sarojini Naidu
   3. V. V. Giri
   4. Lala Lajpat Rai
   Answer

   D. Lala Lajpat Rai

   Lala Lajpat Rai presided at the founding session.

10. Who was the first Indian woman president of the Indian National Congress?

    1. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay
    2. Sarojini Naidu
    3. Aruna Asaf Ali
    4. Annie Besant
    Answer

    B. Sarojini Naidu

    Sarojini Naidu presided in 1925 at Kanpur.

11. The Muslim League was founded in 1906 at

    1. Dhaka
    2. Lahore
    3. Lucknow
    4. Aligarh
    Answer

    A. Dhaka

    The League was formed at Dhaka during an educational conference.

12. The Lahore resolution of the Muslim League, demanding separate states, was passed in

    1. 1937
    2. 1940
    3. 1946
    4. 1930
    Answer

    B. 1940

    The resolution of March 1940 is often called the Pakistan resolution.

13. The Poona Pact of 1932 was signed between

    1. Gandhi and Ambedkar
    2. Nehru and Jinnah
    3. Patel and Ambedkar
    4. Gandhi and Jinnah
    Answer

    A. Gandhi and Ambedkar

    It gave reserved seats to the Depressed Classes within the general electorate.

14. Who headed the Boundary Commission that drew the Punjab and Bengal lines?

    1. Lord Wavell
    2. Stafford Cripps
    3. Lord Mountbatten
    4. Cyril Radcliffe
    Answer

    D. Cyril Radcliffe

    Radcliffe chaired the commissions that fixed the boundary.

15. Which proposal of 1946 envisaged a three-tier federation with groups of provinces?

    1. August Offer
    2. Cripps Proposals
    3. Cabinet Mission Plan
    4. Rajaji formula
    Answer

    C. Cabinet Mission Plan

    The Cabinet Mission proposed a Union, groups, and provinces.

16. The Mountbatten Plan was announced on

    1. 20 February 1947
    2. 3 June 1947
    3. 9 December 1946
    4. 15 August 1947
    Answer

    B. 3 June 1947

    The Plan accepted partition and dominion status.

17. The Abducted Persons (Recovery and Restoration) Act was passed in

    1. 1947
    2. 1951
    3. 1956
    4. 1949
    Answer

    D. 1949

    The Act helped recover women abducted during Partition.

18. The Ahmedabad textile labour union of 1918 was guided by

    1. Mahatma Gandhi
    2. S. A. Dange
    3. N. M. Lokhande
    4. B. R. Ambedkar
    Answer

    A. Mahatma Gandhi

    Gandhi and Anasuya Sarabhai led the union on the principle of arbitration.

19. Why is communalism different from religiosity?

    1. It uses religion to seek political interests against another community
    2. It means practising one's faith in private
    3. It means respecting all faiths equally
    4. It means opposing every form of worship
    Answer

    A. It uses religion to seek political interests against another community

    Communalism is a political ideology, not personal belief.

20. Which action of 1909 is often seen as a root of communal politics in India?

    1. Opening of the Suez Canal
    2. Separate electorates for Muslims
    3. Introduction of the permanent settlement
    4. Abolition of the Sati practice
    Answer

    B. Separate electorates for Muslims

    The Morley-Minto Reforms gave separate electorates.

21. The Tebhaga movement demanded that sharecroppers receive

    1. One-half of the crop
    2. Full ownership of the land
    3. One-third of the crop
    4. Two-thirds of the crop
    Answer

    D. Two-thirds of the crop

    Tebhaga means 'three shares'; the cultivator was to get two.

22. Why did the Cabinet Mission Plan fail?

    1. The army refused to support it
    2. Princely states rejected all federation
    3. Congress and the League disagreed over the grouping of provinces
    4. The British withdrew the plan at once
    Answer

    C. Congress and the League disagreed over the grouping of provinces

    Different readings of the grouping clause broke the agreement.

23. The Madras Forest Act of 1882 caused discontent among tribals mainly because it

    1. Banned all tribal festivals
    2. Restricted podu cultivation and forest use
    3. Raised the salt tax
    4. Forced them to leave the plains
    Answer

    B. Restricted podu cultivation and forest use

    Forest restrictions were a key grievance behind the Rampa rebellion.

24. The Trade Unions Act of 1926 is important because it

    1. Gave legal recognition to trade unions
    2. Created the AITUC
    3. Banned all strikes
    4. Set a minimum wage for mills
    Answer

    A. Gave legal recognition to trade unions

    The Act allowed registration and protection to unions.

25. Which feature of Partition caused the largest human suffering?

    1. Change of currency
    2. Division of army property
    3. Separation of railway lines
    4. Mass migration with communal violence
    Answer

    D. Mass migration with communal violence

    Millions moved across the new borders amid violence.

26. Which leader of Andhra is closely linked with peasant organisation and the Kisan movement?

    1. Bhogaraju Pattabhi
    2. Tanguturi Prakasam
    3. N. G. Ranga
    4. Pattabhi Sitaramayya
    Answer

    C. N. G. Ranga

    Ranga organised ryots and was active in the Kisan Sabha.

27. Durgabai Deshmukh founded which organisation in Madras in 1937?

    1. Andhra Mahila Sabha
    2. All India Women's Conference
    3. Seva Sadan
    4. Women's India Association
    Answer

    A. Andhra Mahila Sabha

    Andhra Mahila Sabha worked for women's education and welfare.

28. Which referendum-based region of Assam joined East Pakistan in 1947?

    1. Cachar
    2. Goalpara
    3. Garo Hills
    4. Sylhet
    Answer

    D. Sylhet

    Sylhet voted in a referendum to join Pakistan.

29. Consider the statements on Gandhian peasant campaigns. 1. Kheda satyagraha sought revenue remission after crop failure. 2. Champaran satyagraha opposed salt tax.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    Champaran concerned indigo, not the salt tax; only the Kheda statement is correct.

30. Consider the statements. 1. The Communal Award of 1932 proposed separate electorates for the Depressed Classes. 2. The Poona Pact modified that arrangement.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are correct; the Pact replaced separate electorates with reserved seats.

31. Consider the statements on tribal movements. 1. The Munda rising was led by Birsa. 2. The Rampa rebellion took place in Chotanagpur.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    Rampa was in the Godavari Agency of Andhra, not Chotanagpur.

32. Consider the statements on the Muslim League. 1. It was formed to oppose the Hindu Mahasabha of 1915. 2. It was founded in 1906.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    B. 2 only

    The League was founded before the Mahasabha, but it was not formed to oppose it.

33. Consider the statements on 1946-47. 1. The Cabinet Mission arrived in 1946. 2. The Mountbatten Plan was released before the Cripps Mission.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    Cripps came in 1942, long before Mountbatten.

34. Consider the statements on Partition. 1. It was made public before the transfer of power on 15 August. 2. The Radcliffe Line divided Punjab and Bengal.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    B. 2 only

    It was published on 17 August, after the transfer.

35. Consider the statements on women's movements. 1. The All India Women's Conference was formed in 1927. 2. Early reform was led only by women.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    Early reform was led mostly by men on behalf of women.

36. Consider the statements on workers' movements. 1. The Trade Unions Act of 1926 banned unions. 2. AITUC was founded in 1920.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    B. 2 only

    The Act gave unions legal status.

37. Match: (1) Tebhaga (2) Bardoli (3) Santhal Hul (4) Rampa

    1. 1-Gujarat, 2-Bengal, 3-Godavari, 4-Bihar
    2. 1-Bihar, 2-Andhra, 3-Bengal, 4-Gujarat
    3. 1-Punjab, 2-Bengal, 3-Gujarat, 4-Bihar
    4. 1-Bengal, 2-Gujarat, 3-Bengal-Bihar border, 4-Godavari Agency
    Answer

    D. 1-Bengal, 2-Gujarat, 3-Bengal-Bihar border, 4-Godavari Agency

    Tebhaga in Bengal; Bardoli in Gujarat; Santhal Hul on the Bengal-Bihar border; Rampa in the Godavari Agency.

38. Match: (1) Lucknow Pact (2) Lahore Resolution (3) Poona Pact (4) Direct Action Day

    1. 1909, 1930, 1946, 1932
    2. 1916, 1932, 1940, 1946
    3. 1916, 1940, 1932, 1946
    4. 1920, 1940, 1947, 1932
    Answer

    C. 1916, 1940, 1932, 1946

    The four dates are 1916, 1940, 1932 and 1946 in that order.

39. Match leader and movement: (1) Sidhu-Kanhu (2) Birsa (3) Raju (4) Govind Guru

    1. Rampa, Bhil, Santhal, Munda
    2. Bhil, Rampa, Munda, Santhal
    3. Santhal, Munda, Rampa, Bhil
    4. Munda, Santhal, Bhil, Rampa
    Answer

    C. Santhal, Munda, Rampa, Bhil

    Each leader is paired with the group he led.

40. Consider the statements on the Telangana struggle. 1. It was an armed struggle against feudal landlords. 2. It was fought against the Nizam's regime.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are correct; it ran from about 1946 to 1951.

41. Consider the statements on rehabilitation. 1. A separate ministry for relief and rehabilitation was set up in 1947. 2. Refugees were housed in camps such as Kurukshetra.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are correct.

42. Consider the statements on the C. R. formula. 1. It accepted a plebiscite in Muslim-majority areas after the war. 2. Jinnah accepted it fully.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    Jinnah did not accept it.

43. Consider the statements on Bardoli. 1. It was led by Gandhi in person throughout. 2. It was a no-revenue campaign.

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    B. 2 only

    It was led by Patel.

44. The Indian Independence Act of 1947 ended British paramountcy over

    1. The Indian army only
    2. The Presidency towns only
    3. The princely states
    4. The Church missions
    Answer

    C. The princely states

    Princely states became free to join India or Pakistan.

45. Kandukuri Veeresalingam of Andhra is best known for promoting

    1. Factory unionism
    2. Peasant armed struggle
    3. Tribal land rights
    4. Widow remarriage and women's education
    Answer

    D. Widow remarriage and women's education

    He was a leading Telugu social reformer.