100 years ago in Belgaum: When Mahatma Gandhi chaired a Congress session

Exactly a 100 years ago, on December 26-27, 1924, the Congress held its 39th session in Belgaum (now Belagavi) — the sole session to be chaired by Mahatma Gandhi. However, it is significant for two more reasons — not only is it considered a watershed moment in India’s freedom struggle from the British, it also marked a turning point in the history of the Congress, established in 1885.

As freedom fighter B Pattabhi Sitaramayya writes in his 1935 book, History of Indian National Congress, “In the history of non cooperation, Belgaum is a landmark. The revolt against Gandhism was almost complete. The Congress stood at the parting of ways.”

The Belgaum session took place during a crucial phase in the freedom movement and in the life of Gandhi, who had returned to India from South Africa nearly a decade ago, in January 1915.

On April 13, 1919, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre shook the country. In the same year, the Government of India Act, 1919, based on the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, was passed by the British Parliament to meet the rising demand for self-rule in India.

In September 1920, Gandhi launched a political campaign, named the Non-Cooperation Movement. On February 4, 1922, the police fired at a group of protesters who were demonstrating under the movement at Chauri Chaura in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur district. In retaliation, the protestors set fire to a police station, killing all of its occupants. Eight days after the incident, Gandhi suspended the movement, a decision that was opposed by a section of the Congress, including Motilal Nehru and Chittaranjan Das.

On March 10, 1922, Gandhi was awarded a six-year term for sedition due to his articles for Young India. On January 12, 1924, nearly two years into his sentence, Gandhi underwent a surgery for appendicitis while in a jail in Poona (now Pune).

Jawaharlal Nehru, who would become India’s first Prime Minister, wrote in his autobiography, “India was numbed with anxiety; we held our breaths almost and waited, full of fear. The crisis passed, and a stream of people began to reach Poona from all parts of the country to see him.”

Rift in party, camps emerge 

The severity of Gandhi’s condition resulted in his premature release from jail on February 5, 1924. He would make a quick recovery and even a quicker return to his struggle for freedom.

Till the defining Belgaum meet, held after a special session in New Delhi in September 1923 under the presidency of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the Congress spent the early 1920s in a state of flux.

At the party’s 37th session in December 1922 in Bihar’s Gaya, chaired by Das, Motilal Nehru-Das proposed reforming the party ideology and extending the Non-Cooperation Movement to the legislature of British India. However, their proposal was defeated by a no-changers faction led by C Rajagopalachari and Rajendra Prasad.

This defeat resulted in the pro-changers camp, led by Motilal Nehru-Das, forming the Swaraj Party in January 1923. The fledgling party contested the state legislature polls that year and won several seats, including Govind Ballabh Pant’s victory in the United Province (now UP).

A flag railway station and a well 

During the party’s 38th meeting in Andhra Pradesh’s Kakinada in 1923, chaired by Mohamed Ali, a resolution was passed to hold the 39th session in the Karnataka city on December 26-27, 1924. Belgaum was then a part of the Bombay Presidency. The session’s venue was named Vijayanagara, after the Vijayanagara Empire.

As per a booklet on the 39th session, published recently by the Sevagram Ashram Pratishthan, one of the places where Gandhi lived, a special hut named Vidyaranya Ashram was constructed for him. He, however, humorously referred to it as Khaddar Palace.

For the convenience of delegates and on Congress’s request, a flag railway station (a spot where public transport stops on request) was set up near the venue. To arrange water for delegates, a big well, named Pampa Sarovar, was excavated.

Congress before Belgaum session

Before the Belgaum, the same year, 1924, witnessed several crucial events that had an impact on  society, India’s freedom struggle and the Congress itself.

Jawaharlal Nehru, who had joined Congress before 1920, was appointed as the founder president of the Congress Seva Dal (then known as Hindustani Seva Dal) in January 1924. In the same month,  British cinematographer Ernest Day was shot dead in a case of mistaken identity by activist Gopinath Saha in Calcutta (now Kolkata), who had been attempting to target Calcutta Police Commissioner Charles Tegart.

The second half of 1924 saw terrible communal riots across the country — in Kohat (in present-day Pakistan), Delhi, Gulbarga, Nagpur, Lucknow, Amethi, Shahjahanpur, Sambhal, Allahabad and Jabalpur.

In Kohat, which was the worst hit, a huge number of Hindus and Sikhs were killed, and many families moved to Rawalpindi and other places for their safety. As Sitaramayya wrote in his book, “Kohat riots really broke the backbone of India”. A two-member committee of Gandhi and Shaukat Ali was set up to investigate the causes behind the Kohat riots. On September 17 that year, Gandhi undertook a 21-day fast due to the riots.

In October that year, Bengal was on the boil over the arrest of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose and other prominent Congressmen. In November, freedom fighter Bi Amma, the mother of Mohamad Ali and Shaukat Ali, passed away.

The Juhu Conversation fails

Against this backdrop, negotiations for a truce between pro-changers and no-changers in the Congress were on ahead of the Belgaum session. In May 1924, Gandhi held a conversation with pro-changers or Swarajists. This dialogue was called the Juhu Conversation for it happened in a cottage in Juhu, Bombay (now Mumbai), where Gandhi was then staying. However, Gandhi’s attempt at negotiating a truce failed. A pact between Gandhi and Motilal Nehru-Das was finally established  during the party’s Ahmedabad meeting in June and later in November that year.

Though the Belgaum session was scheduled to be held in December, not many were in favour of Gandhi presiding over that session. Appointed as the party secretary during the 1923 session by Mohammed Ali, Jawaharlal Nehru was appointed as the working secretary for the Belgaum meet. He writes in his autobiography, “For him (Gandhi) to become the Congress president was something in the nature of anti-climax, for he had long been the permanent super president.”

Gandhi’s presidential speech

In his presidential speech at the Belgaum session, Gandhi narrated the events that had taken place since 1920 in the Congress. He also raised the issue of communal riots in India, stating that he was disturbed over incidents like the ones in Kohat. He also touched upon other prevailing issues, including the practice of untouchability.

This session saw the Congress, considered an organisation of the elite until then, make a turnaround and reach out to the masses. However, the biggest success of the Belgaum session was the ratification of the pact between Gandhi and Motilal Nehru-Das, which ended infighting in the party. Other decisions taken during the session included the Congress accepting that Swarajists in government councils represented the party, while the Swarajists agreed to Gandhi’s condition to wear khadi in order to remain party members.