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POLITICAL UPSURGES IN POST-WAR INDIA (1945-46)
POLITICAL UPSURGES IN POST-WAR INDIA (194S-46)
Keka Dutta Ray
Intellectual Publishing House 23, Daryaganj, Ansari Road NEW DELHI
1.10002
Sole Distributors INTELLECTUAL BOOK CORNER PVf LTD.
23, Daryaganj, Ansari Road NEW DELHI- 110002
First Edition: 1992
© Keka Dutta Ray ISBN No. 81 7076 050 Price:
Rs. 150.00
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or any means without the prior permission of the publisher.
Printed in India. Published by D.R. Chopra for Intellectual Publishing House Laser typeset by Printlab, 0-69, Gulmohar Park, NeW Delhi - 49 Printed at: Gayatri Offset Press, Noida
Dedicated To My Parents La~e Keshab Lal & Bithika Bose
CONTENTS
Preface
be
The Post-War Situation (1945-46) 1.
2.
3. 4.
Students and the Anti Imperialist Mass Upheaval: Their Participation in the INA Release Campaign (November 1945 to February 1,946)
1
A Case Study of the Participation of Students and Workers·in Mass Movements (February 1946) as an aftermath of the RIN Mutiny
22
Labour Unrest and Trade Union Movements (1945-46)
37
Peasant Movements of the Post-War Period (1945-46)
89
5.
The Impact
136
6.
Conclusion
142
Abbreviations Used
148
Select Bibliography
150
LIST OF PICTURES After Page A Newspaper extract on the INA trial
10
Courtesy: Nehm Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi
Civil disturbances on Ra.'Ihid Ali day February, 1946
12
Courtesy: The Statesman
The Naval Strikers Out in the Streets of Bombay, February, 1946
28
Courtesy: Nehru Memorial and Library, New Delhi
Labour Unrest: Chittopra.'Iad Bhattacharya
42
Courtesy: Art Heritage
Bengal Famine 1943
96
Courtesy: Art Heritage
The Tebhaga Movement in Bengal :Somnath Hor
98
Courtesy: The Artist
Thra.'Ihing in a Wodi Village (Mabarashtra) : Chittoprasad Bhattacharya Courtes)' : Art Heritage
132
Preface The dictionary meaning of the word 'upsurge' denotes a tumultuous movement in a forward direction. Inthis case, the term 'political upsurges' refers to the violent agitations projected for a definite cause which occurred in India during the period 1945-46 in which different sections of the Indian population such as the students, workers, peasants and other people actively participated. The brunt of the movement was of course directed against the colonial authorities. There is a tendency among historians to study the top-level negotiations between the British, Congress and Muslim League politicians which culminated in the freedom and partition of the country. It is, therefore, relatively easy to get engrossed in the world of evidence concerning the Simla Conference, Cabinet Mission, Interim Government and Mountbatten Award but a second major trend of the post-war years of 1945-46 was the development of popular mass movements which were militant and sporadic but united and voluntary in character. These included movements for the release of the INA prisoners, the RIN Mutiny and Civil disturbances connected with it, the working class and peasant movements, etc., but there is hardly any systematic historical research on this field in an exhaustive manner. There are few private accounts by participants and certain aspects of this topic have been investigated which may be accounted for as individual isolated cases as fou:nd in secondary works on Trade-union and working·class movements, peasant movements, etc. However, recent release of n