Swaraj Party

Swaraj Party was formed as the Congress-Khilafat Swaraj Party in 1st January 1923 by Chittaranjan Das or C. R. Das, Narasimha Chintaman Kelkar and Motilal Nehru. In this article, you will learn about Swaraj party, objective of Swaraj party, Swaraj party split, etc.

This article will provide key insights for GS Paper-I Indian History of UPSC IAS Exam.

Table of Content

• What is Swaraj Party?
• Formation of Swaraj Party
• Why was the Swaraj party formed?         
• Pro-Changers and No-Changers:              
• Council entry:   
• Elections and Swaraj party          
• The Simon Commission and disintegration of Swarajists
• Madras Province Swarajya Party:             
• Conclusion         
• Frequently Asked Questions       
• Reference           
• Frequently Asked Questions

What is Swaraj Party?

• The Swaraj Party was a political party of India that was formed as the Congress-Khilafat Swaraj Party in 1st January 1923 by Chittaranjan Das or C. R. Das, Narasimha Chintaman Kelkar and Motilal Nehru.
  • They both were the members of the Indian National Congress.
• The Congress-Khilafat Swaraj Party later came to be known as the Swaraj Party.

Founders of the Swaraj party:

Formation of Swaraj Party

• The Congress-Khilafat Swaraj Party was formed after the National Congress’ Gaya conference held in December 1922.
• The party drew inspiration from the concept of Swaraj, which means “independence” or “self-rule” in Hindi.
• The founder of Swaraj Party- ChittaranjanDas had served as its president, and MotilalNehru as its secretary.
  • They both has played significant roles as the party’s leaders.

Why was the Swaraj party formed?

• The aim of the Swaraj party was to secure increased self-governance and political liberty for the Indian people under British rule.
• The primary objective of the party was to participate in the elections for the newly established Central Legislative Assembly in 1923.
• Once elected, they wanted to challenge the British government’s policies and disrupt their control by engaging in anti-government activities within the council.
• Chittaranjan Das and MotilalNehru had devised a strategy to participate in elections and gain entry into the legislative council.
• The party was emerged as a response to Mahatma Gandhi’s decision to halt civil disobedience on 12th February 1922 after the violent incident in Chauri Chaura.
• To persuade Indians to cease civil resistance, Gandhijihadstarted a fast-unto-death.
• Consequently, the Congress and other nationalist groups disassociated themselves from any acts of disobedience.

Pro-Changers and No-Changers:

• After his release from prison in 1924, Gandhi aimed to reconcile with the Swarajists and reunite the Congress party.
• The Swarajists had advocated for increased representation in Congressleadership and the removal of mandatory requirements such as spinning khadi cloth and performing social service as prerequisites for holding office.
  • They were known as the Swarajist Changers.
• This proposal faced opposition from Gandhi’s supporters, including Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Rajendra Prasad.
  • They came to be known as became known as the No Changers.
• Gandhi had decided to relax the rules on spinning and appointed some Swarajists to important positions within the Congress Party.

Council entry:

• Gandhi and the majority of the Congress party had rejected the provincial and central legislative councils established by the British to offer little participation of Indian.
• They believed that these councils were manipulated by British allies, lacked any democracy, and were serving as rubber stamps for the Viceroy.
• Members of the Swaraj Party included prominent leaders such as Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Subhas Chandra Bose from Bengal, and Vithalbhai Patel amongst other Congress leaders.
• Meanwhile, another group- “No-Changers” had accepted Gandhiji’s decision to withdraw the movement.
• Both the Swarajists and the No-Changers had engaged in a fierce political competition but avoid a split like the one in Surat in 1907.
• Following Gandhi’s advice, they decided to remain within the Congress while pursuing their respective paths.
• Gandhi had urged the Congress to support the Swarajists elected to the legislative councils, and ensured that they were not left without guidance when dealing with the British authorities.

Elections and Swaraj party

• The party took part in the election in the 1923 elections where many of its candidates have successfully won seats in both the central legislative assembly and Bengal Legislative Council.
  • They have mainly gained victory due to the Bengal Partition.
  • Vithalbhai Patel has assumed the presidency of the Central Legislative Assembly.
• Using these assemblies, they have enthusiastically opposed unjust policies of government.
• During a meeting on December 1923, the party’s general council has demanded the establishment of a fully responsible government for India.
• Their demands included the release of political prisoners, the suspension of repressive laws, and the initiation of a round table conference to negotiate the principles of an Indian constitution.
• The legislative bodies held limited powers, and despite some parliamentary debates with the British authorities, their primary aim of obstructing British rule could not be achieved.

The Simon Commission and disintegration of Swarajists

• The arrival of the Simon Commission in India in 1928, comprising only of British members to draft proposals for Indian constitutional reforms without any Indian representation.
• In response, the Congress had established a committee led by Motilal Nehru to formulate Indian proposals for constitutional reforms.
• The death of Lala Lajpat Rai after being beaten by police in Punjab had intensified the anger of Indians.
• The Nehru Report had united people which had erased old political divisions and grievances.
• As a sign of protest, Vithalbhai Patel and all Swarajist councillors had resigned from their positions.
• With the demise of Chittaranjan Das in 1925, which has weakened the unity of party.
• The Swarajists were divided into the responsivists and the non-responsivists.
  • The responsivists wanted to cooperate with the government and hold offices.
  • The responsivists leaders included M M Malaviya, Lala Lajpat Rai, N C Kelkar.
  • The non-responsivists such as Motilal Nehru had withdrew from legislatures in 1926.
• Between 1929 and 1937, the Indian National Congress had declared India’s independence and initiated the Salt Satyagraha.
• During this tumultuous period, the Swaraj Party had ceased to exist as its members including Motilal Nehru had joinedback the Congress.
  • The party had faced disintegration after this.

Madras Province Swarajya Party:

• In 1923, the Madras Province Swarajya Party was established.
• The party was led by S. Satyamurti and S. Srinivasa Iyengar.
• The party had actively participated in all provincialelections from 1923 to 1934, except for the 1930 election when it has officially abstained due to the Civil Disobedience Movement.
  • However, a few party members still contested as independent candidates.
• Despite being the largest party in the Assembly elections of 1926 and 1934, the Madras Province Swarajya Party declined to form the provincial government under the existing dyarchy system.
• Eventually, in 1934, the party was merged with the All-India Swarajya Party.
  • All-India Swarajya Party later joined hands with the Indian National Congress during the 1935 elections for the Imperial Legislative Council under the Government of India Act 1935.
• Due to these developments, the Swarajya Party ceased to exist after 1935, as the Indian National Congress took its place in both the elections for the Imperial Legislative Council and the Madras Legislative Council.

Conclusion

The main leader of Swaraj party were Chittaranjan Das, Narasimha Chintaman Kelkar, and Motilal Nehru, who were the earlier amongst the moderates during the Surat Split of Indian national congress. The achievements of Swaraj party were that it was able to fill the political gap which could have been otherwise taken over by conservatists party. Also, it was able to protect many nationalists by arguing in their favour in the council.

Ref: Source-1

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)