Teesra Sawtantrta Abhiyan (Third Freedom Movement )
The oath of Complete independence was taken and 26th Jan was declared as Sampuran Azadi Divas.
This historical document has been missing. Why? The Study of this document will explain.
Background
As a great saying that freedom is recognition of necessity. The historical necessity can be under stood by finding cause behind the objective conditions . The objective conditions under the British rule were the devastating effect of great famines which killed tens of lacs followed by killing of same size by plague and other disease epidemics . The poverty into which crores of hard working masses were pushed in and peasantry was drowning under debt and suffering under coheresion in spite of sufficient food availability they were dying in famines.
The conditions of masses were deteriorating after all the assurances of 1833 , declaration of Victoria of 1858 and number of following declarations of assurance of good government capable of addressing problem of masses, The farmer was under debt and lost his purchasing power so were the artisan class whose handicraft was destroyed by unfavorable policies. The pathetic conditions produced by British Rule were no longer a puzzle as the inner government documents were accessed by Dada Bhai Narojee and R C Dutt an ICS turned professor into London University.
In 1901 Dada Bhai Naroojee after failure of all efforts to tell British Government of Indian masses conditions , he published a book " Poverty and UnBritish Like Government" .He emphasized that poverty in India has been caused by drainage of resources from India and managing it to fulfill the greed of British ruling class.
Then in 1906 he proposed that the poverty can only be removed by " Swaraj" , when the government is run to distribute wealth to give purchasing power to the masses.
On the other hand R C Dutt came forward with "Economic History of India Under Victorian Era ". This was also published in 1901. Poverty and low wages were among the indirect products of colonial rule. Romesh Dutt traced a decline in standards of living to the nineteenth-century deindustrialization of the subcontinent and the narrowing of sources of wealth which followed:
India in the eighteenth century was a great manufacturing as well as great agricultural country, and the products of the Indian loom supplied the markets of Asia and of Europe. It is, unfortunately, true that the East Indian Company and the British Parliament ... discouraged Indian manufactures in the early years of British rule in order to encourage the rising manufactures of England . . . millions of Indian artisans lost their earnings; the population of India lost one great source of their wealth.
He also forced his analysis of famines which were recurring every other year and killing tens of lacs. 1905 he purposed in Banaras Congress that Swedeshi is the only solution to this problem.
Thus the basic cause underlying Poverty and Depleted condition of Peasantry and masses who suffered due to great famines was tarced into the evils of British Imperialism .
The Swadeshi was made more potent by adding the boycott of imported goods to make it . This idea of boycott was contributed by Bal Gangadhar Tilak . The victory achieved in reversing Bengal partition in 1906 and Punjab colonization rules in 1907 were the great successes of "Jan Rashterwad " the nationalism of masses which emerged strongly in the country . This was followed in 1913 by great awareness of Gadar Party on whose one call 8000 indian migrants to America and Canada returned to India with an aim of establishing the democratic rule of equality, liberty and Fraternity. The young leadership of 19 year old Kartar Singh Sarabha along with 22 year old Vishnu Ganesh Pingle not only unified the various regions but became great inspiration for the coming generations. Gadar party was grown out of a consciousness that even your hard labour and honour is not safe in foreign countries till there is a strong pro-people government at home. This can only be achieved by throwing the British out. They made great sacrifices. This was followed by Hindustan Republican association under the leadership of Ram Parshad Bismal and Ashfaq Ula khan . The group of revolutionaries pushed the idea of complete independence further by direct action against British rule and thus weakening it. In the mean time following Jallianwala Bagh , Gandhijee invited masses to join the national movement for "Swaraj in a year" . But that could not be achieved. Molana Husrat muhani a militant U P leader came up with a proposal that calls for "Complete Independence" in 1921. The debate continued for some time between the leaders who were feeling satisfied with Dominion status, which meant rule by Indian but under the Umbrella of British Imperial policies. The other group felt it strongly that nothing short of Complete Independence could be effective way to eradicate poverty and minimize damage caused by famines. Within congress Netajee Subhash and Pt. Jawahar lal Nehru purposed complete Independence in 1928 Calcutta congress. But Mahatma jee got it postponed by one year in a hope that British may grant something closer to Dominion Status. In the mean time Shahid Bhagat Singh and his colleagues interjected with a more clear ideas managing society for "permanent peace " and eradication of poverty and other factors which disable the masses. The slogan raised by Bhagat Singh which echoed in Indian masses was " Down Down with Imperialism and Long live Revolution" . They also raised the issue of how to organize the society for the benefit of the working masses. He strongly made a call for Socialistic patern of society. On 13th September the Death of Jatin das after 63 days of hunger strike in jail so enthusitically received by masses that lacs of people paid him tribute at stations on his dead body's journey from Lahore to Calcutta. If there were three lac people at Lahore then at Calcutta there were six lac people marching with his body. This changed the political scene. Gandhijee declined presidentship of Lahore congress and projected Pt Nehru as a youth leader to be president. The one year period was also closing hence Netajee pushed his resolution of Complete Independence as in last year. It was passed on the mid night of 31st Dec,1929. It also declared that now onward 26th January will be celebrated as " Complete Independence day" i.e "Sampuran Azadi Diwas." So having appreciated that complete independence was adopted as a solution to the problems of masses. Gandhi jee these words on 30th Jauary ,1930 make it ample clear.
The people are " not agitating for a shadow. Hundreds of thousands of people do not gather … in order to secure independence in mere name, they gather in the hope that the glow of freedom, when it comes, will be felt in the remotest village. The greatest evil is undoubtedly the economic pressure and the corroding feeling of inferiority which the people experience in every walk of life."
Gandhijee drafted the oath of complete independence which is reproduced here under.
Declaration for Complete Independence January 26
" We believe that it is the inalienable right of the Indian people, as of any other people, to have freedom and to enjoy the fruits of their toil and have the necessities of life so that they may have full opportunities of growth. We believe also that if any government deprives a people of these rights and oppresses them, the people have a further right to alter it or to abolish it. The British Government in India has not only deprived the Indian people of their freedom, but has based itself on the exploitation of the masses, and has ruined India economically, politically, culturally and spiritually. We believe therefore that India must sever the British connection and attain purna swaraj or complete independence.
India has been ruined economically. The revenue derived from our people is out of all proportion to our income. Our average income is 7 pice (less than two pence) per day, and of the heavy taxes we pay, 20 per cent are raised from the land revenue derived from the peasantry and 3 per cent from the salt tax, which falls most heavily on the poor.
Village industries, such as hand-spinning, have been destroyed, heaving the peasantry idle for at least four months in the year, and dulling their intellect for want of handicrafts, and nothing has been substituted, as in other countries, for the crafts thus destroyed.
Customs and currency have been so manipulated as to heap further burdens on the peasantry. The British manufactured goods constitute the bulk of our imports. Customs duties betrary clear partiality for British manufactures, and are venue from them is used not to lessen the burden on the masses but for sustaining a highly extravagant administration. Still more arbitrary has been the manipulation of the exchange ratio which has resulted in millions being drained away from the country.
Politically, India's status has never been so reduced as under the British regime. No reforms have given real political power to the people. The tallest of us have to bend before foreign authority. The rights of free expression of opinion and free association have been denied to us, and many of our countrymen are compelled to live in exile abroad and cannot return to their homes. All administrative talent is killed, and the masses have to be satisfied with petty village offices and clerkships.
Culturally, the system of education has torn us from our moorings and our training has made us hug the very chains that bind us. Spiritually, compulsory disarmament has made us unmanly, and the presence of an alien army of occupation, employed with deadly effect to crush in us the spirit of resistance, has made us think that we cannot look after ourselves or put up a defence against foreign aggression, or even defend our homes and families from the attacks of thieves, robbers and miscreants.
We hold it to be a crime against man and God to submit any longer to a rule that has caused this fourfold disaster to our country. We recognize, however, that the most effective way of gaining our freedom is not through violence. We will therefore prepare ourselves, by withdrawing, so far as we can, all voluntary association from the British Government, and will prepare for civil disobedience, including non-payment of taxes. We are convinced that if we can but withdraw our voluntary help and stop payment of taxes without doing violence, even under provocation, the end of this inhuman rule is assured. We therefore hereby solemnly resolve to carry out the Congress instructions issued from time to time for the purpose of establishing purna swaraj. "
Young India, 23-1-1930
Where are we today
Where is that complete Independence? 35 Crore are living with less that 12 ruppee per day income , then other 45 crore are living with income less than 20 rupee a day.
Let us be clear about the falseness of development or growth of 7percent. What drives it?
Agriculture which provide employment to 60 percent population and contribute 17.2 percent to GDP has stagnated growth. Industry employ 12 percent of workforce and contribute 29 percent to GDP has a growth around one or two percent. Service sector which employ 25 percent and contribute 23 percent to GDP has a growth rate of 4 to 5 % , but mining sector which employ hardly 2 to 3 % contribute 30 percent to GDP and is growing at the rate of 9 to 10%. Read with this the other factor that contribution of this sector to tax collection is hardly 5 to 7%. Hence it is not drain of our natural resources now.
The British ruled with the boot of Military bureaucracy so are we now Military Budget has been increased many fold in last few years. Current budget is 1,41,703 crore. The Military bureaucracy got the shot in arm after 1971 and thus got success in turning the monument of 90 thousand cold bloodedly murdered Indian soldiers in first world war as a centre of the 26th January national celebrations.
The shameful act on the part of Indian nation is entirely forgetting the self sacrificing crores of patriots who contributed by life, property and relatives without any expectations to the Indian Independence movement from 1757 to 1947. They reflect unity of Indian rising above religion, cast and creed differences. Where is the monument for them? This monument of United strong India should we owe our freedom and republic. The monument which will remind us that interest of country and future is to be given preference over individual and present. Self less service is the great service.
Remembering Netajee's Advice
On Netajee Subhash Chander Bose's birthday, the best tribute is to remember and follow his declaration in the Anti Compromise conference at Ramgarh ,Bihar on 19th March 1940. He warned that no compromise should be made with imperialism. The compromise with British imperialism will create such a problem that for decades the country will feel the pain. How true he was. To oppose imperialist designs on loot of natural resources , distortion in education system, exploitive health system and getting our agricultural system destroyed by introduction of sterile and poisonous seed technologies, is paying tribute to Neta jee.
