The Social Movements During Freedom Struggle & Anti-Caste Agitations theme examines the vital parallel agitations that fought deeply entrenched socio-religious inequalities alongside political colonialism. Ranging from post-1857 attacks on the caste structure and untouchability to Mahatma Gandhi’s dedicated Harijan movement and temple entry campaigns like the Vaikom Satyagraha, social reform remained inseparable from national liberation. Moreover, democratic assertions like the Praja Mandal movements bridged political boundaries in princely states. Reviewing these past year questions equips aspirants with essential interdisciplinary perspectives for UPSC Mains GS Paper 1.
Q.1 The Caste system and the practice of untouchability were major targets of attack from the social reform movement, which grew in strength after the revolt of 1857. Indicate main factors which gradually undermined the caste system and brought into sharp focus the evils of untouchability. What was the role of Mahatma Gandhi in the eradicating it and to what extent did he influence the framers of the constitution and Government policy in this regard? What further steps should be taken to wipe out untouchability? (1981)
जाति व्यवस्था और अस्पृश्यता की प्रथा सामाजिक सुधार आंदोलन के हमले के प्रमुख लक्ष्य थे, जिसकी 1857 के विद्रोह के बाद ताकत में वृद्धि हुई। मुख्य कारकों को इंगित करें जिन्होंने धीरे-धीरे जाति व्यवस्था को कमजोर कर दिया और अस्पृश्यता की बुराइयों पर ध्यान केन्द्रित कर दिया। इसके उन्मूलन में महात्मा गांधी की क्या भूमिका थी और उन्होंने इस संबंध में संविधान निर्माताओं और सरकार के नीति के निर्माताओं को किस हद तक प्रभावित किया? अस्पृश्यता का सफाया करने के लिए और क्या कदम उठाए जाने चाहिए?
The caste system and the practice of untouchability formed the bedrock of traditional social stratification in India. While socio-religious movements had questioned ritual hierarchies for centuries, the post-1857 era witnessed a sustained assault on caste disabilities. The interplay of colonial modernization, reform movements, subaltern assertions, and the anti-colonial mass struggle gradually undermined the rigid structure of caste and brought the systemic evils of untouchability to the forefront of national politics.
Main Factors That Undermined Caste and Highlighted Untouchability
- Colonial Administrative and Legal Infrastructure:
- Rule of Law and Equality before Law: The enactment of the Indian Penal Code (1860) and the Code of Criminal Procedure established formal legal equality, eroding traditional Brahminical judicial privileges and the Manusmriti-based punitive distinctions.
- Caste Disabilities Removal Act (1850): Ensured that renouncing one’s religion or being excommunicated from a caste did not forfeit property rights or civil standing.
- Economic Modernization and Urban Sprawl:
- Public Transport (Railways and Trams): Crowded third-class railway compartments made ritual notions of physical pollution and distance-pollution (theendal) impossible to observe in public.
- Factory Employment and Modern Professions: Industrial mills in Bombay and Calcutta brought diverse caste groups onto common shop floors, weakening hereditary occupational ties (jajmani system).
- Socio-Religious Reform Movements:
- Prarthana Samaj (1867) & Brahmo Samaj: Denounced caste exclusivism, dining restrictions, and ritual barriers.
- Arya Samaj (1875): Swami Dayananda Saraswati introduced the Shuddhi movement and promoted Varna based on merit (guna, karma, swabhava) rather than birth (janma), opposing untouchability on Vedic grounds.
- Ramakrishna Mission: Swami Vivekananda condemned “don’t-touchism” as a degeneration of spiritual religion, declaring that religion does not reside in the cooking pot.
- Subaltern and Non-Brahmin Assertion from Below:
- Satyashodhak Samaj (1873): Jyotirao Phule launched an anti-caste movement in Maharashtra, running schools for lower-caste girls and exposing the institutionalized exploitation of shudras and atishudras.
- Aravippuram Movement (1888): In Kerala, Sri Narayana Guru consecrated a Shiva idol at Aravippuram, asserting the slogan: “One Caste, One Religion, One God for Man.”
- Self-Respect Movement (1925): Periyar E.V. Ramasamy in Tamil Nadu attacked priestly hegemony, advocating rationalism, inter-caste marriages, and self-respect weddings.
- Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s Mobilization: Transitioned the fight into an autonomous political struggle. The Mahad Satyagraha (1927) asserting rights to public drinking water, the burning of Manusmriti, and the Kalaram Temple Entry Satyagraha (1930) established caste emancipation as a non-negotiable constitutional right.
The Role of Mahatma Gandhi in Eradicating Untouchability
Gandhi regarded untouchability not merely as a social problem, but as an existential moral wound on Hinduism and a structural obstacle to national independence (Swaraj):
- Moral and Ideological Repudiation:
- Famously declared: “Untouchability is the greatest blot on Hinduism. If untouchability lives, Hinduism must die.”
- Renamed the oppressed communities “Harijans” (children of God) to confer moral dignity, and published the journal Harijan to campaign against social discrimination.
- Integration into the Nationalist Agenda:
- Made the removal of untouchability an essential component of the Congress Constructive Programme alongside Khadi and Hindu-Muslim unity.
- Required all inmates at his Sabarmati and Sevagram ashrams to perform manual scavenging, clean communal latrines, and share common dining, directly dismantling notions of ritual pollution.
- The Epic Fast and the Poona Pact (September 1932):
- Opposing the British Communal Award (1932) that granted separate electorates to the Depressed Classes (which Gandhi believed would permanently segregate them from Hindu society), he undertook a fast unto death in Yerwada Jail.
- Led to the Poona Pact (1932) with Dr. B.R. Ambedkar: abandoned separate electorates in exchange for a doubling of reserved seats for Depressed Classes in provincial legislatures (from 71 to 148), establishing political reservations.
- The Pan-India Harijan Tour (1933–1934):
- Over nine months, Gandhi covered more than 20,000 km across India, facing fierce resistance from orthodox Sanatanists.
- Collected funds for the Harijan Sevak Sangh (founded in 1932) to construct wells, set up hostels, and provide scholarships for Dalit children.
- Temple Entry Movements:
- Actively supported satyagrahas like the Vaikom Satyagraha (1924–25) and the Guruvayur Satyagraha (1931–32) in Travancore, paving the way for the historic Travancore Temple Entry Proclamation (1936).
Gandhi’s Influence on the Constituent Assembly and Government Policy
Gandhi’s sustained moral campaign shaped both the constitutional architecture and early welfare policies of independent India:
- Constitutional Abolition of Untouchability (Article 17):
- The direct moral legacy of Gandhi’s campaign was the unanimous inclusion of Article 17, which explicitly declared: “Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden.” When adopted by the Constituent Assembly, members spontaneously chanted “Mahatma Gandhi ki Jai.”
- The Fundamental Rights Framework:
- Article 15(2): Prohibits restricting access to public shops, restaurants, wells, tanks, and roads—directly reflecting the goals of the Mahad, Vaikom, and Harijan campaigns.
- Article 25(2)(b): Empowers the State to throw open Hindu religious institutions of a public character to all classes and sections.
- Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP):
- Article 46 directs the State to promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.
- Legislative and Affirmative Policies:
- Passage of the Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955 (later revamped as the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955).
- Implementation of Article 16(4) and Articles 330/332 providing reservations in public employment and elected legislative bodies—an institutional mechanism rooted in the Poona Pact.
Further Steps Required to Wipe Out Untouchability
While constitutional and legal equality is established, structural inequalities and covert forms of discrimination persist in rural, social, and economic spheres:
- Rigorous Enforcement of the PoA Act:
- Accelerate the establishment of dedicated Fast-Track Special Courts (FTSCs) under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 to address low conviction rates and witness intimidation.
- Enforce penal accountability against police and administrative personnel who refuse to register First Information Reports (FIRs) under Section 4 of the Act.
- Total Mechanization of Sanitation and Sewer Cleaning:
- Accelerate the full implementation of the NAMASTE Scheme (National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem) to eradicate manual scavenging.
- Provide direct capital subsidies, robotic equipment (such as Bandicoot), and entrepreneurial credit to former manual scavengers to break the hereditary link between caste and hazardous sanitation labor.
- Economic Empowerment and Dalit Capitalism:
- Broaden access to collateral-free credit through the Stand-Up India and Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes (VCF-SC) schemes to build independent asset ownership.
- Implement targeted land allocation policies and enforce tenancy protections, as landlessness in rural areas remains the primary source of coercive caste dependency.
- Social Engineering and Educational De-segregation:
- Expand state-sponsored incentives and security protection for inter-caste marriages (such as the Dr. Ambedkar Scheme for Social Integration through Inter-Caste Marriages).
- Revamp school curricula to include the anti-caste philosophies of Phule, Narayana Guru, Gandhi, and Ambedkar.
- Eliminate covert segregation in rural institutions (such as separate queues in Anganwadis or midday meals served by separate cooks).
- Community Sensitization and Administrative Accountability:
- Measure local district administrators (District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police) on their performance in eradicating untouchability practices within their jurisdictions.
- Empower grassroots civil society organizations and Panchayati Raj institutions to conduct annual social audits on public space accessibility, community water sources, and cremation grounds.
Untouchability began to break down when the humanitarian concerns of 19th-century reformers met subaltern self-assertion and Gandhi’s mass constructive mobilization. While Gandhi provided the moral urgency and Ambedkar secured the constitutional mandate for abolition, eradicating untouchability requires moving beyond formal legal prohibitions: it demands economic independence for the marginalized, strict enforcement of atrocity laws, and the dismantlement of caste-conscious mentalities in everyday public life.
Q.2 What was Harijan Movement? Why and with what effect did Gandhi launch individual Satyagraha? (1991)
हरिजन आंदोलन क्या था? गांधी ने व्यक्तिगत सत्याग्रह क्यों और किस प्रभाव से शुरू किया?
The Harijan Movement was a comprehensive socio-moral campaign launched by Mahatma Gandhi in the aftermath of the Poona Pact (September 1932) to eradicate the practice of untouchability and integrate the Depressed Classes into mainstream social and religious life.
Gandhi had undertaken a “fast unto death” against the British Communal Award (August 1932), which granted separate electorates to the Depressed Classes. Following the Poona Pact, which substituted separate electorates with reserved seats in joint electorates, Gandhi shifted his full attention from direct civil disobedience to social reconstruction.
1. Ideological and Moral Foundations
- Conferring Moral Dignity: Gandhi popularized the term “Harijan” (children of God, a term earlier used by the Gujarati saint-poet Narsinh Mehta) to remove social stigma and confer moral sanctity on the oppressed castes.
- Existential Challenge to Orthodoxy: Gandhi maintained that untouchability was not an integral part of Hinduism, but an excrescence:“If untouchability lives, Hinduism must die; and if Hinduism is to live, untouchability must go.”
- Ashram Practices: At Sabarmati and Sevagram ashrams, Gandhi mandated manual scavenging, common communal latrine cleaning, and shared dining for all residents, directly challenging notions of ritual pollution.
2. Institutional Framework
- All India Anti-Untouchability League (September 1932): Renamed the Harijan Sevak Sangh, with industrialist Ghanshyam Das Birla as President and Amritlal V. Thakkar (Thakkar Bapa) as General Secretary.
- The Publication Network: In February 1933, Gandhi launched the weekly journal Harijan (along with Harijan Bandhu in Gujarati and Harijan Sevak in Hindi) to propagate anti-untouchability arguments and air social reform debates.
- Welfare Infrastructure: The Sangh established hundreds of schools, dispensaries, and residential hostels for Dalit students, while digging community wells across rural India.
3. The All-India Harijan Tour (November 1933 – July 1934)
- Gandhi undertook a nine-month, 20,000-kilometer nationwide tour from Wardha to mobilize public opinion, collect funds for the Harijan Fund, and promote temple entry.
- Confronting Orthodox Backlash: The tour met fierce hostility from orthodox upper-caste Hindus (Sanatanists), who organized black-flag demonstrations, performed purificatory rites wherever Gandhi walked, and even carried out a bomb attack on his motorcade in Poona in June 1934.
- Legislative Push for Temple Entry: Supported the introduction of Temple Entry Bills in the Central and Madras legislatures, which laid the moral groundwork for the historic Travancore Temple Entry Proclamation (1936).
The Individual Satyagraha (October 1940 – December 1941)
In October 1940, Gandhi launched the Individual Satyagraha (also called the Quality Satyagraha or Delhi Chalo Movement). Unlike the earlier mass campaigns, this satyagraha was intentionally limited, restrained, and conducted only by handpicked individuals.
1. Why Did Gandhi Launch It?
- Unilateral Belligerency: In September 1939, Viceroy Lord Linlithgow declared India at war with Germany without consulting the central legislature or Indian political leadership. Congress provincial ministries resigned in protest, creating an imperial stalemate.
- Failure of the August Offer (1940): Linlithgow offered an expanded Viceroy’s Executive Council and a post-war constitution-making body, but gave the Muslim League an effective “minority veto” by declaring that power would not be transferred to any system opposed by large minorities. Congress rejected this outright.
- The Imperative to Express Anti-War Dissent: Nationalists demanded the democratic right to state publicly that India had been coerced into an imperialist war without its consent.
- Avoiding an Uncontrolled Mass Rebellion: Britain was facing an existential threat from Nazi Germany (the Battle of Britain and the Blitz). Gandhi and the Congress did not want to exploit Britain’s mortal peril by launching a violent, full-scale mass movement that could collapse into anarchy or invite Axis aggression:“We do not seek our independence out of Britain’s ruin.”
- Solution: A Symbolic, Controlled Protest: To register national protest without causing administrative collapse, Gandhi designed a campaign where carefully selected individuals made public anti-war declarations and courted arrest.
2. Modus Operandi
- Careful Selection of Satyagrahis: Gandhi personally vetted each satyagrahi for moral discipline, commitment to non-violence, and regular spinning of khadi.
- The Anti-War Formula: The chosen satyagrahi would inform the local District Magistrate of the time and place of protest, appear publicly, and recite the prescribed statement:“It is wrong to help the British war effort with men or money. The only worthy effort is to resist all war with non-violent resistance.”
- The March to Delhi: If not arrested immediately, the satyagrahi was instructed to walk toward the imperial capital, holding anti-war meetings along the route (hence the slogan “Delhi Chalo”).
- First Satyagrahi Chosen: Acharya Vinoba Bhave (October 17, 1940 – Pavnar Ashram, Wardha):
- Gandhi selected Acharya Vinoba Bhave as the first satyagrahi to emphasize spiritual dedication, rural constructive work, and non-violent ethics. Bhave delivered anti-war speeches and was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment.
2. Second Satyagrahi: Jawaharlal Nehru (November 7, 1940)
- Jawaharlal Nehru was chosen as the second satyagrahi to represent the modern, anti-fascist, and political leadership of the Congress. He was arrested even before he could make his speech and sentenced to four years’ rigorous imprisonment.
3. Third Satyagrahi: Brahma Datt: Inmate of Gandhi’s Ashram.
- Gandhi nominated Brahma Datt, an ashram inmate, underscoring that ordinary constructive workers carried the same moral stature in Satyagraha as prominent leaders.
4. Expansion and Mass Incarceration: December 1940 to Mid-1941.
- Gandhi widened the campaign to include members of the Congress Working Committee, All India Congress Committee (AICC), and provincial legislators. By May 1941, more than 25,000 disciplined satyagrahis had courted arrest and were imprisoned across the country.
What Was the Effect of the Individual Satyagraha?
| Dimension | Realized Impact & Historical Significance |
| Assertion of Democratic Free Speech | Demolished the colonial propaganda that India was enthusiastically and voluntarily contributing to the British imperial war effort. |
| Moral High Ground | Displayed disciplined moral restraint by registering dissent without sabotaging Britain’s existential struggle against global fascism. |
| Organizational Re-mobilization | Revitalized the Congress organizational machinery after the lull following the 1939 ministerial resignations, vetting a reliable cadre of grass-roots leaders. |
| Stepping Stone to Quit India (1942) | Demonstrated the futility of symbolic petitions. When the British government released the satyagrahis in December 1941 and subsequently dispatched the inadequate Cripps Mission (1942), Gandhi realized that symbolic protests were exhausted, leading directly to the militant “Do or Die” demand of August 1942. |
Q.3 What was the significance of the Praja-mandal movements in the Indian States in the decade preceding India’s independence? (1998)
भारत की आजादी से पहले के दशक में भारतीय राज्यों में प्रजामंडल आंदोलनों का क्या महत्व था?
The Praja-Mandal Movements (or States’ People’s Movements) were popular democratic agitations organized by the subjects of the Princely States (Native States) against feudal autocracy, excessive taxation, and denial of civil liberties.
While the All India States’ People’s Conference (AISPC) was founded in 1927, the decade preceding independence (1937–1947) witnessed a transformative surge: the movements evolved from isolated, moderate appeals into a coordinated, mass anti-feudal and anti-imperial front that proved decisive in preventing the “Balkanization” of India.
Praja-Mandal Movements (1937–1947)
1. Catalysts for the Upsurge in the Final Decade (1937–1939)
Prior to 1937, the Indian National Congress adhered to a policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of the Princely States (affirmed at the 1920 Nagpur session), allowing people in the states to join Congress only in their individual capacities. Three critical factors broke this isolation in the late 1930s:
- Demonstration Effect of 1937 Congress Ministries: The formation of popular responsible ministries in British Indian provinces under the Government of India Act 1935 highlighted the stark contrast between civil liberties in the provinces and the autocracy in the Princely States.
- The Federal Scheme Threat (1935 Act): The British proposed an All-India Federation where princes would nominate one-third of the lower house and two-fifths of the upper house. Nationalists realized that unelected, reactionary rulers would be used by the British as a permanent conservative veto against progressive legislation.
- Shift in Congress Policy (Haripura & Tripuri):
- Haripura Session (1938): Under Subhas Chandra Bose, Congress extended moral support to the Praja Mandals, though it restrained the use of the Congress organizational name for direct mass struggles inside the states.
- Tripuri Session (1939): Congress removed all restrictions, fully integrating the freedom movement of “British India” with the democratic struggles of “Princely India.”
- Nehru’s AISPC Presidency (1939): Jawaharlal Nehru was elected President of the AISPC at the Ludhiana session (1939), merging the institutional leadership of both struggles.
2. Nature and Manifestation of the Movements (1937–1946)
The movements targeted both feudal excesses and British paramountcy through diverse forms of resistance:
- Abolition of Feudal Levies: Agitations demanded an end to Begar (forced unpaid labor), illegal cesses (lag-bagh), arbitrary land evictions, and heavy agrarian taxation (e.g., Bijolia and Mewar Praja Mandals in Rajasthan).
- Civil Liberties and Responsible Government: Protests demanded freedom of speech, freedom of press, and the establishment of elected legislative assemblies with responsible ministries under the aegis of the ruler.
- Active Geographic Hotspots:
- Rajkot Satyagraha (1939): Led by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Kasturba Gandhi, with Mahatma Gandhi undertaking a fast against the ruler’s breach of reform pacts.
- Orissa Garhjat States (1938–39): Militant peasant uprisings in Talcher, Dhenkanal, and Ranpur against oppressive Praja-Parijats, where British Political Agent Major Bazalgette was killed by an enraged crowd.
- Travancore: Mass agitations against the autocratic Dewan, Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyar, culminating in the communist-led Punnapra-Vayalar Uprising (October 1946) against the proposed “American Model” constitution and independent statehood.
- Hyderabad: The Hyderabad State Congress, led by Swami Ramanand Tirtha, along with the Telangana Armed Struggle (1946), challenged the feudal Jagirdari oppression of the Nizam and the terror of the Razakars.
- Kashmir: The “Quit Kashmir” movement (May 1946) launched by Sheikh Abdullah’s National Conference challenged the hereditary autocratic rule of the Dogra dynasty.
3. Significance in the Decade Preceding Independence
A. Bridging the Political Divide Between “Two Indias”
Colonial rule had sustained an artificial division between “British India” (subject to progressive legislative reforms) and “Princely India” (insulated feudal autocracies). The Praja Mandals integrated the two into a single, indivisible national movement, ensuring that self-determination was demanded by the entire population of the subcontinent.
B. Defeating the “Third Force” and Princely Independence Ambitions
As the British prepared to depart, the lapse of Crown paramountcy threatened to leave over 560 princely states legally free to declare independence or form separate unions:
- The Political Department under Sir Conrad Corfield and rulers like the Nawab of Bhopal (Chancellor of the Chamber of Princes), the Nizam of Hyderabad, and the Dewan of Travancore actively plotted to remain independent sovereign entities (a “Third Force” alongside India and Pakistan).
- The Praja Mandals made this plan unviable. Popular rebellions, student strikes, and mass civil disobedience inside these states proved to the rulers that declaring independence without people’s consent would trigger immediate domestic civil war.
C. Providing the Democratic Mandate for Patel and V.P. Menon
During the accession negotiations in mid-1947:
- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and V.P. Menon utilized the pressure of the Praja Mandals as their ultimate diplomatic lever. Patel could credibly warn hesitant princes that if they did not sign the Instrument of Accession and the Standstill Agreement, the Government of India would be unable—and unwilling—to protect them from popular revolutions by their own subjects.
- In border cases where rulers vacillated or conspired (e.g., Junagadh), the local democratic revolt organized by the people (Arzi Hukumat) provided the democratic legitimacy for Indian intervention and subsequent plebiscite.
D. Social and Democratic Training Ground
- The movements served as a grassroots training ground for modern democratic governance. Leaders who emerged from the Praja Mandal struggles—such as Sheikh Abdullah (Kashmir), Jayanarayan Vyas and Heera Lal Shastri (Rajasthan), Y.S. Parmar (Himachal Pradesh), and B.A. Mandloi (Central India)—became the foundational Chief Ministers and legislators of the newly integrated states.
- It challenged centuries-old caste restrictions, broadened female participation in conservative feudal societies, and popularized the spinning of Khadi and adult literacy in princely territories.
Conclusion
The Praja-Mandal movements in the decade leading up to 1947 ensured that the freedom movement did not halt at the borders of the princely states. By awakening democratic consciousness among the 93 million subjects of the Native States, they dismantled feudal legitimacy from within. When the British Crown unilaterally abrogated paramountcy in August 1947, it was the organized resistance of the Praja Mandals that prevented the balkanization of India, providing the essential popular backing for Sardar Patel’s territorial integration of the Indian Union.