Lord Reading and Post-War Nationalism

Rufus Daniel Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading, served as the Viceroy and Governor-General of India from April 1921 to April 1926. Born into a Jewish merchant family, he had a distinguished legal career as the Lord Chief Justice of England before his appointment to India. His viceroyalty coincided with an intense phase of post-World War I anti-colonial nationalism, marked by the Non-Cooperation and Khilafat movements, the emergence of the Swaraj Party, widespread agrarian and labor unrest, and communal friction. Lord Reading’s administrative policy combined judicial enforcement, political suppression of radical elements, and gradual constitutional accommodations to stabilize imperial control.

Political Environment and the Non-Cooperation Movement

Arrival Amid Popular Upheaval

When Lord Reading took office in April 1921, the Non-Cooperation Movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi was at its peak. The Indian National Congress and the Khilafat Committee were boycotting government institutions, legal courts, educational centers, and foreign goods. In May 1921, Reading met Mahatma Gandhi in Simla for a series of interviews. Reading attempted to persuade Gandhi to urge the Ali brothers (Shaukat Ali and Mohammad Ali) to withdraw speeches that the administration claimed incited violence. Gandhi refused to compromise the movement’s stance, and political protests continued across the country.

Prince of Wales Visit and Government Crackdown

In November 1921, Edward, Prince of Wales, arrived in India for an official tour. The Congress called for a nationwide strike (hartal). The visit was met with empty streets and public demonstrations in major cities like Bombay and Calcutta. In response, Reading’s administration declared Congress volunteer organizations illegal, banned public meetings, and arrested prominent leaders including Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, C.R. Das, Lala Lajpat Rai, and Subhas Chandra Bose.

The Chauri Chaura Incident and Withdrawal

On February 4, 1922, a violent clash occurred at Chauri Chaura in the Gorakhpur district of the United Provinces. Demonstrators set fire to a local police station, killing 22 policemen. Distressed by the violence, Mahatma Gandhi suspended the Non-Cooperation Movement on February 12, 1922, through the Bardoli Resolution. On March 10, 1922, Lord Reading authorized the arrest of Mahatma Gandhi on charges of sedition under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code. Gandhi was tried by Judge C.N. Broomfield in Ahmedabad and sentenced to six years of imprisonment.

Rise of the Swaraj Party and Legislative Dynamics

Formation of the Swaraj Party (1923)

Following the suspension of the Non-Cooperation Movement, a rift opened within the Congress between “No-Changers” (who favored constructive rural work) and “Pro-Changers” (who sought to enter legislative councils to obstruct government functioning from within). At the Gaya session of the Congress in December 1922, C.R. Das proposed council entry. When the proposal was defeated, C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru resigned and formed the Congress-Khilafat Swarajya Party (Swaraj Party) in January 1923, with Das as President and Nehru as Secretary.

Legislative Strategy and Accomplishments

The Swarajists contested the elections of November 1923 under the Government of India Act 1919, winning a majority in the Central Provinces Legislative Council and emerging as the largest party in the Bengal Council and the Imperial Legislative Assembly. Led by Motilal Nehru at the center, the Swarajists joined forces with independent members like M.A. Jinnah to form the Nationalist Party coalition. They repeatedly defeated executive budget proposals, walked out of assembly sessions, and exposed the limitations of dyarchy. In 1925, Swarajist candidate Vithalbhai Patel was elected as the first Indian Speaker (President) of the Central Legislative Assembly.

Agrarian Rebellions, Labor Resistance, and Armed Outbreaks

The Moplah Rebellion (1921)

In August 1921, an armed uprising known as the Moplah Rebellion (Malabar Rebellion) broke out among Muslim tenant farmers (Moplahs) against Hindu landlords (Janmis) and British colonial authorities in the Malabar region of Kerala. Blending agrarian grievances with Khilafat agitation, the rebels established temporary control over parts of Malabar. Reading’s government declared martial law and deployed troops to suppress the revolt. During troop transit in November 1921, 60 Moplah prisoners died of suffocation in a closed railway freight wagon, an event known as the “Wagon Tragedy.”

The Rampa Rebellion (1922–1924)

In the Godavari Agency belt of Andhra Pradesh, Alluri Sitarama Raju led the Rampa Rebellion against the Madras Forest Act of 1882, which restricted tribal (Adivasi) rights to practice traditional shifting cultivation (Podu) and collect forest produce. Raju organized tribal guerilla units, attacking police stations at Chintapalle, Rampachodavaram, and Addateegala to capture arms. The rebellion continued until May 1924, when Raju was captured and shot by British forces.

The Kakori Train Action (1925)

To replace the dissolved Non-Cooperation Movement, young revolutionaries founded the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) at Kanpur in 1924, led by Ram Prasad Bismil, Sachindra Nath Sanyal, Ashfaqulla Khan, and Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee. On August 9, 1925, HRA members intercepted an 8-Down train at Kakori near Lucknow and looted official railway cash to fund revolutionary activities. Reading’s administration launched a widespread police hunt, leading to the Kakori Conspiracy Trial and the subsequent executions of Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Roshan Singh, and Rajendra Lahiri.

The Multan and Gulbarga Riots

The suspension of the Non-Cooperation Movement was followed by a collapse of Hindu-Muslim unity and a rise in communal riots across northern and central India. Major riots broke out at Multan in 1922, Amritsar and Delhi in 1923, and Gulbarga and Kohat in 1924. Organizations like the Hindu Mahasabha gained traction alongside the Shuddhi (reconversion) movement led by Swami Shraddhanand and the Sangathan movement, countered by the Muslim Tabligh and Tanzim movements.

Legal, Economic, and Fiscal Administrative Steps

Repeal of Repressive Laws

In 1922, responding to persistent pressure from non-official members of the Central Legislative Assembly, Lord Reading’s administration accepted the recommendations of the Press Acts Committee chaired by Law Member Tej Bahadur Sapru. The government repealed the Vernacular Press Act of 1878, the Newspaper (Incitement to Offences) Act of 1908, and the Rowlatt Act of 1919.

Lee Commission on Public Services (1923)

In 1923, the British government appointed the Royal Commission on the Superior Civil Services in India, chaired by Lord Lee of Fareham. The Lee Commission submitted its report in 1924, recommending:

• Recruitment Ratio: Achieving a 50:50 parity between British and Indian recruits in the Indian Civil Service (ICS) within 15 years.
• Public Service Commission: Immediate establishment of a statutory Public Service Commission as mandated by the Government of India Act 1919.
• Provincialization: Transferring recruitment for departments managing “Transferred Subjects” (such as Education, Agriculture, and Civil Medical Services) entirely to provincial governments.

Hilton Young Commission and Currency Reforms

In 1825, Lord Reading appointed the Royal Commission on Indian Currency and Finance, chaired by Edward Hilton Young. The commission recommended the establishment of a central bank (which eventually led to the creation of the Reserve Bank of India in 1935) and advocated fixing the exchange rate of the Indian rupee at 1 shilling 6 pence in gold.

Railway Finance Separation (1924)

Based on the recommendations of the Acworth Committee report (1921), Lord Reading’s government separated the Railway Budget from the General Budget in 1924. This change allowed long-term commercial planning and financial autonomy for the expansion of the Indian railway system.

Tariff Board and Cotton Duty Abolition

To protect domestic manufacturing, Reading’s administration established the Indian Tariff Board in 1923, which granted protection to the domestic steel industry (benefiting Tata Iron and Steel Company). In December 1925, the government suspended the 3.5% cotton excise duty on Indian mill cloth, removing a long-standing grievance of Indian industrial owners.

Profile Overview of Lord Reading

Key Facts for Quick Revision

• Lord Reading was the only Jewish person to serve as Viceroy and Governor-General of India.
• He held interviews with Mahatma Gandhi in Simla in May 1921 to discuss the Khilafat leaders’ speeches.
• The Prince of Wales visited India in November 1921, facing nationwide strikes (hartals).
• The Chauri Chaura incident occurred on February 4, 1922, leading Gandhi to suspend the Non-Cooperation Movement via the Bardoli Resolution.
• Mahatma Gandhi was arrested in March 1922 and sentenced to six years in prison by Judge Broomfield.
• The Swaraj Party was established in January 1923 by Chittaranjan Das and Motilal Nehru to contest council elections.
• Vithalbhai Patel became the first elected Indian Speaker of the Central Legislative Assembly in 1925.
• The Moplah Rebellion of 1921 in Malabar led to the “Wagon Tragedy,” in which 60 prisoners suffocated in a train cart.
• Alluri Sitarama Raju led the tribal Rampa Rebellion (1922–1924) against forest restrictions in Andhra Pradesh.
• The Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) executed the Kakori Train Action on August 9, 1925.
• The Rowlatt Act of 1919 and the Press Act of 1910 were repealed in 1922 under the Tej Bahadur Sapru Committee recommendations.
• The Lee Commission (1923) recommended a 50:50 ratio of Indians to Europeans in the ICS and the creation of a Public Service Commission.
• The Railway Budget was separated from the General Budget in 1924 following the Acworth Committee Report.
• The Hilton Young Commission on Indian Currency and Finance was appointed during Reading’s tenure in 1925.
• The 3.5% countervailing cotton excise duty on Indian textile output was abolished in December 1925.