Resignation of Congress Ministries

The resignation of Congress provincial ministries in October-November 1939 marked the end of a 28-month period of constitutional governance under the Government of India Act 1935. Following the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Viceroy Lord Linlithgow unilaterally declared India a party to the war without consulting elected provincial governments, political parties, or Indian leaders. The Indian National Congress demanded an immediate declaration of British war aims, an explicit commitment to complete independence, and the setting up of a Constituent Assembly. When the colonial government rejected these conditions, the Congress Working Committee directed all provincial Congress ministries to surrender office, creating a major political deadlock and shifting the national movement back toward direct non-cooperative resistance.

Trigger and Background of the Crisis

Unilateral Declaration of War

• On September 3, 1939, Great Britain declared war on Nazi Germany, initiating World War II.
• Viceroy Lord Linlithgow issued a simultaneous proclamation declaring India a belligerent state on the side of the Allied powers.
• The British Parliament passed the Government of India (Amendment) Act 1939, giving the Central Government overarching emergency powers over provincial subjects.
• Indian troops were dispatched overseas to Egypt, Aden, and Singapore without consulting Indian legislative assemblies or elected provincial ministers.

Official Demands of the Congress

• The Congress Working Committee (CWC) met at Wardha in September 1939 to formulate the party’s official stance on war support.
• A resolution drafted by Jawaharlal Nehru condemned Nazi aggression while asserting that a democratic war could not be fought by an enslaved nation.
• Congress presented two primary conditions for wartime cooperation:
  • Immediate establishment of a representative central government at the Centre.
  • A clear pledge that India would be granted independence after the war, accompanied by the convening of a Constituent Assembly.
• Viceroy Linlithgow issued a statement on October 17, 1939, rejecting these demands, offering only to set up a Consultative Committee of Indian representatives and reiterating Dominion Status as a distant goal.

Process and Extent of Resignations

Directive of the Congress Working Committee

• On October 22, 1939, the Congress Working Committee met at Wardha and called upon all Congress provincial ministries to tender their resignations.
• The CWC instructed ministers to step down by October 31, 1939, as a protest against imperialist war policies and the denial of democratic rights.
• The committee explicitly cautioned party members against launching an immediate mass satyagraha, preferring disciplined organizational preparation.

Resignation Across Provinces

• All eight Congress provincial ministries surrendered office between October 28 and November 10, 1939.
• The resigning ministries were:
  • Madras (led by C. Rajagopalachari)
  • United Provinces (led by Govind Ballabh Pant)
  • Bihar (led by Sri Krishna Sinha)
  • Central Provinces and Berar (led by Ravi Shankar Shukla)
  • Orissa (led by Harekrushna Mahatab)
  • Bombay (led by B.G. Kher)
  • North-West Frontier Province (led by Dr. Khan Sahib)
  • Assam (led by Gopinath Bordoloi)

Post-Resignation Administrative Setup

• Following the exit of Congress ministers, Governors in the eight provinces assumed direct administrative powers under Section 93 of the Government of India Act 1935.
• Section 93 permitted Governors to suspend normal provincial autonomy and rule through executive proclamations with bureaucratic advisers.
• Non-Congress governments continued to function in three provinces:
  • Punjab (Unionist Party under Sikandar Hayat Khan)
  • Bengal (Krishak Praja Party-Muslim League coalition under A.K. Fazlul Huq)
  • Sind (Sind United Party/coalitions under Allah Bakhsh Soomro)

Political Consequences and Realignments

Observance of the “Day of Deliverance”

• Muhammad Ali Jinnah, President of the All-India Muslim League, issued an appeal calling upon Indian Muslims to observe Friday, December 22, 1939, as the “Day of Deliverance” (Yaum-e-Tanjat).
• The League celebrated the exit of Congress administrations, alleging that 28 months of Congress rule had caused cultural and political suppression of Muslims.
• B.R. Ambedkar’s Independent Labour Party (ILP) and E.V. Ramasamy (Periyar) of the Justice Party supported the Muslim League in observing the day.

Shift in British Imperial Strategy

• The exit of Congress from provincial executive power allowed the colonial government to rely heavily on non-Congress political forces, primarily the Muslim League and Princely States, for wartime mobilization.
• Lord Linlithgow offered the Muslim League an implicit veto over future constitutional progress, promising that no constitutional arrangement would be forced on minorities without their consent.
• This political shift culminated in the August Offer of 1940 and the Muslim League’s passage of the Lahore Resolution demanding Pakistan in March 1940.

Ideological Re-energization of the National Movement

• The resignation ended the constitutionalist phase within Congress, reuniting the left wing (Forward Bloc, Congress Socialist Party) and the right wing on an anti-imperialist platform.
• Mahatma Gandhi launched Individual Satyagraha in October 1940 to assert the right to free speech against war propaganda, appointing Vinoba Bhave as the first satyagrahi.
• The crisis set the stage for the launch of the Quit India Movement in August 1942.

Resignation Framework Across Provinces

Key Facts for Quick Revision

• Congress provincial ministries remained in office for 28 months, from July 1937 to October-November 1939.
• The Congress Parliamentary Sub-Committee, consisting of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Rajendra Prasad, and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, coordinated the resignation decisions across all provinces.
• Lord Linlithgow declared India a party to World War II on September 3, 1939.
• Section 93 of the Government of India Act 1935 empowered Governors to assume full administrative control upon the breakdown of constitutional machinery.
• The “Day of Deliverance” was observed on December 22, 1939, following a call by Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
• Non-Congress governments in Punjab, Bengal, and Sind remained operational throughout the wartime crisis.
• The Ramgarh Congress Session of March 1940, presided over by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, ratified the resignation of the ministries and authorized mass civil disobedience when deemed necessary.
• Individual Satyagraha was launched in October 1940 as a direct political follow-up to the resignation of the ministries, with Vinoba Bhave chosen as the first individual satyagrahi and Jawaharlal Nehru as the second.