Mahatma Gandhi Contributions Towards Remodeling the Congress!
Gandhi reconstituted the Congress in 1920 to function as an instrument of both social and political change. He was destined to play a leading role in the Congress in subsequent years, which greatly enhanced his social effectiveness. The objective of the Indian National Congress as specified by him in 1920 was “the attainment of swarajya by the people of India by all legitimate and peaceful means”, an objective that highlighted the point that only honourable and non-violent methods would be employed to attain the goal. A revolutionary feature introduced by Gandhi was the redistribution of British India into territories on a linguistic basis for the purpose of Congress organization, with Congress units constituted in each.
Thus, 21 provincial Congress committees were created. This, together with the fact that each Congress delegate would represent 50,000 of the population of the province concerned, succeeded in transforming the Congress from an elite organization to a popular one, as the delegates became real representatives of those who wanted to participate in the political life of the country.
In order that the Congress could serve as a more efficient vehicle for creating popular awareness, Gandhi substituted its dilatory and casual manner of working with detailed rules for its efficient and democratic functioning at all levels – taluka, district, province and all India. A bold innovation introduced by him and which had significant consequences was that in the election of delegates, due regard was to be given to the representation of women, minorities, special interests or classes needing special protection and every variety of political opinion, through the system of proportional representation by a single transferable vote.
About these fundamental changes in the constitution, Gandhi wrote, “I have attempted to give the Congress a representative character such as would make its demands irresistible.” Through such changes, social issues at the village level could become political issues at a much broader level and appropriate programmes of action could be formulated and implemented.
Regarding Gandhi’s contribution to Indian politics, it has been observed that “Gandhi modernized Indian politics by moving it in a professional and democratic direction and by providing the organizational base, procedures and habits for national politics”. These new political forces affected the social life of the nation in a positive manner by creating a much wider distribution of the power structure and producing a great deal of social mobility.
Gandhi’s resolution on non-violent non-cooperation, passed by the Congress in September and December 1920, asked all Indians to non-cooperate with the government and all its institutions; at the same time, they were requested to remain absolutely peaceful and contribute to a national fund to set up national schools and other institutions to replace government ones. To promote national solidarity, the resolution appealed to the people to refrain from all communal quarrels and root out the “evil” practice of untouchability.
In an effort to make India truly self-reliant, everyone was requested to give up wearing foreign cloth and take up hand spinning and weaving and wear only swadeshi cloth. Such a multifaceted programme had never been contemplated before and even less acted upon, that to on a national scale. The non-cooperation campaign produced a qualitative change in Indian society. It was proved to the “pusillanimous Indians” (as Gandhi felt about many of his compatriots) that the awesome might of the British Empire could be challenged and its prestige given a severe jolt.
In subsequent years, the goal of Congress activities under Gandhi’s guidance was the channelling of material and manpower resources towards the development of Indian society on an egalitarian basis. With this purpose in mind, Gandhi initiated the charkha or spinning wheel programme to provide work in villages, with the number of charkhas in each province to be in proportion to its population. Meanwhile, he began the process of setting up panchayats for the purpose of social arbitration in local areas and launched a massive campaign against liquor addiction. People’s participation was essential for the success of all these projects.
To bring the Congress more in line with the masses, Gandhi declared in September 1924 that the Congress would henceforth confine its activity to the propaganda of hand spinning and hand spun khaddar, the achievement of Hindu-Muslim unity and the removal of untouchability, issues that most touched the life of the common people and were vital for the social and economic progress of the country.
The Congress had also the responsibility of carrying on the existing national institutions set up for education and vocational training and it was asked to open more of them on an independent basis. Though it could not be said that these institutions supplied the need for education on a national or even provincial scale, their role was seminal in the freedom movement in India because of the direction they gave it.
“In an independent India,” Gandhi had said in a speech at the “Subjects Committee” meeting of A.I.C.C. III on January 1, 1930 that, “every problem is to be solved on a national basis and not on a communal basis,” – presumably, he meant a democratic basis. At the same time, he assured Muslims, Sikhs and other minorities that no solution in any future constitution would be acceptable to the Congress that did not give full satisfaction to the parties concerned.
The two parts of the resolution appear contradictory, but it seems that it was a compromise solution that Gandhi arrived at in keeping with the difficult times. The only real answer, he said, to the whole communal question was that the Congress should be joined in large numbers by the Muslims, Sikhs and others who would have India as one united nation. By joining it, they could participate in the direction of national affairs and help in solving the common problems of the country. This by itself would foster social cohesiveness.
Gandhi had a special piece of advice for Congressmen when Congress ministries were formed in seven of the 11 provinces of India after the elections of 1937. He said that as they were the representatives of one of the poorest nations in the world, they should observe rigorous simplicity in their personal life and administration.
Such economy would save thousands of rupees, which could benefit the poor and also set an example for the rest of the nation, where the gulf between the rich and the poor was startling. The programmes of Congressmen, Gandhi said, should be oriented towards villages rather than cities and should have a secular and non-communal foundation. Without these administrative and policy changes, he felt that either there would be a bloody revolution or mass civil disobedience on a scale never attempted before.
In pursuance of these guidelines, the scheme of Basic Education, the movements against liquor addiction and untouchability, the promotion of the charkha programme and indigenous industries received a great boost, particularly in the provinces where the Congress formed the government. The Congress government of Mumbai accepted prohibition as part of its policy, bringing it into force on 1 August 1939. Gandhi described the liquor prohibition act as “due fulfillment of the national will definitely expressed nearly twenty years ago”.
To ensure that the Indian National Congress did indeed constitute an instrument of social change, Gandhi emphasized the importance of all elected members to set examples in social and national service. In this context, he wrote, “The Congress is a revolutionary body in the widest and the wisest sense. It must be original. All its activities must be derived from its creed of non-violence.” But by 1940, Gandhi had come to realize that the existing Congress organization was incapable of functioning as an agent of social change on account of the corruption and lack of crusading zeal that had seeped into it.
Gandhi came to regard the Indian National Congress as a purely political body the goal of which was the attainment of complete independence. In 1947, he told his countrymen: “We must recognize the fact that the social order of our dreams cannot come through the Congress party of today …. There is so much corruption today that it frightens me …. anish the idea of the capture of power and you will be able to guide power and keep it on the right path.”
Gandhi wished to disband the Congress and raise in its place a purely social service organization. But by then, the party had tasted power and his wish remained unfulfilled. Gandhi’s attempt to mould the Congress into a major instrument of social and political change met with only partial success. His dream floundered in the face of political power in all its dimensions and facets.