Congress Ministries Resignation in 1939

The resignation of the Congress ministries in 1939 marked an abrupt end to the brief period of constitutional governance in British India. The Indian National Congress had formed governments in eight provinces following the 1937 provincial elections under the Government of India Act 1935. These ministries functioned for about 28 months, enacting several agrarian, labor, and social reforms. The political landscape changed dramatically with the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939. The arbitrary decision of the British Viceroy to drag India into the global conflict without consulting Indian representatives triggered a major constitutional crisis. This led to the mass resignation of Congress ministries and shifted the national movement back toward active mass struggle.

The World War II Crisis

On September 3, 1939, Britain declared war on Germany. On the exact same day, Viceroy Lord Linlithgow declared India a belligerent state alongside Great Britain. He made this declaration without consulting the Indian political leadership, the Central Assembly, or the elected provincial ministries. This unilateral action offended Indian nationalist leaders. The Congress leadership fundamentally opposed Fascism and Nazism. However, they argued that a colonized nation could not fight for the democratic freedoms of others while being denied freedom itself.

Congress Working Committee Meeting at Wardha

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) met at Wardha in September 1939 to decide its official stance on the war.

Divergent Views Within Congress

• Mahatma Gandhi advocated unconditional moral support to the Allies from a purely non-violent perspective.
• Subhas Chandra Bose and other socialist leaders viewed the war as an imperialist conflict. They wanted to launch an immediate mass movement to overthrow British rule while Britain was vulnerable.
• Jawaharlal Nehru strongly opposed Fascism but refused to support the British war effort blindly. He demanded an immediate transfer of power and a post-war promise of absolute independence.

The Wardha session adopted Nehru’s position. The Congress demanded that the British government declare its war aims clearly. They set two distinct conditions for cooperation: the establishment of an immediate national government at the center and a guarantee of full Indian independence after the war.

Viceroy’s Statement and the Resignation

Viceroy Lord Linlithgow responded to the Congress demands on October 17, 1939. He firmly refused to transfer immediate power or promise full independence. He only offered to set up a consultative committee for the war effort and promised to review the Government of India Act 1935 after the war ended. The Congress Working Committee wholly rejected this response. On October 22, 1939, the CWC called upon all Congress provincial ministries to tender their resignations. Between October 28 and November 8, 1939, the ministries formally resigned from office.

The Aftermath: Day of Deliverance

The mass resignation of the Congress ministries brought relief to the British administration and joy to the Muslim League. The Muslim League, under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had previously accused the Congress governments of anti-Muslim bias. They had published documents like the Pirpur Report in 1938 to highlight alleged grievances of Muslims under Congress rule. Jinnah appealed to Muslims and other minorities to celebrate the end of Congress provincial governments. He officially declared December 22, 1939, as the “Day of Deliverance” (Yaum-e-Nijat).

Support from Other Groups

• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and his Independent Labour Party joined the Muslim League in observing this day to protest against Congress policies.
• E.V. Ramasamy (Periyar) of the Justice Party in the Madras Presidency also supported the observance of the Day of Deliverance.
• The All India Depressed Classes Association and several Anglo-Indian groups participated in the celebrations.

Key High-Yield Facts

• The Congress ministries ruled for a total of 28 months, from July 1937 to October-November 1939.
• Viceroy Lord Linlithgow declared India a party to World War II on September 3, 1939.
• The official Congress demand for a central national government and post-war independence was formulated at the Wardha CWC meeting in September 1939.
• The Congress ministries resigned across eight provinces between October 28 and November 8, 1939.
• Muhammad Ali Jinnah called for the “Day of Deliverance” on December 22, 1939.
• The Pirpur Committee Report (1938) and the Sharif Report (1939) were used by the Muslim League to justify their celebration of the Congress resignations.
• Following the resignations, the British administration assumed direct control of the provinces under Section 93 of the Government of India Act 1935.
• The political deadlock caused by the resignations eventually led Viceroy Linlithgow to issue the August Offer in 1940.