Tripuri Congress of 1939

The 52nd annual session of the Indian National Congress was held in March 1939 at Tripuri, a village near Jabalpur in the Central Provinces (present-day Madhya Pradesh). Presided over by Subhas Chandra Bose, the session became a major turning point in the Indian national movement due to a ideological rift between the party’s left wing and right wing. The Tripuri Session exposed internal disagreements over tactics against British imperial rule, leading to the resignation of Subhas Chandra Bose from the presidency, the passage of the Pant Resolution, and the subsequent formation of the Forward Bloc.

Ideological Rift and the Presidential Election

Background to the Election Contest

• Subhas Chandra Bose decided to stand for re-election as Congress President for a second consecutive term in early 1939.
• Bose advocated an aggressive, time-bound ultimatum to the British government to grant full independence, backed by mass satyagraha if rejected.
• The right-wing leadership, supported by Mahatma Gandhi, favored a more cautious approach, prioritizing organizational unity and monitoring international war developments.
• Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was initially proposed as the right-wing candidate, but he withdrew his nomination, leaving Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramayya as Gandhi’s chosen candidate.

Results of the Election

• The presidential election took place on January 29, 1939, across all provincial Congress committees.
• Subhas Chandra Bose secured 1,580 votes, while Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramayya received 1,377 votes, resulting in a victory for Bose by 203 votes.
• Following the result, Mahatma Gandhi issued a public statement declaring that Sitaramayya’s defeat was “more mine than his,” turning the election into a debate on leadership principles.
• Twelve out of the fifteen members of the Congress Working Committee resigned in protest, including Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Rajendra Prasad, and J.B. Kripalani, leaving Bose executive authority without a functional committee.

Proceedings at the Tripuri Session

The Assembly at Vishnu Nagar

• The Tripuri Session venue was named Vishnu Nagar in honor of nationalist leader Seth Govind Das, who served as the Chairman of the Reception Committee.
• Subhas Chandra Bose arrived at the session suffering from high fever and was brought to the assembly on a stretcher.
• Due to his illness, Bose’s presidential address was read out in absentia by his brother, Sarat Chandra Bose.
• The address called for a six-month ultimatum to the British government for full independence, combined with immediate preparation for national mass resistance.

The Pant Resolution

• Govind Ballabh Pant moved a resolution during the session expressing full confidence in Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership and the policies of the outgoing Working Committee.
• The Pant Resolution mandated that the newly elected President appoint the members of the Congress Working Committee strictly in accordance with Gandhi’s wishes.
• The Congress Socialist Party (CSP), led by Jayaprakash Narayan, chose to remain neutral during the vote to avoid a party split, allowing the Pant Resolution to pass by a majority.
• The passage of the resolution tied Bose’s executive authority directly to Gandhi’s approval, creating an administrative deadlock when Gandhi refused to nominate members to the new Working Committee.

Resignation and Aftermath

Exit from Congress Presidency

• Protracted correspondence between Subhas Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi through March and April 1939 failed to resolve the deadlock over committee appointments.
• Bose tendered his resignation as Congress President at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) meeting held in Calcutta on April 29, 1939.
• Rajendra Prasad was elected as the Congress President for the remaining term of 1939.

Formation of the Forward Bloc and Disciplinary Action

• On May 3, 1939, Subhas Chandra Bose announced the formation of the All India Forward Bloc at Makur, Unnao district, Uttar Pradesh, as a left-wing faction within the Congress.
• The Forward Bloc sought to consolidate anti-imperialist, socialist, and radical forces to prepare India for direct mass action against British rule.
• On July 9, 1939, Bose called for nationwide protest demonstrations against AICC resolutions that prohibited Congress members from initiating local satyagrahas without provincial approval.
• In August 1939, the Congress Working Committee passed a disciplinary resolution disqualifying Bose from holding any elective Congress office for three years and removing him from his position as President of the Bengal Provincial Congress Committee.

Key Historical Dimensions of the Tripuri Crisis

Important Facts for Quick Revision

• The 52nd session at Tripuri was the second consecutive session where Subhas Chandra Bose was elected President, following Haripura in 1938.
• Seth Govind Das served as the Chairman of the Reception Committee for the Tripuri Session.
• Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramayya, the defeated presidential candidate, was the official historian of the Indian National Congress and author of The History of the Indian National Congress.
• Rabindranath Tagore sent a telegram to Mahatma Gandhi during the crisis, urging him to allow Bose to complete his presidential term.
• Jawaharlal Nehru tried to mediate between Gandhi and Bose but ultimately voted for the Pant Resolution to maintain party unity under Gandhi.
• The Forward Bloc was formally founded by Subhas Chandra Bose on May 3, 1939, as an anti-imperialist bloc within the Indian National Congress.
• The AICC meeting at Calcutta in April 1939 accepted Bose’s resignation after he refused to form a Working Committee without his nominee choices.
• The disciplinary action barring Bose from elective office for three years was ratified by the Congress Working Committee under Rajendra Prasad’s presidency in August 1939.