Important Congress Session (1936-39)
🏛️ Lucknow Session (April 1936)
This was the 49th Session of the Indian National Congress, held at Lucknow under the presidentship of Jawaharlal Nehru — and it marks the moment when socialism formally entered Congress vocabulary.
🌹 Nehru’s Presidential Address: A Call for Socialism
Nehru’s speech electrified the delegates and revealed the new ideological confidence of the younger generation within the Congress.
He declared clearly and courageously:
“I am convinced that the only key to the solution of the world’s problems and India’s problems lies in socialism.
I see no way of ending the poverty, vast unemployment, degradation, and subjection of the Indian people except through socialism.”
With this, Nehru placed economic equality and social justice at the heart of the freedom movement — not merely political independence.
It was a bold statement for 1936, when socialism was still a contested and often misunderstood idea.
Through this speech, Nehru made it clear that political freedom without economic transformation would be meaningless.
🚩 Establishment of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS)
During this session, a new organisation was formally launched — the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) — which became the mass voice of the Indian peasantry.
- Founder and first President: Swami Sahajananda Saraswati
- The Sabha aimed to mobilise peasants across provinces to demand fair rents, land reforms, and social justice.
- This was a major step in linking the Congress with rural India’s class-based struggles.
Thus, the Congress was no longer speaking for peasants — it was beginning to organise them directly.
🌾 The All-India Agrarian Programme
The Lucknow Session directed provincial Congress committees to:
- Conduct agrarian surveys and enquiries,
- Gather detailed information on tenancy, rent, revenue, and rural distress, and
- Help the AICC formulate a comprehensive all-India agrarian programme.
This marked the first systematic attempt by Congress to base its agrarian policy on data, research, and field work rather than emotion or slogans.
🏰 The Princely States Question
The Congress clarified its position regarding Princely States — territories under Indian rulers allied to the British.
The resolution stated:
“The people of the States have the same right to self-determination and liberty as the people of British India.”
However, it also clarified that the struggle for liberty in these states must be led by the people of those states themselves, not by the Congress from outside.
This showed political maturity — acknowledging solidarity, yet respecting the autonomy of regional movements.
🌎 International Outlook
At Lucknow, the Congress expressed gratitude to Romain Rolland, the famous French writer and humanist, for inviting Indian participation in the World Congress against War and Fascism.
This again reflected the growing internationalist spirit of the Indian National Congress.
⚖️ The Election Strategy and the Question of Office Acceptance
The Lucknow Session also had to deal with the immediate political question: whether to participate in the 1937 elections and, if successful, whether to form ministries under the 1935 Act.
The compromise formula adopted was:
- Yes to contesting elections (to demonstrate opposition to the Act),
- No decision yet on accepting office (to be decided later).
This middle path prevented a split between the Left (who opposed office) and the Right (who supported participation).
🧩 Nehru’s Team: Socialists Enter the Congress Core
Nehru appointed three key socialist leaders to the Congress Working Committee (CWC):
- Jayaprakash Narayan (JP)
- Acharya Narendra Dev
- Achyut Patwardhan
This symbolic inclusion meant that the Congress officially acknowledged socialist voices within its top leadership for the first time.
Thus, the Lucknow Session stands as the ideological gateway to the Left turn in Indian nationalism.
🌾 Faizpur Session (December 1936)
The 50th Session of the Congress, held at Faizpur in Jalgaon district, Maharashtra, was equally historic — not for rhetoric, but for its setting and participation.
It was the first Congress Session held in a rural area — and that choice itself was a political statement.
🏕️ A Congress Session Amidst Peasants
Unlike earlier sessions held in cities like Calcutta or Lahore, Faizpur was deliberately chosen to bring the Congress closer to rural India —
to make peasants feel that the freedom movement belonged to them.
- Thousands of farmers participated.
- The venue was surrounded by fields and bullock carts, not hotels or grand halls.
- The Congress literally met in the heart of India’s countryside.
This gave the movement a new emotional and social depth.
📜 The Agrarian Programme of Faizpur
Building on the earlier work of the AIKS, the Faizpur Session adopted a detailed agrarian programme reflecting the demands of the peasantry.
Key demands included:
- 50% reduction in land revenue and rent,
- Exemption of uneconomic holdings (small farms) from tax,
- Minimum wages for agricultural labourers,
- Legal recognition of peasant unions (Kisan Sabhas),
- Abolition of forced labour and feudal dues,
- Cooperative farming,
- Cancellation of rent arrears, and
- Amendment of eviction laws protecting tenants.
These were concrete, practical measures — making the Congress’s agrarian agenda truly pro-peasant.
⚖️ The Missing Radicalism: Zamindari Not Abolished
However, the agrarian programme did not demand the complete abolition of the zamindari or taluqdari system.
This was a deliberate compromise:
- The Right Wing of the Congress feared alienating landlords who still supported the movement.
- The Left Wing, including Nehru and socialists, was disappointed by this limitation.
Thus, even while the Congress spoke for peasants, it still had to balance multiple social interests — a reminder that it was both a mass party and a coalition of classes.
🌍 Nehru’s Presidential Address at Faizpur
Once again, Jawaharlal Nehru delivered the presidential address — and his tone was both revolutionary and humanist.
He emphasised:
- End of Imperialism:
- Declared that only a democratic state, not an imperial one, could solve India’s problems.
- Peace and Anti-War Policy:
- Reiterated that India would not participate in any imperialist war or allow its resources to be used for British military purposes.
- Purpose of Elections:
- Clarified that the Congress would fight elections not to cooperate with the British, but to combat the 1935 Act and to use legislatures as a platform for resistance and exposure of imperialism.
This address was both ideological and strategic — combining socialist conviction with political realism.
🕊️ Haripura Session (February 1938)
The 51st session of the Indian National Congress was held in Haripura, a small village in the Surat district of Gujarat, in February 1938.
It was presided over by Subhas Chandra Bose, who had emerged as a powerful and charismatic Left-leaning leader.
This was the first time a younger, more radical generation formally took the Congress’s reins — and the session became symbolic of a new, assertive nationalism.
⚖️ Rejection of the Federal Scheme of 1935
The first major resolution at Haripura rejected the British-proposed federation under the Government of India Act, 1935.
- The Congress condemned it as undemocratic and designed to maintain imperial control.
- Instead, it demanded a true federation, in which princely states would join as equals, enjoying full democratic rights just like the British provinces.
This was a direct challenge to the colonial logic of the 1935 Act — which aimed to divide and weaken Indian unity through separate constitutional arrangements.
🏰 Policy Towards Princely States
The Congress clarified that its goal was complete independence for all of India, including the princely states.
However, the movement within these states should be:
- Led by the people of the states themselves, and
- Not carried out in the name of the Congress.
This balanced policy reflected the Congress’s awareness that direct intervention might provoke British or princely backlash, while still supporting democratic awakening in the States.
🌾 Peasant Movements and Kisan Sabhas
The Haripura Congress reaffirmed its recognition of the Kisan Sabhas (peasant unions), which had grown rapidly since the Faizpur session.
However, it clearly stated that the Congress would not support any activities or methods of these Sabhas inconsistent with the Congress’s basic principles — i.e., non-violence and constitutional struggle.
This was a diplomatic way of maintaining unity with the Left without letting the agrarian movement turn militant.
📘 Nai Talim and Social Reforms
The Congress also adopted the Nai Talim (Basic Education) scheme recommended by Dr. Zakir Hussain — focusing on:
- Learning through productive crafts,
- Moral and physical training, and
- Education in one’s mother tongue.
Other social resolutions included:
- Release of political prisoners,
- Protection of minority rights, and
- Condemnation of civil liberties violations in the princely states.
🌍 Subhas Bose’s Broader Vision
Bose’s Haripura address showed his internationalist and revolutionary outlook.
He spoke of:
- Building a modern, planned economy,
- Using state power for rapid industrialisation, and
- Preparing India to face the approaching global crisis.
Bose believed a new world war was imminent — and that India must be ready to turn such a war into an opportunity for independence.
Thus, at Haripura, Bose symbolised youth, modernity, and boldness, while Gandhi still represented morality, restraint, and spiritual politics.
The two admired each other, but their approach to freedom was now diverging visibly.
⚡ Crisis at Tripuri (March 1939)
The ideological divergence that began at Haripura erupted into open conflict at the Tripuri Session (March 1939) — held near Jabalpur in present-day Madhya Pradesh.
This event became known as the Tripuri Crisis, and it remains one of the most dramatic internal battles in the history of the Congress.
🗳️ The Presidential Election: Gandhi vs Bose
Until 1939, the Congress president was usually chosen by consensus.
But this time, Gandhi endorsed Pattabhi Sitaramayya, while Subhas Chandra Bose decided to contest again, representing the Left faction.
The contest symbolised two approaches to freedom:
- Gandhi’s camp (Right): Believed in non-violence, step-by-step negotiation, and constructive work.
- Bose’s camp (Left): Advocated immediate independence, planned economy, and, if necessary, militant struggle.
The Result:
- Bose: 1,580 votes
- Pattabhi Sitaramayya: 1,377 votes
Bose won — but narrowly.
Gandhi, reacting to the result, said:
“Pattabhi’s defeat is more mine than his.”
This single sentence made clear that though Bose had won the election, he had lost Gandhi’s moral endorsement — and that changed everything.
💥 The Split Within Congress Leadership
Bose, emboldened by his victory, accused senior Congress leaders (like Patel, Rajendra Prasad, Pant) of being “compromisers” — too soft on the British regarding the federation scheme.
In response, most members of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), loyal to Gandhi, resigned in protest.
This left Bose isolated, even as he held the presidency.
⚖️ The Tripuri Session (March 1939)
The Congress met at Tripuri in an atmosphere of high tension.
- Bose was seriously ill,
- Gandhi was fasting in Rajkot, protesting against autocratic rule there,
- And the organisation itself was deeply divided.
During the session, Govind Ballabh Pant moved a resolution that:
Bose should form a new Working Committee, but it must be in line with Gandhi’s ideas and approval.
The resolution passed by an overwhelming majority, but Gandhi, with characteristic restraint, refused to impose his will on Bose.
He told him to choose his own committee if he wished — but the moral and organisational pressure was already immense.
🌍 Bose’s Revolutionary Strategy: Exploiting the Coming War
Bose’s address at Tripuri reiterated his conviction that a world war was imminent (he was right — WWII began later that year).
He proposed:
- Giving Britain six months’ ultimatum to grant India independence.
- If refused, launching mass civil disobedience or even armed struggle to secure Poorna Swaraj.
To Bose, history was opening a “revolutionary moment.”
To Gandhi, it was a moral test — and he opposed exploiting war for political advantage.
Thus, the conflict was not merely personal but philosophical:
Gandhi’s ethical politics versus Bose’s strategic nationalism.
🏰 New Policy Towards Princely States
At Tripuri, Congress abandoned its earlier policy of non-interference in princely states.
It now decided to support people’s movements within the states, integrating their struggles with the all-India freedom movement.
This was partly due to Bose’s influence and the growing activism of Praja Mandals (people’s associations) in these states.
🔻 Decline of Bose’s Support
Although Bose had strong Left backing during the presidential election, the same Left (especially the Congress Socialist Party) did not support him during the Tripuri crisis.
They preferred to keep the Congress united rather than side with Bose in a split.
With Pant’s resolution passed and CSP neutrality, Bose found himself politically cornered.
📜 Aftermath: Resignation and the Birth of Forward Bloc
- In April 1939, Bose resigned from the Congress presidency, realising he had lost the organisation’s trust.
- Dr. Rajendra Prasad replaced him as president.
But Bose did not retreat.
In May 1939, he launched the Forward Bloc — a new group within the Congress to consolidate the Left and carry forward his militant, socialist vision of freedom.
When he later called for a nationwide protest (9 July 1939) against an AICC resolution, the Congress High Command took disciplinary action:
- He was removed as President of the Bengal Provincial Congress Committee, and
- Banned from holding any Congress office for three years.
This marked the formal break between Bose and the Congress leadership.