smash-pacifism-zine

Dominion status through constitutional reform as a weak
strategy and objective. The Radicals were also referred to
as Extremists, as a smear.
In 1905, the British enacted the Bengal Partition,
dividing the province into two separate ones (East Bengal
and Assam). The partition angered large numbers of
Bengalis, who not only resented the arrogance of the British
but also the loss of political and economic power that
would occur.
The partition was part of a
restructuring of colonial administration,
according to the British. The Bengalis
greeted the official partition in October
1905 as a day of mourning. Daily
protests began and a mass anti-partition
movement emerged. The Bengalis
organized widespread swadeshi
campaigns, meaning “of one's own
country.” Boycotts of British and
European goods were launched,
including cotton products (i.e., clothing
and fabrics), sugar, salt, tobacco, and
leather.
The movement was first
mobilized through newspapers and
public forums, then by public persons
vowing to take part in the boycott, then
by priests directing their temple
members to also participate. Protests
included the public burning of European clothing and
fabrics. The boycott escalated to include pickets of stores
that continued selling European products, then forcible
blockading of stores as well as 'social boycotts' of those
who didn't support the boycott.
Over time, the anti-partition movement included
large numbers of students, particularly in Calcutta and other
cities. The movement also included workers, who carried
out strikes and participated in protests, as well as peasants.
It also contributed to the emergence of a new wave of
revolutionary groups aimed at forcing out the British
through armed struggle (see below).
In 1905, the same year partition came into effect,
the Bengalis attempted to have the INC endorse their
boycott and denounce the partition. The Moderates claimed
it was not related to 'home rule' and opposed the effort.
The Bengalis had the support of the Radicals,
however, who began to promote the Bengali boycott,
expanding the movement into Bombay and then the Punjab
region.
Typically opportunist, the Moderates attempted to
use the mobilization as political capital in their dealings
with the British:
“The Moderates hoped that Morley [British
Secretary of State] would initiate a bold policy of Indian
reform, including the extension of representative
institutions. When Gokhale [a leader in the INC] visited
The proposed Bengal Partition, which
instigated widespread resistance.
Britain in April 1906, he succeeded in extracting promises
from Morley about a new instalment of constitutional
reforms, reduction in military expenditure, increased grants
for education and the abolition of the unpopular salt tax.
However, Morley impressed upon Gokhale the need to keep
the Congress agitation in check, especially over the issue of
[Bengali] partition... Gokhale accepted the force of
Morley's argument and returned to India convinced that the
Congress must eschew extremism in this hour of
opportunity for India.”
(Indian Nationalism, p. 163)
While the Moderates sought
greater concessions from the British
as a result of the Bengali and
Radicals agitation, the Radicals
themselves,
“in contrast, concentrated their
energies in building their strength in
India. Partition still supplied them
with the major grievance to rally
support. Continued British
intransigence on this issue, coupled
with official curbs on the more
extreme forms of Bengali agitation,
had the effect of fuelling the boycott,
swadeshi and national education
movements. Extremist leaders like
Aurobindo and Bipin Chandra Pal
even began to advocate passive disobedience and noncooperation
with the British.”
(Indian Nationalism, p. 163)
Ten years before Gandhi returned to India to
champion nonviolent civil disobedience, boycotts, and
swadeshi, Radicals were already pioneering these methods
and building a mass movement. Their use of nonviolent
methods was clearly tactical, not a religious faith in its
'moral superiority'. At the same time, numerous secret
societies were organized by militants, and training schools
were established to prepare guerrilla fighters.
In 1906, the INC held its national congress in
Calcutta, a major city in Bengal now in the grips of antipartition
rebellion. The Radicals were in a majority and
were able to pass a series of radical resolutions condemning
partition and endorsing the boycott and swadeshi campaign,
against opposition from the Moderates.
By 1907, the Radicals felt confident of being able
to gain control of the INC directly. The Moderates,
however, were able to manoeuvre and have the location of
the congress switched to the city of Surat, where they
enjoyed greater support. There, they were able to block
many resolutions presented by the Radicals.
In addition, methods used by the Moderates to
silence a leading Radical attempting to introduce a
resolution led to violent clashes in the congress itself, and
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