The Role of the Capitalist Class in the Indian National Movement: An Analytical Study)

Bhartiya bRashtriya Andolan Me Poojipati Varg ki Bhoomika: Ek Vishleshnatmak Adhdhyan

Abstract

The Indian capitalist class developed in the middle of the 19th century during colonial rule, at that time Indian capitalists were not dependent on foreign capital, nor did they work as local agents of foreign capitalists. From the last years of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, the Indian capitalist class gradually started maturing and began to establish its dominance in politics as well. By the end of the First World War, for various reasons, the number of registered industrial enterprises continued to increase. But the new generation of Indian industrialists who came from a wider social base was more mature and more aware of their rights. To strengthen their position, they began to organize themselves, which resulted in the birth of the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce in 1887 and the Indian Merchants Chamber in Bombay in 1907. While merchants in Bombay's merchant groups were more nationalistic, industrialists were traditional allies of the government. While industrialists flourished during World War I, merchants suffered due to fluctuating exchange rates and heavy taxes. But due to deteriorating economic conditions after 1922 and the wartime boom that ended in 1921–22, a recession prevailed throughout the decade of the 1920s. Goods were not being sold and their huge stores were full of unsold goods, while wages were also rising. Due to dependence on imported yarn and increased competition from cheap Japanese goods in Indian markets around the same time, prices began to fall further, worsening the situation of cotton millers in Bombay. The government passed the Steel Protection Bill in the Assembly in favor of TISCO (Tata Iron and Steel Company) as a reward for loyalty, and the Indo-Japanese Agreement benefited Bombay's textile industry. In this agreement, there was a system of quotas for the sale of Japanese goods in India. But those who supported the Congress were alarmed by the growing influence of socialism under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose, and Jayaprakash Narayan. But this time too, due to the red scare, the capitalist class did not join hands with imperialism. To curb socialism, the capitalist class adopted a multi-pronged strategy and decided to patronize the right wing of the Congress - 'Vallabhbhai, Rajaji and Rajendra Babu' who, in Birla's words, 'were fighting communism and socialism and Gandhi Full power should be put behind it. The Gandhians were also anxious to get the support and financial assistance of the capitalists to regain control of Congress.

In this way, the Indian capitalist class was anti-socialist and bourgeois, but it was not a supporter of imperialism. Participation by the capitalists in constitutional activities, such as the Legislative Assembly or the Viceroy's Executive Council, did not mean that the Indian capitalist class had become a pawn of imperialism or had surrendered to it.