First World War and Indian Politics

The First World War (1914–1918) served as a major turning point in modern Indian history. India contributed heavily to the British war effort in terms of men, money, and raw materials. Over 1.3 million Indian soldiers served overseas, with thousands losing their lives in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The political landscape of India underwent drastic changes during this period, paving the way for mass nationalism.

Economic Impact of the War

The war created severe economic distress across India, directly influencing the political temperature of the country.

• Heavy Financial Burden: Defense expenditure of the colonial government rose sharply. To finance the war, the British raised taxes, introduced Income Tax in 1916, and increased custom duties.
• Inflation and Price Rise: Prices of essential commodities doubled between 1914 and 1918. This hit the common people, urban workers, and peasants severely.
• Forced Recruitment: Rural areas experienced intense discontent due to the forced recruitment of youth into the British Indian Army.
• Growth of Domestic Industry: War disruption of imports created an artificial protective shield for local Indian industries. Production increased in steel, textiles, and jute, leading to the growth of a prominent Indian industrialist class.

Political Dynamics during WWI

Moderates, Extremists, and the War Effort

At the onset of the war, Indian political groups responded differently to the British call for assistance.

• Moderate Strategy: Moderates in the Indian National Congress supported the war effort. They believed that loyalty to the Empire during crisis would yield constitutional reforms and self-rule after the war.
• Extremist Position: Extremists led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak also supported the British war effort initially, hoping that cooperation would lead to home rule.
• Revolutionary Activity: Revolutionaries outside and inside India saw the war as an opportunity to overthrow British rule by force. The Ghadar Party, founded in San Francisco in 1913 by Lala Hardayal and Sohan Singh Bhakna, attempted an armed insurrection in Punjab with the Ghadar Mutiny of 1915.

Home Rule League Movement (1916)

The Home Rule Movement represented a major shift from elite politics to popular mobilization during the war years.

• Two Leagues: Bal Gangadhar Tilak set up the Indian Home Rule League in April 1916 at Belgaum, covering Maharashtra (excluding Bombay), Karnataka, Central Provinces, and Berar. Annie Besant launched the All India Home Rule League in September 1916 at Madras, covering the rest of India.
• Demand for Swaraj: The leagues demanded self-government within the British Empire on the lines of white colonies like Australia and Canada.
• Methods: They used public meetings, local language pamphlets, libraries, and political education to build public opinion.

Lucknow Pact (1916)

The year 1916 witnessed unprecedented political unity in India.

• Reunion of Congress: The Moderate and Extremist factions of the Indian National Congress reunited at the Lucknow session in 1916, presided over by Ambica Charan Mazumdar.
• Congress-Muslim League Alliance: The Lucknow Pact brought the Congress and the All-India Muslim League onto a common platform. Congress accepted the system of separate electorates for Muslims in return for joint constitutional demands against the British.

Emergence of Mahatma Gandhi and Mass Politics

Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa on January 9, 1915. He initially supported the British recruitment efforts, earning the title Kaisar-i-Hind. Between 1917 and 1918, he led three localized Satyagraha movements that established his leadership in Indian politics.

• Champaran Satyagraha (1917): First Civil Disobedience movement against the Tinkathia system imposed on indigo farmers in Bihar.
• Ahmedabad Mill Strike (1918): First Hunger Strike, resolving the plague bonus dispute between mill owners and workers.
• Kheda Satyagraha (1918): First Non-Cooperation movement, helping peasants who could not pay land revenue due to crop failure.

Colonial Response and Post-War Developments

Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (1919)

In response to Indian wartime support and the Home Rule movement, Secretary of State Edwin Montagu made the August Declaration in 1917. This resulted in the Government of India Act 1919.

• Introduction of Dyarchy: The Act introduced Dyarchy in the provinces, dividing subjects into “Transferred” and “Reserved”.
• Bicameral Legislature: A bicameral legislature was set up at the Centre, consisting of the Council of State and the Legislative Assembly.
• Dissatisfaction: The reforms failed to satisfy Indian demands for self-rule, calling them inadequate and disappointing.

Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh (1919)

Instead of concessions, the colonial government enacted repressive legislation immediately after the war ended.

• Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act (1919): Popularly known as the Rowlatt Act, it allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for up to two years.
• Rowlatt Satyagraha: Gandhi organized the Rowlatt Satyagraha, marking his first pan-India political action.
• Jallianwala Bagh Massacre: On April 13, 1919, General Reginald Dyer ordered troops to fire on an unarmed gathering in Amritsar, killing hundreds. This event destroyed Indian trust in British rule and directly led to the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1920.

Key Facts and Trivia

Lord Hardinge II served as the Viceroy of India when the First World War broke out in 1914, succeeded by Lord Chelmsford in 1916. The Defense of India Act 1915 was emergency legislation enacted during the war to suppress anti-colonial activities, particularly targeting the Ghadar Movement. The Singapore Mutiny of February 1915 was a major wartime event where half of the 5th Light Infantry regiment revolted against the British army. The Khilafat Movement was initiated by the Ali Brothers (Shaukat Ali and Mohammad Ali) in response to the harsh treatment meted out to the Ottoman Sultan after Turkey lost in the First World War. Rabindranath Tagore renounced his British Knighthood in May 1919 as a direct protest against the Jallianwala Bagh killings. The post-war economic crisis, combined with the outbreak of the 1918 influenza pandemic (Spanish Flu), resulted in an estimated 12 to 17 million deaths across India, worsening public anger against the administration.