Swaraj Party and Council Entry Politics

The suspension of the Non-Cooperation Movement in February 1922 following the Chauri Chaura incident left a political vacuum in the Indian national movement. With Mahatma Gandhi arrested in March 1922 and sentenced to six years imprisonment, national leaders debated the future course of anti-colonial strategy.

Debate Over Council Entry

The Indian National Congress split into two distinct ideological camps regarding participation in the legislative councils established under the Government of India Act 1919.

• Pro-Changers (Swarajists): Led by Chittaranjan Das, Motilal Nehru, and Hakim Ajmal Khan. They advocated entering legislative councils to obstruct government functioning from within, expose imperial policies, and transform legislative chambers into arenas of political struggle.
• No-Changers: Led by C. Rajagopalachari, Vallabhbhai Patel, Rajendra Prasad, and M.A. Ansari. They opposed council entry, arguing that legislative participation would breed compromise, distract from constructive work in rural areas, and dilute revolutionary zeal.

Formation of the Swaraj Party

The confrontation between Pro-Changers and No-Changers reached its peak at the Gaya Session of the Indian National Congress in December 1922, chaired by Chittaranjan Das.

Gaya Session and Formal Split

• C.R. Das presented a proposal to contest the upcoming 1923 council elections, but the Congress assembly defeated the resolution.
• Following the rejection, C.R. Das resigned from the presidency of the Congress, and Motilal Nehru resigned as secretary.
• On January 1, 1923, C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru announced the formation of the Congress-Khilafat Swarajya Party, commonly known as the Swaraj Party.
• C.R. Das served as its President, while Motilal Nehru served as its Secretary.

Reconciliation and Compromise

• Realizing that internal conflict would benefit the British administration, both factions sought accommodation.
• A special session of the Congress held at Delhi in September 1923, chaired by Abul Kalam Azad, permitted Swarajists to contest elections while retaining Congress membership.
• The compromise received formal sanction at the Belgaum Session in December 1924, the only Congress session presided over by Mahatma Gandhi, where the Swaraj Party was accepted as an integral legislative wing of the Congress.

Legislative Performance and Achievements (1923–1926)

In the elections held in November 1923, the Swaraj Party contested seats for the Central Legislative Assembly and Provincial Councils, achieving notable electoral successes despite limited campaign time.

Electoral Outcomes and Alliances

• The Swarajists won 42 out of 101 elected seats in the Central Legislative Assembly.
• In the Central Provinces, they secured an absolute majority. In Bengal, they emerged as the single largest party under C.R. Das and formed coalitions with independent members.
• In the Central Legislative Assembly, Motilal Nehru formed the Nationalist Party coalition by aligning with independent members led by Madan Mohan Malaviya and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Major Legislative Milestones

• Rejection of Budgets: The Swarajists repeatedly voted down official budget grants, forcing the Viceroy and provincial governors to use certification powers to pass financial measures.
• Defeat of Colonial Bills: In 1924, the Swarajist coalition defeated the Public Safety Bill, aimed at deporting foreign communist activists.
• Election of Vithalbhai Patel: On August 24, 1925, Vithalbhai Patel was elected as the first Indian Speaker (President) of the Central Legislative Assembly, marking a major symbolic victory.
• Exposing Dyarchy: Through consistent obstruction in the Central Provinces and Bengal, Swarajists made Dyarchy unworkable, forcing provincial authorities to suspend transferred executive departments.
• Appointment of the Muddiman Committee: Swarajist pressure compelled the British administration to appoint the Alexander Muddiman Inquiry Committee in 1924 to review the working of Dyarchy under the Government of India Act 1919.

Decline and Internal Divisions

After initial successes, the Swaraj Party faced internal ideological divisions, co-optation pressures, and communal tensions.

Emergence of Responsivism

• Following the death of C.R. Das in June 1925, the party lost its main unifying leader in Bengal.
• A faction known as “Responsivists,” led by N.C. Kelkar, M.R. Jayakar, B.S. Moonje, and Madan Mohan Malaviya, advocated accepting government posts and ministerial offices to safeguard Hindu interests and secure administrative concessions.
• Non-Responsivists, led by Motilal Nehru, maintained the strategy of continuous obstruction and walked out of the Assembly in March 1926 following the government’s refusal to consider constitutional reforms.

Collapse in 1926 Elections

• In the 1926 general elections, communal polarization and internal splits weakened the Swarajists. The party lost significant ground in the Punjab and United Provinces, though it retained influence in Madras.
• The arrival of the Simon Commission in 1928 and the subsequent adoption of the Purna Swaraj (Complete Independence) resolution at the Lahore Session in December 1929 led Swarajist members to walk out of the legislatures for good.

Essential Historical Facts

The Swaraj Party maintained its constitutional identity as a sub-group within the Indian National Congress rather than an independent political organization. Chittaranjan Das was known by the popular honorific Deshbandhu (Friend of the Nation). Before founding the Swaraj Party, he served as the first Mayor of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation in 1924, appointing Subhas Chandra Bose as its Chief Executive Officer. Motilal Nehru served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Central Legislative Assembly from 1924 to 1926. Vithalbhai Patel, elder brother of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, won the Speakership of the Central Legislative Assembly in 1925 by defeating the government-backed candidate, T. Rangachariar, by a margin of two votes (58 to 56). The Public Safety Bill of 1928, initially defeated by Swarajist obstruction, was re-introduced in 1929. Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw non-lethal smoke bombs into the Central Legislative Assembly chamber on April 8, 1929, to protest against the passage of this bill and the Trade Disputes Bill.