Subhas Chandra Bose as Congress President

Subhas Chandra Bose served as the President of the Indian National Congress during a crucial transition phase from 1938 to 1939, leading two consecutive sessions at Haripura and Tripuri. His tenure introduced economic planning, anti-imperialist radicalism, and explicit support for democratic struggles in Princely States. Bose advocated a uncompromising posture against British imperial rule, pushing for a deadline-bound national ultimatum and state-led socialist reconstruction. His leadership transformed national policy frameworks, brought latent ideological divisions between the Congress left wing and right wing to the surface, and led to fundamental structural shifts within the national movement.

The Haripura Congress Session of 1938

Election and Presidential Address

• Subhas Chandra Bose was elected President of the 51st Congress Session held at Haripura, a rural village in Surat district, Gujarat, in February 1938.
• His presidential speech outlined a radical roadmap for post-independence India centered on state planning, industrial growth, land reforms, and population control.
• He called for the complete rejection of the federal scheme under the Government of India Act 1935, demanding a Constituent Assembly elected via universal adult franchise.
• Bose urged the party to maintain an unyielding stance against imperial forces and prepare cadres for mass resistance if Great Britain dragged India into a European war.

Organizational Framework and Cultural Setting

• Seth Jamnalal Bajaj served as the Chairman of the Reception Committee for the session, while the venue was named Vithal Nagar to honor Vithalbhai Patel.
• Bose arrived at the assembly venue in a ceremonial chariot pulled by 51 pairs of bullocks, symbolizing the 51st session.
• Artist Nandalal Bose from Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, was commissioned by Mahatma Gandhi to decorate the session grounds using natural, local materials.
• Nandalal Bose created 83 painted panels titled the “Haripura Posters,” depicting rural artisans, musicians, farmers, and daily village life.

Major Initiatives and Policy Shifts (1938)

Institutionalizing National Economic Planning

• Bose convened a conference of provincial Industry Ministers at Delhi in October 1938 to coordinate economic policies across Congress-ruled provinces.
• He established the National Planning Committee (NPC) in late 1938 to prepare a blueprint for industrial development, infrastructure growth, and resource allocation.
• Bose invited Jawaharlal Nehru to serve as the Chairman of the National Planning Committee, which consisted of 15 core members and 29 specialized sub-committees.
• The NPC marked the first formal step toward state-directed economic planning in India, serving as the ideological predecessor to the post-independence Planning Commission.

Policy Toward Princely States and Foreign Relations

• The Haripura Session ended the official Congress policy of non-intervention in the internal administration of Princely States (Deshi Riyasats).
• Congress extended moral and political backing to the democratic struggles organized by local Praja Mandals against autocratic rulers.
• Individual Congress members received permission to participate in state-level popular agitations in their personal capacities.
• In international relations, Bose steered Congress to express solidarity with anti-fascist resistance movements in Spain, Abyssinia (Ethiopia), and China.
• Congress dispatched a five-member Indian Medical Mission to China in 1938 led by Dr. M. Atal, which included Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis, to assist Chinese troops against Japanese aggression.

The Tripuri Congress Session of 1939

Presidential Election Contest and Ideological Rift

• Bose sought re-election as Congress President for the 52nd session at Tripuri (near Jabalpur, Central Provinces) in January 1939 to oppose conservative elements in the party.
• Mahatma Gandhi supported Pattabhi Sitaramayya as the official candidate of the Congress Working Committee after Maulana Abul Kalam Azad withdrew from the race.
• Bose won the presidential election on January 29, 1939, securing 1,580 votes against Pattabhi Sitaramayya’s 1,377 votes.
• Gandhi publicly declared that Pattabhi Sitaramayya’s defeat was “more mine than his,” turning the election into a debate on leadership principles and tactical methods.

The Pant Resolution and Executive Crisis

• During the Tripuri Session in March 1939, Govind Ballabh Pant moved a resolution expressing full confidence in Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership and old Working Committee policies.
• The Pant Resolution mandated that the newly elected President appoint the Congress Working Committee strictly in accordance with Gandhi’s wishes.
• Left-wing factions, including the Congress Socialist Party (CSP) under Jayaprakash Narayan and the Royists, abstained or provided divided support during voting, allowing the resolution to pass.
• Bose, suffering from high fever during the session, found himself unable to form an executive body as Gandhi refused to nominate members to his working committee.

Resignation and Formation of the Forward Bloc

Exit from Congress Presidency

• Following weeks of correspondence with Gandhi failed to resolve the impasse, Bose tendered his resignation as Congress President at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) meeting in Calcutta in April 1939.
• Rajendra Prasad was elected to fill the vacancy as Congress President for the remainder of the term.
• In May 1939, Bose formed the Forward Bloc as a left-wing faction within the Congress to unite radical elements against imperial policies and conservative leadership.

Disciplinary Action and Suspension

• On July 9, 1939, Bose called for nationwide protest demonstrations against two AICC resolutions that restricted Congress members from starting local satyagrahas without provincial committee approval.
• The Congress Working Committee took disciplinary action against Bose in August 1939, disqualifying him from holding any elective Congress office for three years and removing him from his position as President of the Bengal Provincial Congress Committee.

Key Comparative Dimensions of Bose’s Presidential Terms

Facts for Quick Revision

• Subhash Chandra Bose was elected President of the Congress twice: first at Haripura in 1938 and second at Tripuri in 1939.
• Seth Jamnalal Bajaj was the Reception Committee Chairman at Haripura, while Seth Govind Das served as the Reception Committee Chairman at Tripuri.
• The 1938 Haripura venue was called Vithal Nagar, while the 1939 Tripuri venue was designated Vishnu Nagar.
• Nandalal Bose created 83 painted panels for the Haripura session depicting rural artisans, farmers, and daily Indian life.
• The National Planning Committee was instituted by Bose in 1938, with Jawaharlal Nehru appointed as its Chairman and Professor K.T. Shah as its General Secretary.
• Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis was part of the five-member Indian Medical Mission sent to China in 1938 under the foreign policy resolution passed at Haripura.
• Pattabhi Sitaramayya was supported by Mahatma Gandhi in the 1939 presidential election, losing to Bose by a margin of 203 votes.
• The Pant Resolution at Tripuri was drafted and moved by Govind Ballabh Pant and supported by the Congress right wing.
• Subhash Chandra Bose resigned from the Congress Presidency on April 29, 1939, at the Calcutta AICC meeting, leading to the election of Rajendra Prasad.
• Bose founded the All India Forward Bloc on May 3, 1939, at Makur Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, as an anti-imperialist bloc within the Congress.
• The Working Committee removed Bose from the Presidency of the Bengal Provincial Congress Committee in August 1939 for organizing protests against AICC directives.