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OXPORD Part 1 TOWARDS FREEDOM Documents on the Movement for Independence in India, 1947 Part 1 Going beyond the legalistic notion of independence as a ‘transfer of power’, the Towards Freedom series documents within the overarching framework of the ‘movement for independence’ the largely unaddressed discourses on the struggles for social justice, economic empowerment, and cultural autonomy. Through meticulously selected historical material from the period 1937-47, relating to the activities, attitudes, and ideas of diverse sections of Indian society, it brings to the fore the varied contributions to the attainment of independence. This volume, published in three parts, systematically covers the major socio-political developments during 1947, the year that saw the end of colonial rule and the emergence of two nation states. The first part pertains to the main political developments that took place in the three-way conflict between imperialist, nationalist, and communal forces. This story continues in the second part, which takes up the question of the princely states, the settlement of boundaries, and the rehabilitation of refugees, while the third traverses the issues of caste, religious minorities, language and literature, educational policy, the position of women, the future of the Congress organization, the functioning of provincial ministries, the economic consequences of partition, and the peasant and working class movements. The documents in this part present multiple points of view, represented by a range of sources, from newspapers, private papers, institutional collections, speeches, and writings of principal players to colonial archives. The striking level of popular involvement in important issues is reflected in the delightful letters to the editors, maps of proposed boundary lines, cartoons with acerbic wit, and quaint advertisements, such as the one for a balm, titled ‘Freedom from Pain’, evidently inspired by the impending freedom of the country! Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from Public. Resource.Org https://archive.org/details/towardsfreedomdo01maha i / i .i ; ■ t ' ljl ‘ ■ • •w . • -' - ■" ■' V- i I rLSji:;Lcl/ F • • P*'>? ’ . wm /< i l>‘g wM': > fe. SNi, -M •s ' # -OXFORD " d^: 3f M ICHR: Towards Freedom General Editor Sabyasachi Bhattacharya Volume Editor Sucheta Mahajan Towards Freedom Documents on the Movement for Independence in India 1947 Part 1 Edited by Sucheta Mahajan With a Preface by the General Editor Sabyasachi Bhattacharya Indian Council of Historical Research OXrORD UNIVERSITY PRESS OXPORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in India by Oxford University Press YMCA Library Building, 1 Jai Singh Road, New Delhi 110 001, India © Indian Council of Historical Research 2013 The moral rights of the authors have been asserted First Edition published in 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by licence, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer ISBN-13: 978-0-19-808397-9 ISBN-10: 0-19-808397-1 Typeset in Berthold Baskerville 11.5/14 by Le Studio Graphique, Gurgaon 122 001 Printed in India by Rakmo Press, New Delhi 110 020 To my parents, Vidyadhar and Savitri il‘ tT.7\ ^ • d ?(IU- ■ ■ t H'hB- '"V ■ =-y r,--*" ••' _ **, J ?■*■“ I 1. .. 1«sp^’ ♦ / ---‘Mi T f ‘ (w ol YoV,dV. Iswiii ■’ *■ .ii-.. ’.4m 1/l0 4 '• % -^iMP